IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


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Hiotographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


23  WEST  MAIN  STRHT 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  USfO 

(716)  872-4503 


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CIHM/ICMH 

Microfiche 

Series. 


CIHM/ICIVIH 
Collection  de 
microfiches. 


Canadian  Institute  for  Historical  Microreproductions  /  Institut  Canadian  de  microreproductions  historiques 


\ 


\ 


Technical  and  Bibliographic  Notes/Notes  techniques  et  bibliographiques 


The  Institute  has  attempted  to  obtain  the  best 
original  copy  available  for  filming.  Features  of  this 
copy  which  may  be  bibliographically  unique, 
which  may  alter  any  of  the  images  in  the 
reproduction,  or  which  may  significantly  change 
the  usual  method  of  filming,  are  checked  below. 


D 


D 


D 


n 


Coloured  covers/ 
Couverture  de  couleur 


I      I    Covers  damaged/ 


Couverture  endommagie 


Covers  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Couverture  restaur^e  et/ou  pellicul6e 


I      I    Cover  title  missing/ 


Le  titre  de  couverture  manque 


I      I    Coloured  maps/ 


Cartes  gdographiques  en  couleur 


Coloured  ink  (i.e.  other  than  blue  or  black)/ 
Encre  de  couleur  (i.e.  autre  que  bleue  ou  noire) 


I      I    Coloured  plates  and/or  illustrations/ 


Planches  et/ou  illustrations  en  couleur 

Bound  with  other  material/ 
Reiid  avec  d'autres  documents 

Tight  binding  may  cause  shadows  or  distortion 
along  interior  margin/ 

La  re  liure  serr^e  peut  causer  de  I'ombre  ou  de  la 
distortion  le  long  de  la  marge  int6rieure 

Blank  leaves  added  during  restoration  may 
appear  within  the  text.  Whenever  possible,  these 
have  been  omitted  from  filming/ 
II  se  peut  que  certaines  pages  blanches  ajoutdes 
lors  d'une  restauration  apparaissent  dans  le  texte, 
mais,  lorsque  cela  6tait  possible,  ces  pages  n'ont 
pas  M  fiimdes. 


L'Institut  a  microfilm^  ie  meilleur  exemplaire 
qu'il  lui  a  6t6  possible  de  se  procurer.  Les  details 
de  cet  cvKemplaire  qui  sont  peut  dtre  uniques  du 
point  de  vue  bibliographique,  qui  peuvent  modifier 
une  image  reproduite,  ou  qui  peuvent  exiger  une 
modification  dans  la  mithode  normale  de  filmage 
sont  indiquis  ci-dessous. 


I      I   Coloured  pages/ 


D 
D 

D 


n 


Pages  de  couleur 

Pages  damaged/ 
Pages  endommagdes 

Pages  restored  and/or  laminated/ 
Pages  restaurdes  et/ou  pellicul6es 

Pages  discoloured,  stained  or  foxed/ 
Pages  dicoiordes,  tachet^es  ou  piqu6es 

Pages  detached/ 
Pages  d6tach6es 

Showthrough/ 
Transparence 


□    Quality  of  print  varies/ 
Qualit6  in^gale  de  {'impression 

I      I    Includes  supplementary  material/ 


Comprend  du  materiel  supplimentaire 


Only  edition  available/ 
Se"le  Edition  disponible 


Pages  wholly  or  partially  obscured  by  errata 
slips,  tissues,  etc.,  have  been  refilmed  to 
ensure  the  best  possible  image/ 
Les  pages  totalement  ou  partiellement 
obscurcies  par  un  feuillet  d'errata,  une  pelure, 
etc.,  ont  6t6  filmdes  d  nouveau  de  fa^on  d 
obtenir  la  meilleure  image  possible. 


D 


Additional  comments:/ 
Commentaires  suppl6mentaires; 


This  item  is  filmed  at  the  reduction  ratio  checked  below/ 

Ce  document  est  film6  au  taux  de  reduction  indiqu6  ci-dessous. 


10X 

14X 

18X 

22X 

26X 

30X 

y 

12X 


16X 


20X 


24X 


28X 


32X 


laire 
s  details 
lues  du 
It  modifier 
iger  une 
8  filmage 


1/ 
u6es 


The  copy  filmed  here  has  been  reproduced  thanks 
to  the  generosity  of: 

Library  of  the  Public 
Archives  of  Canada 

The  images  appearing  here  are  the  best  quality 
possible  considering  the  condition  and  legibility 
of  the  original  copy  and  In  keeping  with  the 
filming  contract  specifications. 


Original  copies  in  printed  paper  covers  are  filmed 
beginning  with  the  front  cover  and  ending  on 
the  last  page  with  a  printed  or  illustrated  impres- 
sion, or  the  back  cover  when  appropriate.  All 
other  original  copies  are  filmed  beginning  on  the 
first  page  with  a  printed  or  Illustrated  impres- 
sion, and  ending  on  the  last  page  with  a  printed 
or  illustrated  impression. 


L'exemplaire  fllm6  fut  reproduit  grAce  A  la 
gAnArosItt  de: 

La  bibliothique  des  Archives 
publiques  du  Canada 

Las  images  sulvantes  ont  6tA  reproduites  avec  le 
plus  grand  soin,  compte  tenu  de  la  condition  et 
de  la  nettet6  de  I'exempiaire  film*,  et  en 
conformity  avec  ies  conditions  du  contrat  de 
filmage. 

Les  exemplaires  orlglnaux  dont  la  couverture  en 
papier  est  ImprimAe  sont  fllmAs  en  commen^ant 
par  le  premier  plat  et  en  termlnant  soit  par  la 
dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impresslon  ou  d'illustration.  soit  par  le  second 
plat,  salon  le  cas.  Tous  les  autres  exemplaires 
orlglnaux  sont  fllmte  en  commengant  par  la 
premlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  empreinte 
d'impresslon  ou  d'illustration  et  en  termlnant  par 
la  dernlAre  page  qui  comporte  une  telle 
empreinte. 


The  last  recorded  frame  on  each  microfiche 
shall  contain  the  symbol  —»>  (meaning  "CON- 
TINUED"), or  the  symbol  y  (meaning  "END"), 
whichever  applies. 


Un  des  symboles  suivants  apparaltra  sur  la 
dernlAre  Image  de  cheque  microfiche,  selon  le 
cas:  le  symbols  ^^  signifie  "A  SUIVRE",  le 
symbols  V  signifie  "FIN". 


lire 


Maps,  plates,  charts,  etc..  may  be  filmed  at 
different  reduction  ratios.  Those  too  large  to  be 
entirely  included  in  one  exposure  are  filmed 
beginning  in  the  upper  left  hand  corner,  left  to 
right  and  top  to  bottom,  as  many  frames  as 
required.  The  following  diagrams  Illustrate  the 
method: 


Les  cartes,  planches,  tableaux,  etc..  peuvent  Atre 
filmte  A  des  taux  de  reduction  diffirents. 
Lorsque  le  document  est  trop  grand  pour  6tre 
reproduit  en  un  seul  cliche,  il  est  filmA  A  partir 
de  I'angle  supirieur  gauche,  de  gauche  A  drolte. 
et  de  haut  en  bas.  en  prenant  le  nombre 
d'images  nicessalre.  Les  diagrammes  suivants 
illustrent  la  mithode. 


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/:!lliil!iiil!si,;!i-«^^J^ 


,j,    NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


IIY 


WILLIAM  HOWARD  RUSSELL. 


f> 


NEW    YORK: 
HARPER    &    BROTHERS,    PUBLISHERS. 

FBANELIM    SQUARE. 
18  63. 


IN  1 


TO 


RICHARD    QUAIN,  M.D., 

€^m  Mum  w  MuM 


IN  TESTIMONY  OF  THE  REGARD  AND  GRATITUDE  OF 


THE  AUTHOR 


A  BOO 

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INTRODUCTORY. 


A  BOOK  which  needs  apologies  ought  never  to  have  been  written.  This 
is  a  canon  of  criticism  so  universally  accepted,  that  autliors  have  abstained 
of  late  days  from  attempting  to  disarm  hostility  by  confessions  of  weakness, 
and  are  almost  afraid  to  say  a  prefatory  word  to  the  gentle  reader. 

It  is  not  to  plead  in  mitigation  of  punishment  or  make  an  appeal  ad  7?iw- 
ei'icurdiam,  I  break  through  the  ordinary  practice,  but  by  way  of  introduction 
and  explanation  to  those  who  may  read  this  volume,  I  may  remark  that 
it  consists  for  the  most  part  of  extracts  from  the  diaries  and  note-books 
which  I  assiduously  kept  whilst  I  was  in  the  United  States,  as  records  of  the 
events  and  impressions  of  the  hour.  I  have  been  obliged  to  omit  many  pas- 
sages which  might  cause  pain  or  injury  to  individuals  still  living  in  the  midst 
of  a  civil  war,  but  the  spirit  of  the  original  is  preserved  as  far  as  possible, 
and  I  would  entreat  my  readers  to  attribute  the  frequent  use  of  the  personal 
pronoun  and  personal  references  to  the  nature  of  the  sources  from  which  the 
work  is  derived,  rather  than  to  the  vanity  of  the  author. 

Had  the  pages  been  literally  transcribed,  without  omitting  a  word,  the  fate 
of  one  whose  task  it  was  to  sift  the  true  from  the  false  and  to  avoid  error  in 
statements  of  fact,  in  a  country  remarkable  for  the  extraordinary  fertility 
with  which  the  unreal  is  produced,  would  have  excited  some  commiseration ; 
but  though  there  is  much  extenuated  in  these  pages,  there  is  not,  I  believe, 
aught  set  down  in  malice.  My  aim  has  been  to  retain  so  much  rehting  to 
events  passing  under  my  eyes,  or  to  persons  who  have  become  famous  in 
this  great  struggle,  as  may  prove  interesting  at  present,  though  they  did  not 
at  the  time  always  appear  in  their  just  proportions  of  littleness  or  magnitude. 

During  my  sojourn  in  the  States,  many  stars  of  the  first  order  have  risen 
out  of  space  or  fallen  into  the  outer  darkness.  The  watching,  trustful  mil- 
lions have  hailed  with  delight  or  witnessed  with  terror  the  advent  of  a  shin- 
ing planet  or  a  splendid  comet,  which  a  little  observation  has  resolved  into 
watery  nebulas.  In  the  Southern  hemisphere,  Bragg  and  Beauregard  have 
given  place  to  Lee  and  Jackson.  In  the  North  M'Dowell  has  faded  away 
before  M'Clellan,  who  having  been  put  for  a  short  season  in  eclipse  by  Pope, 
only  to  culminate  with  increased  effulgence,  has  finally  paled  away  before 
Burnside.  The  heroes  of  yesterday  are  the  martyrs  or  outcasts  of  to-day, 
and  no  American  general  needs  a  slave  behind  him  in  the  triumphal  chariot 
to  remind  him  that  he  is  a  mortal.  Had  I  foreseen  such  rapid  whirls  in 
the  wheel  of  fortune  I  might  have  taken  more  note  of  the  men  who  were  be- 
low, but  my  business  was  not  to  speculate  but  to  describe. 

The  day  I  landed  at  Norfolk,  a  tall  lean  man,  ill-dressed,  in  a  slouching 
hat  and  wrinkled  clothes,  stood,  with  his  arms  folded  and  legs  wide  apart, 
against  the  wall  of  the  hotel  looking  on  the  ground.    One  of  the  waiters 


/" 


vm 


INTRODUCTORY. 


1 


told  me  it  was  "Professor  Jackson,"  and  I  have  been  plagued  by  suspicions 
that  in  refusing  an  introduction  which  was  offered  to  me,  I  missed  an  oppor- 
tunity of  making  the  acquaintance  of  the  man  of  the  stonewalls  of  Winches- 
ter. But,  on  the  whole,  I  have  been  fortunate  in  meeting  many  of  the  sol- 
diers and  statesmen  who  have  distinguished  themselves  in  this  unhappy  war. 

Although  I  have  never  for  one  moment  seen  reason  to  change  the  opinion 
I  expressed  in  the  first  letter  I  wrote  from  the  States,  that  the  Union  as  it 
was  could  never  be  restored,  I  am  satisfied  the  Free  States  of  the  Noith  wiil 
retain  and  gain  great  advantages  by  the  struggle,  if  they  will  only  set  them- 
selves at  work  to  accomplish  their  destiny,  nor  lose  their  time  in  sighing 
over  vanished  empire  or  indulging  in  abortive  dreams  of  conquest  and 
schemes  of  vengeance ;  but  my  readers  need  not  expect  from  me  any  dis- 
sertations on  the  present  or  future  of  the  great  republics,  which  have  been 
so  loosely  united  by  the  Federal  baud,  nor  any  description  of  the  political 
system,  social  life,  manners  or  customs  of  the  people,  beyond  those  which 
may  be  incidentally  gathered  from  these  pages. 

It  has  been  my  fate  to  see  Americans  under  their  most  unfavourable  as- 
pect ;  with  all  their  national  feelings,  as  well  as  the  vices  of  our  common 
humanity,  exaggerated  and  developed  b}'  the  terrible  agonies  of  a  civil  war, 
and  the  throes  of  political  revolution.  Instead  of  the  bum  of  industry,  I 
heard  the  noise  of  cannon  through  the  land.  Society  convulsed  by  cruel 
passions  and  apprehensions,  and  shattered  by  violence,  presented  its  broken 
angles  to  the  stranger,  and  I  can  readily  conceive  that  the  America  I  saw, 
was  no  more  like  the  country  of  which  her  people  boast  so  loudly,  than  the 
St.  Lawrence  when  the  ice  breaks  up,  hurrying  onwards  the  rugged  drift  and 
its  snowy  crust  of  crags,  with  hoarse  roar,  and  crashing  with  irresistible  force 
and  fury  to  the  sea,  resembles  the  calm  flow  of  the  stately  river  on  a  sum- 
mer's day. 

The  swarming  communities  and  happy  homes  of  tlie  New  England  States 
— the  most  complete  exhibition  of  the  best  results  of  the  American  system 
— it  was  denied  me  to  witness ;  but  if  I  was  deprived  of  the  gratificat'  a  of 
worshipping  the  frigid  intellectualism  of  Boston,  I  saw  the  effects  in  the  field, 
among  the  men  I  met,  of  the  teachings  and  theories  of  the  political,  moral, 
and  religious  professors,  who  are  the  chiefs  of  that  universal  Yankee  nation, 
i-s  they  delight  to  call  themselves,  and  there  recognised  the  radical  differ- 
ences which  must  sever  them  for  ever  from  a  true  union  with  the  Southern 
States. 

The  contest,  of  which  no  man  can  predict  the  end  or  result,  still  rages,  but 
notwithstanding  the  darkness  and  clouds  which  rest  upon  the  scene,  I  place 
so  much  reliance  on  the  innate  good  qualities  of  the  great  nations  which  are 
settled  on  the  Continent  of  North  America,  as  to  believe  they  will  be  all  the 
better  for  the  sv/eet  uses  of  adversity ;  learning  to  live  in  peace  with  their 
neighbours,  adapting  their  institutions  to  their  necessities,  and  working  out, 
not  in  their  old  arrogance  and  insolence— mistaking  material  prosperity  for 
good  government— but  in  fear  and  trembling,  .he  experiment  on  which  they 
have  cast  so  much  discredit,  and  the  glorious  career  which  misfortune  and 
folly  can  arrest  but  for  a  time.  W.  H.  RUSSELL. 

London,  December  8, 1862. 


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e  Southern 

I  rages,  but 
3ne,  I  place 
;  which  are 
1  be  all  the 
■  with  their 
irking  out, 
)sperity  for 
which  they 
brtune  and 
SSELL. 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


I  CHAPTER  I. 

Separtaro  from  Cork— The  Atlantic  In  March— Fellow 
*paHHengei;8— American  politicti  and  parties — The  Iridh 
?in  New  York — Approacli  to  New  York. 

On  the  evening  of  3rd  March,  1861, 1  was  trans- 
rred  from  the  little  steam-tender,  which  plies 
itween  Cork  and  the  anchorage  of  the  Cunard 
J  Tiers  at  the  entrance  of  the  harbour,  to  the 
ck  of  the  good  steamship  Arabia,  Captain 
ne ;  and  at  nightfall  we  were  breasting  the 
g  roUiriW  waves  of  the  Atlantic. 
The  voyago  across  the  Atlantic  has  been  done 
tar  so  many  abio  hands,  that  it  would  be  super- 
Ifaous  to  describe  mine,  though  it  is  certain  no 
'"  e  passage  ever  resembled  another,  and  no  crew 
sat  of  passengers  in  one  ship  were  ever  iden- 
[cal  with  those  in  any  other.  For  thirteen  days 
e  Atlantic  followed  its  usual  course  in  the 
onth  of  March,  and  was  true  to  the  traditions 
hich  affix  to  it  in  that  month  the  character  of 
olence  and  moody  changes,  from  bad  to  worse 
d  back  again.  The  wind  was  sometimes  dead 
^igainst  us,  and  then  the  infelix  Arabia  with  iron 
;^ergy  set  to  work,  storming  great  Malakhofs 
|f  water,  which  rose  above  her  like  the  side  of 
ipme  sward-coated  hill  crested  with  snow-drifts  ; 
|Bid  having  gained  the  summit,  and  settled  for 
instant  among  the  hissing  sea-horses,  ran 
llunging  headlong  down  to  the  encounter  of 
nother  wave,  and  thus  went  battling  on  with 
eart  of  fire  and  breatii  of  flame — iijneus  est  ollis 
iflffor — hour  after  hour. 

The  traveller  for  pleasure  had  better  avoid  the 
tlantic  in  the  month  of  March.     The  wmd  was 
ragtimes  with  us,  and  then  tho  sensations  of 
e  passengers  and  the  conduct  of  the  ship  were 
retty  much  as  they  had  been  during  the  adverse 
reezes  before,  varied  by  tho  performance  of  a 
ery  violent  "yawing"  from  side  to  side,  and 
ertain  squashings  of  tho  paddle-boxes  into  the 
easty  waters,  which  now  ran  a  ra£0  with  r.s  and 
ach  other,  as  if  bent  on  chasing  us  down,  and 
oiling  their  boarding  parties  with  foaming  crests 
down  on  our  decks.     Tlio  boss,  whicli  we  repre- 
lented  in  the  stormy  shield  around  us,  still  moved 
on ;  day  by  day  our  microcosm  shifted  its  posi- 
tion in  the  ever-advancing  circle  of  which  it  was 
i  the  centre,  with  all  around  and  within  it  ever 
imdergoing  a  sen  change. 

The  Americans  on  board  were,  of  course,  the 
most  interesting  passengers  to  one  like  myself, 
who  was  going  out  to  visit  the  great  Republic 
tmder  very  peculiar  circumstances.  Tlicre  was, 
first.  Major  Gai'nett,  a  Virginian,  who  was  going 
back  to  his  State  to  follow  her  fortunes.  He 
was  an  officer  of  tho  regular  army  of  the  United 
States,  who  had  served  with  distinction  in  Mex- 
ico ;  an  accomplished,  well-read  mnn  ;  reserved, 
and  rather  gloomy ;  full  of  the  doctrine  of  States' 
Rigiits,  and  animated  with  r.  considerable  feeling 
of  contempt  for  the  New  Englanders,  and  with 
the  strongest  ju'cjudic^s  in  favour  of  the  institu- 
tion of  slavery.     He  laughed  to  scorn  tlie  doc- 


trine that  all  men  are  born  equal  in  the  sense 
of  all  men  hav'  equal  rights.  Some  were 
born  to  be  slav  -some  to  be  labourers  in  the 
lower  strata  above  the  slaves — others  to  follow 
useful  meclianical  arts — the  rest  were  born  to 
rule  and  to  own  their  fellow-men.  There  was 
next  a  young  Carolinian,  who  had  left  his  post 
as  attache'  at  St.  Petersburgh  to  return  to  his 
State :  thus,  in  all  probability,  avoiding  the  in- 
evitable supercession  which  awaited  him  at  the 
hands  of  the  new  Government  at  Washington. 
He  represented,  in  an  intensified  form,  all  the 
Virginian's  ojjinions,  and  held  that  Mr.  Cal- 
houn's interpretation  of  the  Constitution  was  in- 
controvertibly  right.  There  were  difficulties  in 
the  way  of  State  sovereignty,  he  confessed ;  but 
they  were  only  in  detail — the  principle  was  un- 
assailable. 

To  Mr.  Mitchell,  South  Carolina  represented  a 
power  quite  sufficient  to  meet  all  the  Northern 
States  in  arms.  "The  North  will  attempt  to 
blockade  our  coast,"  said  he  ;  "and  in  that  case, 
tho  South  must  march  to  the  attack  by  land, 
and  will  probably  act  in  Virginia."  "But  if  the 
North  attempts  to  do  more  than  institute  a  block- 
ade?— for  instance,  if  their  fleet  attack  your  sea- 
])ort  towns,  and  land  men  to  occupy  them?" 
"Oh,  in  that  case,  we  are  quite  certain  of  beat- 
ing tliem."  Mr.  Julian  Mitchell  was  indignant 
at  the  idea  of  submitting  to  the  rule  of  a  "rail- 
splitter,"  and  of  such  men  as  Seward  and  Cam- 
eron. "No  gentleman  could  tolerate  such  a 
Government. " 

An  American  family  from  Nashville,  consist- 
ing of  a  lady  and  her  son  and  daughter,  were 
warm  advocates  of  a  "gentlemanly"  govern- 
ment, and  derided  the  Yankees  with  great  bit- 
terness. But  they  were  by  no  means  as  ready 
to  encounter  the  evils  of  war,  or  to  break  up  the 
Union,  as  the  South-Carolinian  or  the  Virginian ; 
and  in  that  respect  tlicy  r,.presented,  I  was  told, 
the  negative  feelings  of  the  Border  States,  which 
are  disposed  to  a  temporising,  moderate  course 
of  action,  most  distasteful  to  the  passionate  se- 
ceders. 

There  were  also  two  Louisiana  sugar-])lanters 
on  board — one  owning  500  slaves,  the  other  rich 
in  some  thousands  of  acres ;  they  seemed  to  care 
very  little  for  the  political  aspects  of  the  ques- 
tion of  Secession,  and  regarded  it  merely  in  ref- 
erence to  its  bearing  on  the  sugar  crop,  and  the 
security  of  slave  property.  Secession  was  re- 
garded by  them  as  a  very  extreme  and  violent 
measure,  to  which  tlio  State  had  resorted  with 
reluctance  ;  but  it  was  obvious,  at  the  same  time, 
that,  in  event  of  a  general  secession  of  the  Slave 
States  from  the  North,  Louisiana  could  neither 
have  maintained  her  connection  with  the  North, 
nor  have  stood  in  isolation  from  her  sister  States, 

All  these,  and  some  others  who  were  fellow 
passengers,  might  be  termed  Americans  —  pw 
saiifl.  Garnctt  belonged  to  a  very  old  family  in 
Virginia.    Mitchell  came  from  a  stock  of  several 


10 


MY  DIAUY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


generations'  residence  in  South  Carolina.  Tlie 
Tennessee  family  were,  in  speech  and  thought, 
types  of  what  Europeans  consider  true  Ameri- 
cans to  be.  Now  take  the  other  side.  First 
there  was  an  exceedi-gly  intelligent,  well-in- 
formed young  merchant  of  New  York— nephew 
of  an  English  county  Member,  known  for  his 
wealth,  liberality,  and  munificence.  Educated 
at  a  university  "in  the  Northern  States,  he  had 
lived  a  good  deal  in  England,  and  was  returning 
to  his  father  from  a  course  of  book-keeping  in 
the  house  of  his  uncle's  firm  in  Liverpool.  His 
father  and  uncle  were  born  near  Coleraine,  and 
he  had  just  been  to  see  the  humble  dwelling, 
close  to  the  Giant's  Causeway,  which  sheltered 
their  youth,  and  where  their  race  was  cradled. 
In  the  war  of  1812,  the  brothers  were  about  sail- 
ing in  a  privateer  fitted  out  to  prey  against  the 
British,  when  accident  fixed  one  of  them  in  Liv- 
erpool, where  he  founded  the  house  which  has 
grown  so  greatly  with  the  development  of  trade 
between  New  York  and  Lancashire,  whilst  the 
other  settled  in  the  States.  Without  being  vio- 
lent in  tone,  the  young  Northerner  was  very  res- 
olute in  temper,  and  determined  to  do  all  which 
lay  in  his  power  to  prevent  the  "glorious  Union" 
being  broken  np. 

The  "  Union"  has  thus  founded  on  two  con- 
tinents a  family  of  princely  wealth,  whose  orig- 
inals had  probably  fought  with  bitterness  in  their 
early  youth  against  the  union  of  Great  Britain 
and  Ireland.  But  did  Mr.  Brown,  or  the  other 
Americans  who  shared  his  views,  unreservedly 
approve  of  American  institutions,  and  consider 
them  faultless  ?  By  no  means.  The  New  York- 
ers especially  were  eloquent  on  the  evils  of  the 
suffrage,  and  of  the  licence  of  the  Press  in  their 
own  city ;  and  displayed  much  irritation  on  the 
subject  of  naturalisation.  The  Irish  were  useful, 
in  their  way,  making  roads  and  working  hard, 
for  there  were  few  Americans  who  condescended 
to  manual  labour,  or  who  could  not  make  far 
more  money  in  higher  kinds  of  work  ;  but  it  was 
absurd  to  give  the  Irish  votes  which  they  used 
to  destroy  the  influence  of  native-born  citizens, 
and  to  sustain  a  corporation  and  local  bodies  of 
unsurpassable  turpitude,  corruption,  and  ineffi- 
ciency. 

Another  young  merchant,  a  college  friend  of 
the  former,  was  just  retur'iing  from  a  tour  in 
Europe  with  his  amiable  sister.  His  father  was 
the  son  of  an  Irish  immigrant,  but  he  did  not  at 
all  differ  from  the  other  gentlemen  of  his  city  in 
the  estimate  in  which  he  held  the  Irish  element ; 
and  though  he  had  no  strong  bias  one  way  or 
other,  he  was  quite  resolved  to  sujjport  tlie  ab- 
straction called  the  Union,  and  its  representative 
fact — the  Federal  Government.  Thus  the  agri- 
culturist and  the  trader — the  grower  of  raw  prod- 
uce and  the  merchant  who  dealt  in  it — were  at 
opposite  sides  of  the  question — wide  apart  as  the 
Northern  and  Southern  Poles.  They  sat  apart, 
ate  apart,  talked  apart — two  distinct  nations,  with 
intense  antipathies  on  the  part  of  tlic  St  nth,  which 
was  active  and  aggressive  in  all  its  demonstra- 
tions. 

The  Southerners  have  got  a  strange  charge  ue 
plus  against  the  Irish.  It  appears  that  tlie  reg- 
ular army  of  the  United  States  is  mainly  com- 
posed of  Irish  and  Germans;  very  few  Ameri- 
cans indeed  being  low  enough,  or  martially  dis- 
posed enough,  to  "take  the  shilling."    In  case 


of  a  conflict,  which  these  gentlemen  think  inevi- 
table, "low  Irish  mercenaries  would,"  they  say, 
'"be  pitted  against  the  gentlemen  of  the  South, 
and  tho  best  blood  in  the  States  would  be  spilled 
by  fellows  whose  lives  arc  worth  nothing  what- 
ever." Poor  Paddy  is  regarded  as  a  mere  work- 
ing machine,  fit,  at  best,  to  serve  against  Choc- 
taws  and  Seminoles.  His  facility  of  rcprodnc- 
tion  has  to  compensate  for  the  waste  which  is 
caused  by  the  development  in  his  unhappy  head 
of  the  organs  of  combativencss  and  destructive- 
ncss.  Certainly,  if  the  war  is  to  be  carried  on  by 
the  United  States'  regulars,  the  Southern  Strtes 
will  soon  dispose  of  them,  for  they  do  not  num- 
ber 20,000  men,  and  their  oflUcers  are  not  mucu 
in  love  with  the  new  Government.  But  can  it 
come  to  War  ?  Mr.  Mitchell  assures  me  I  shall 
see  some  "pretty  tall  fighting." 

The  most  vehement  Northerners  in  the  steamer 
are  Germans,  who  are  going  to  the  States  for  the 
first  time,  or  returning  there.  They  have  become 
satisfied,  no  doubt,  by  long  process  of  reasoning, 
that  there  is  some  anomaly  in  the  condition  of  n 
country  which  calls  itself  the  land  of  liberty,  and 
is  at  the  same  time  the  potent  palladium  of  serf- 
dom and  human  chattelry.  When  they  are  not 
sea-sick,  which  is  seldom,  the  Teutons  rise  up  in 
all  the  might  of  their  misery  and  dirt,  and,  mak- 
ing spasmodic  efforts  to  smoke,  blurt  out  between 
the  puffs,  or  in  moody  intervals,  sundry  remarks 
on  American  politics.  "These  are  the  swine," 
quoth  Garnett,  "who  arc  swept  out  of  German 
gutters  as  too  foul  for  them,  and  who  come  over 
to  the  States  and  presume  to  control  the  fate  and 
the  wishes  of  our  people.  In  their  own  country 
they  proved  they  were  incapable  of  either  earn- 
ing a  living,  or  exercising  the  duties  of  citizen- 
ship ;  and  they  seek  in  our  country  a  licence  de- 
nied them  in  their  own,  and  the  means  of  living 
which  they  could  not  acquire  anywhere  else." 

And  for  myself  I  may  tridy  say  this,  that  no 
man  ever  set  foot  on  the  soil  of  the  United  States 
with  a  stronger  and  sincerer  desire  to  ascertain 
and  to  tell  the  truth,  as  it  appeared  to  him.  I 
had  no  theories  to  uphold,  no  prejudices  to  sub- 
serve, no  interests  to  advance,  no  instructions  to 
fulfil ;  I  was  a  free  agent,  bound  to  communicate 
to  the  powerful  organ  of  public  opinion  I  repre- 
sented, my  own  daily  impressions  of  the  men, 
scenes,  and  actions  around  me,  without  fear,  fa- 
vour, or  affection  of  or  for  anything  but  thrt 
which  seemed  to  me  to  be  the  truth.  As  to  the 
questions  which  were  distracting  the  States,  my 
mind  was  a  tabu/a  rasa,  or,  rather,  tabula  von 
saipta.  I  felt  indisposed  to  view  with  favour  a 
rebellion  against  one  of  the  established  and  rec- 
ognized governi.  'nts  of  the  world,  which,  though 
not  friendly  to  Great  Britain,  nor  opposed  to  slav^ 
crj,  was  without,  so  far  as  I  could  see,  any  legit- 
imate cause  of  revolt,  or  any  injury  or  grievance, 
perpetrated  or  imminent,  assailed  by  States  still 
less  friendly  to  us,  which  the  slave  States,  pure 
and  simple,  certainly  were  and  probably  arc.  At 
the  same  time,  I  knew  that  these  were  grounds 
which  I  could  justly  take,  whilst  they  would  not 
be  tenable  by  an  American,  who  is  by  the  theory 
on  which  he  revolted  from  us  and  created  his  own 
system  of  government,  bound  to  recognise  the 
principle  that  the  discontent  of  the  popular  ma- 
jority with  its  rulers,  is  ample  ground  and  justi- 
ficiition  for  revolution. 

It  was  on  the  morning  of  the  fourteenth  day 


that  the  shore 
irift  of  a  cold 
fortless,  and  i 
Bred  with  sno\ 
noon  the  sun  ( 
ind  the  sails 
toasters  whic 
lifferent  the  g 
tailed  vessels 
J)illyboy8  and 
[>f  our  isle ! 
awards  us  a 
like  the  once  f 
in  green,  sail 
jasts,  no  tops 
ms  crowded  w 
md  coats,  anc 
pzens  on  pleas 
t)f  the  kind. 
khe  hats  and 
fliers  who  act  i 
["heir  boat  wa 
lainchains ; 
Bome  over  the 
ers  to  the  cap 
|he  eager  pass 
the  centre  of  t 


vArrivnl  at  Now 

/.fusions  as  to  Noi 

■;.   tel — Breakfast 

,    Mr.  Bancroft- 

The  entrati 

^s  on  16th  M 

:*r  picturesque 

iseveral  passen 

ently  say  it  wt 

distinguish  tht 

,  itry  houses,  wh 

^summer.    Bui 

I  close  by  a  lo^ 

I  roofs,  above  tl 

jchurches  and 

igreat  city.     ( 

I  of  the  entranc 

I  mated  work  < 

[Bomething  lik 

j  close  to  the  a\ 

1  faces — appare 

tensive  works 

it,  which  rises 

•  of  more  than 

of  an  extensiv 

;  parapets  coul 

M  the  right  han^ 

^  batteries  and 

other  regular 

and  higher  u; 

city  on  the  sat 

fort  on  the  w 

city  renders  i 

from  the  sea 

hazardous  to 

unless  in  pov 

wind  and  tid 

their  mercy. 

is  now  all  but 

cumstances  ir 

It  was  darl 


1 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


11 


!Tnen  think  inevi- 
rvould,"  they  say, 
icn  of  the  South, 
J  would  be  spilled 
th  nothing  what- 
1  as  a  mere  work- 
ve  against  Choc- 
ility  of  rcprodnc- 
e  waste  which  is 
liis  unhappy  head 
1  and  destiuctive- 

0  be  carried  on  by 
3  Southern  Stntes 
they  do  not  num- 
:-ers  are  not  muc  n 
lent.  But  can  it 
issures  me  I  shall 

lers  in  the  steamer 

1  the  States  for  the 
rhey  have  become 
cess  of  reasoning, 
the  condition  of  n 
ind  of  liberty,  and 
palladium  of  serf- 
/^hen  they  are  not 
rcutons  rise  up  in 
id  dirt,  nnd,  mak- 
blurt  out  between 
8,  sundry  remarks 
le  are  the  swine," 
pt  out  of  German 
id  who  come  over 
mtrol  the  fate  and 
their  own  country 
)le  of  either  earn- 

duties  of  citizen- 
ntry  a  licence  de- 
le  means  of  living 
ny where  else." 
say  this,  that  no 
the  United  States 
Icsire  to  ascertain 
leared  to  liim.  I 
prejudices  to  sub- 
no  instructions  to 
d  to  communicate 
;  opinion  I  reprc- 
ions  of  tlic  men, 
,  without  fear,  fa- 
nything  but  thrt 
truth.  As  to  the 
ng  the  States,  my 
athcr,  tabula  von 
iew  with  favour  a 
uhlished  and  rec- 
•Id,  which,  though 
)r  opposed  to  slav- 
uld  see,  any  legit- 
jury  or  grievance, 
led  by  States  still 
slave  States,  pure 
probably  nic.  At 
esc  were  grounds 
St  they  would  not 
o  is  by  the  theory 
d  created  his  own 
to  recognise  the 
the  popular  ma- 
ground  and  justi- 

le  fourteenth  day 


that  the  shores  of  New  York  loomed  through  the 
irift  of  a  cold  wintry  sea,  leaden-giey  and  com- 
jfortless,  and  in  a  little  time  more  the  coast,  cov- 
Bred  with  snow,  rose  in  sight.  Towards  the  after- 
noon the  sun  came  out  and  brightened  the  waters 
md  the  sails  of  the  pretty  trim  schooners  and 
toasters  which  were  dancing  around  us.  How 
iifferent  the  graceful,  tautly-rigged,  clean,  white- 
iiailed  vessels  from  the  round-sterned,  lumpish 
))illyboy8  and  nondescripts  of  the  eastern  coast 
t>f  our  isle !    Presently  there  came  bowling  down 

jwards  us  a  lively  little  schooner-yacht,  very 
like  the  once  famed  "  America, "  brightly  painted 
in  green,  sails  dazzling  white,  lofty  ponderous 

lasts,  no  tops.    As  she  came  nearer,  we  saw  she 

iras  crowded  with  men  in  chimney-pot  black  hats, 
»nd  coats,  and  the  like — perhaps  a  party  of  cit- 
izens on  pleasure,  cold  as  the  day  was.  Nothing 
jf  the  Kind.  The  craft  was  our  pilot-boat,  and 
:^the  hats  and  coats  belonged  to  the  hardy  mari- 
j  ners  who  act  as  guides  to  the  port  of  New  York. 
Their  boat  was  lowered,  and  was  soon  under  our 

lainchains ;  and  a  chimney-pot  hat  having  duly 
Bome  over  the  side,  delivered  a  mass  of  newspa- 

ers  to  the  captain,  which  were  distributed  among 
|he  eager  passengers,  when  each  at  once  became 
khe  centre  of  a  spell-bound  circle. 


CHAPTER  II. 


iiifLrrival  at  Now  York— Custom  houne — General  irapres- 
.'sTsioiis  as  to  North  and  South— Struct  in  New  York— IIo- 
'%  tel — Breakfast — American  women  and  men — Visit  to 
,.  Mr.  Bancroft — Street  railways. 

The  entrance  to  New  York,  as  it  was  seen  by 
^  on  16th  March,  is  not  remarkable  for  beauty 
or  picturesque  scenery,  and  I  incurred  the  ire  of 
leeveral  passengers,  because  I  could  not  consist- 
ently say  it  was  very  pretty.     It  was  difficult  to 
distinguish  through  the  snow  the  villas  and  coun- 
|try  houses,  which  are  said  to  be  so  charming  in 
Jsummer.    But  beyond  these  rose  a  forest  of  masts 
Iclose  by  a  low  shore  of  brick  houses  and  blue 
[roofs,  above  the  level  of  which  again  spires  of 
Ichurches  and  domes  and  cupolas  announced  a 
Igreat  city.     On  our  left,  at  t!ie  narrowest  part 
I  of  the  entrance,  there  was  a  very  powerful  case- 
j  mated  work  of  fine  close  stone,  in  three  tiers, 
I  something  like  Fort  Paul   at  Sebastopol,  built 
1  close  to  the  water's  edge,  and  armed  on  all  the 
'  faces — apparently  a  tetragon  with  bastions.    Ex- 
^  tensive  works  were  going  on  at  the  ground  above' 
%  it,  which  rises  rapidly  from  the  water  to  a  height 
^  of  more  than  a  hundred  feet,  and  the  rudiments 
of  an  extensive  work  and  heavily  armed  earthen 
parapets  could  be  seen  from  the  channel.     On 
the  right  hand,  crossing  its  fire  with  that  of  the 
batteries  and  works  on  our  left,  there  was  an- 
I  other  regular  stone  f'   *  with  fortified  enceinte, 
and  higher  up  the  channel,  as  it  widens  to  the 
city  on  the  same  side,  I  could  make  out  a  smaller 
fort  on  the  water's  edge.     Tlie  situation  of  the 
city  renders  it  susceptible  of  powerful  dcfonce 
from  the  sea-side,  and  even  now  it  would  be 
hazardous  to  run  the  gauntlet  of  the  batteries 
unless  in  powerful  iron-clad  ships  favoured  by 
wind  and  tide,  which  could  hold  the  place  at 
their  mercy.     Against  a  wooden  fleet  New  York 
is  now  all  but  secure,  save  under  exceptional  cir- 
cumstances in  favour  of  the  assailants. 
It  was  dark  as  the  steamer  hauled  up  along- 


side the  wharf  on  the  New  Jersey  side  of  the  riv- 
er ;  but  ere  the  sun  set  I  could  form  some  idea 
of  the  activity  and  industry  of  the  people  from 
the  enormous  ferry-boats  moving  backwards  and 
forwards  like  arks  on  the  water,  impelled  by  the 
great  walking-beam  engines,  the  crowded  stream 
full  of  merchantmen,  steamers,  and  small  craft, 
the  smoke  of  the  factories,  the  tall  chimneys — 
the  net-work  of  boats  and  rafts — all  the  evidences 
of  commercial  life  in  full  development.  Wliat  a 
swarming,  eager  crowd  on  the  quay-wall !  what 
a  wonderful  ragged  regiment  of  labourers  and 
porters,  hailing  us  in  broken  or  Hibcrnianized 
English !  "Those  are  all  Irish  and  Germans," 
anxiously  explained  a  New  Yorker.  "I'll  bet 
fifty  dollars  there's  not  a  native-born  American 
among  them." 

With  Anglo-Saxon  disregard  of  official  insig- 
nia, American  Custom  House  officers  dress  very 
much  like  their  British  brethren,  without  any 
sign  of  authority  as  faint  as  even  the  brass  but- 
ton and  crown,  so  that  the  stranger  is  somewhat 
uneasy  when  he  sees  unauthorised-looking  people 
taking  liberties  with  his  plunder,  especially  after 
the  admonition  he  has  received  on  board  ship  to 
look  sharp  about  his  things  as  soon  as  he  lands. 
I  was  provided  with  an  introduction  to  one  of  the 
principal  officers,  and  he  facilitated  my  egress, 
and  at  last  I  was  bundled  out  through  a  gate 
into  a  dark  alley,  ankle  deep  in  melted  snow 
and  mud,  where  I  was  at  once  engaged  in  a 
brisk  encounter  with  my  Irish  porterhood,  and, 
after  a  long  struggle,  succeeded  in  stowing  my 
eifects  in  and  about  a  remarkable  specimen  of 
the  hackney-coach  of  the  last  century,  very  high 
in  the  axle,  and  weak  in  the  springs,  which  plash- 
ed dov/n  towards  the  river  through  a  crowd  of 
men  shouting  out,  "You  haven't  paid  me  yet, 
yer  honour.  You  haven't  given  anything  to  your 
own  man  that's  been  waiting  here  the  last  six 
months  for  your  honour!"  "/'?«  the  man  that 
put  the  lugidge  up,  sir,"&c.,  &c.  The  coach 
darted  on  board  a  great  steam  ferr}--boat,  which 
had  on  board  a  number  of  similar  vehicles,  and 
omnibuses,  and  the  gliding,  shifting  lights,  and 
the  deep,  strong  breathing  of  the  engine,  told  me 
I  was  moving  and  afloat  before  I  was  otherwise 
aware  of  it.  A  few  minutes  brought  us  over  to 
the  lights  on  the  New  York  side — a  jerk  or  two 
up  a  steep  incline — and  we  were  rattling  over  a 
most  abominable  pavement,  plunging  into  mud- 
holes,  squashing  through  snow-heaps  in  ill-light- 
ed, narrow  streets  of  low,  mean-looking,  wooden 
houses,  of  which  an  unusual  proportion  appeared 
to  be  lager-bier  saloons,  whisky-shops,  oyster- 
houses,  and  billiard  and  smoking  establisnments. 

The  crowd  on  tiie  pavement  were  very  much 
what  a  stranger  would  be  likely  to  see  in  a  very 
bad  part  of  London,  Antwerp,  or  Hamburg,  with 
a  dash  of  the  noisy  extiberance  which  proceeds 
from  the  high  animal  spirits  that  defy  police  reg- 
ulations and  are  sufjcrior  to  police  force,  called 
"  rowdyism."  The  drive  was  long  and  tortuous; 
but  by  degrees  the  character  of  the  thoroughfares 
and  streets  improved.  At  last  we  turned  into  a 
wide  street  with  very  tall  houses,  alternating  with 
far  humbler  erections,  blazing  with  lights,  gay 
with  shop-windows,  thronged  in  spite  of  the  mud 
with  well-dressed  people,  and  pervaded  by  strings 
of  omnibuses — Oxford  Street  was  nothing  to  it 
for  length.  At  intervals  there  towered  up  a 
block  of  brickwork  and  stacco  with  long  rows 


12 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


of  windows  lighted  up  tier  above  tier,  and  a 
Hwarniing  crowd  liiissing  in  and  out  of  the  por- 
tals, which  were  recognised  as  the  barrack-like 
glory  of  American  civilisation — a  Broadway 
monster  hotel.  More  oyster -shops,  lager -bier 
saloons,  concert-rooms  of  astounding  denomina- 
tions, with  external  decorations  very  much  in 
the  style  of  the  booths  at  Bartholomew  Fair 
—churches,  restaurants,  confectioners,  private- 
houses  !  again  another  series— they  cannot  go 
on  expanding  for  ever.  The  coach  at  last  drives 
into  a  large  square,  and  lands  me  at  the  Claren- 
don Hotel, 

Whilst  I  was  crossing  the  sea,  the  President's 
Inaugural  Message,  the  composition  of  which  is 
generally  attributed  to  Mr.  Howard,  had  been  de- 
livered, and  had  reached  Eiu'ope,  and  the  causes 
which  were  at  work  in  destroying  the  cohesion 
of  the  Union,  had  acquired  greater  strength  and 
violence. 

Wliatever  force  "the  declaration  of  causes 
which  induced  the  Secession  of  South  Carolina" 
might  have  for  Carolinians,  it  could  not  influence 
a  foreigner  who  knew  nothing  at  all  of  the  rights, 
sovereignty,  and  individual  independence  of  a 
state,  which,  however,  had  no  right  to  make  war 
or  peace,  to  coin  money,  or  enter  into  treaty  ob- 
ligations with  any  other  country.  The  South 
Carolinian  was  nothing  to  us,  quoad  South  Caro- 
lina— he  was  mere'y  a  citizen  of  the  United  States, 
and  wc  knew  no  more  of  him  in  any  other  ca- 
pacity than  a  French  authority  would  know  of  a 
British  subject  as  a  Yorkshireman  or  a  Munster- 
man. 

But  the  moving  force  of  revolution  is  neither 
reason  nor  justice — it  is  most  frequently  passion 
— it  is  often  interest.  The  American,  when  he 
seeks  to  prove  that  the  Southern  States  have  no 
right  to  revolt  from  a  confederacy  of  states  cre- 
ated by  revolt,  has  by  the  principles  on  which  he 
justifies  his  own  revolution,  placed  between  him- 
self and  the  European  a  great  gulf  in  the  level 
of  argument.  According  to  the  deeds  and  words 
of  Americans,  it  is  difficult  to  see  why  South  Car- 
olina should  not  use  the  rights  claimed  for  each 
of  the  thirteen  colonies,  "to  alter  and  abolish  a 
form  of  government  when  it  becomes  destruct- 
ive of  the  ends  for  which  it  is  establislied,  and  to 
institute  a  new  one."  And  the  people  must  be 
left  to  decide  the  question  as  regards  their  own 
government  for  themselves,  or  the  principle  is 
worthless.  The  arguments,  however,  which  are 
now  going  on  are  fast  tending  towards  the  ultima 
ratio  regum.  At  present  I  find  public  attention 
is  concentrated  on  the  two  Federal  forts,  Pickens 
and  Sumter,  called  after  two  oflicers  of  the  rev- 
olutionary armies  in  the  old  war.  As  Alabama 
iind  South  Carolina  have  gone  out,  they  now  de- 
mand the  possession  of  these  forts,  as  of  the  soil 
of  their  several  states  and  attached  to  their  sov- 
ereignty. On  the  other  hand,  the  Government 
of  Mr.  Lincoln  considers  it  has  no  right  to  give 
up  any  thing  belonging  to  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment, but  evidently  desires  to  temporize  and 
evade  any  decision  which  might  precipitate  an 
attack  on  the  forts  by  the  batteries  and  forces 
])repared  to  act  against  them.  There  is  not  suf- 
iicient  garrison  in  either  for  an  adequate  defence, 
and  the  difficulty  of  procuring  supplies  is  very 
great.  Under  the  circumstances  every  one  is 
asking  what  the  Government  is  going  to  do?  The 
Southern  people  liavc  declared  they  will  resist 


any  attempt  to  supply  or  reinforce  the  garrisons, 
and  in  Charleston,  at  least,  have  shown  they 
mean  to  keep  their  word.  It  is  a  strange  situa- 
tion. The  Federal  Government,  afraid  to  speak, 
and  unable  to  act,  is  leaving  the  soldiers  to  do 
as  they  please.  In  some  instances,  officers  of 
rank,  such  as  General  Twiggs,  have  surrendered 
everything  to  the  State  authorities,  and  the  treach- 
ery and  secession  of  many  officers  in  the  army 
and  navy  no  doubt  paralyze  and  intimidate  the 
civilians  at  the  head  of  aifairs. 

Sunday,  llth  3/arcA.— The  first  thing  I  saw 
this  morning,  after  a  vision  of  a  waiter  pretend- 
ing to  brush  my  clothes  with  a  feeble  twitch  com- 
posed of  fine  fibre  had  vanished,  was  a  procession 
of  men,  forty  or  fifty  perhaps,  ]jreceded  by  a  small 
band  (by  no  excess  of  compliment  can  I  say,  of 
music),  trudging  through  the  cold  and  slush  two 
and  two :  they  wore  shamrocks,  or  the  best  re- 
semblance thereto  which  the  American  soil  can 
produce,  in  their  hats,  and  green  silk  sashes  em- 
blazoned with  crownless  harp  upon  their  coats, 
but  it  needed  not  these  insignia  to  tell  they  were 
Irishmen,  and  their  solemn  mien  indicated  that 
they  were  going  to  mass.     It  was  agreeable  to 
see  them  so  well  clad  and  respectable  looking, 
though  occasional  hats  seemed  as  if  they  had  just 
recovered  from  severe  contusions,  and  others  had 
the  picturesque  irregularity  of  outline  now  and 
then  observable  in  tlj    old  country.     The  aspect 
of  the  street  was  irregular,  and  its  abnormal  look 
was  increased  by  the  air  of  the  passers-by,  who 
at  that  hour  were  domestics — very  finely  dressed 
negroes,  Irish,  or  German.     The  coloured  ladies 
made  most  elaborate  toilettes,  and  as  they  held 
up  their  broad  crinolines  over  the  mud  looked  not 
unlike  double-stemmed  mushrooms.     "They're 
concayted  poor  craythures  them  niggers,  male 
and  faymale,"  was  the  remark  of  the  waiter  as 
he  saw  me  watching  them.     "  There  seem  to  he 
no  sparrows  in  the  streets,"  said  I.    "  Sparras!" 
he  exclaimed;   "and  then  how  did  you  think 
a  little  baste  of  a  sparra  "ould  fly  across  the 
ochcan?"    I  felt  rather  ashamed  of  myself. 

And  so  down-stairs  where  there  was  a  tahk 
d'hote  room,  with  great  long  tables  covered  with 
cloths,  plates,  and  breakfast  apparatus,  and  a 
smaller  room  inside,  to  which  I  was  directed  by 
one  of  the  white-jackctted  waiters.  Breakfast 
over,  visitors  began  to  drop  in.  At  the  "office" 
of  the  hotel,  as  it  is  styled,  there  is  a  tray  of  blank 
cards  and  a  big  pencil,  whereby  the  cardless  man 
who  is  visiting  is  enabled  to  send  you  liis  name 
and  title.  There  is  a  comfortable  "reception 
room,"  in  which  he  can  remain  and  read  the  pa- 
])crs,  if  you  are  engaged,  so  that  there  is  little 
chance  of  your  ultimately  escaping  him.  And, 
indeed,  not  one  of  those  who  came  had  any  but 
most  hospitable  intents. 

Out  of  doors  the  weather  was  not  tempting. 
The  snow  lay  in  irregular  layers  and  discoloured 
mounds  along  the  streets,  and  the  gutters  gorged 
with  "snow-bree"  flooded  the  broken  pavement. 
But  after  a  time  the  crowds  began  to  issue  from 
the  churches,  and  it  was  announced  as  the  ne- 
cessity of  the  day,  that  we  were  to  walk  up  and 
down  the  Fifth  Avenue  and  look  at  each  othT, 
This  is  the  west-end  of  London — its  Belgravia 
and  Grosvenoria  represented  in  one  long  street, 
with  oflfshoots  of  inferior  dignity  at  right  angles 
to  it.  Somi'  of  the  houses  are  handsoipc,  but  the 
greater  number  have  a  compressed,  squeezed-up 


'D 


aspect,  which  a 

rowness  of  fron 

of  the  building, 

new,  as  if  they 

most  astonishing 

of  the  city.    As 

ant  feature  in  tl 

generally  a  nan 

for  existence  bet 

of  the  next  hous 

ways  provided  wi 

ings,  is  of  some 

much  better  thai 

erously  thrown  o 

with  curtains  ai 

which  are  doubh 

frequently  of  plat 

are  on  the  same 

ment  story  bene 

flights  of  steps,  tl 

the  entrance  belc 

is  the  old  Dutch  f 

is  still  retained  f( 

No  liveried  set 

streets,  the  doorv 

faces  in  gaudy  ca 

dy"  in  crinoline  a 

charm  of  the  stret 

moved  up  and  do' 

of  Paris,  adapted 

weather,  were  dn 

ures  which,  if  wai 

ed  fulness  of  the 

were  svelte  and  v 

has  been  driven 

better  suited  to  th 

admit — all  prejud 

American  woman 

gloved,  but  that  s 

parisons  in  foot  o 

Eve,  except,  perhi 

The   great   and 

stranger  in  any  la 

a  few  facts.     Ev( 

"  pretty  days"  ar 

and  that  his  expe 

him  to  conclusion 

which  he  would  a 

am  quite  satisfied 

are  deficient  in  sta 

us  say,  "There  is 

well  formed,  and 

Admitting  a  certai 

by  the  bye,  were  i 

they  took  vinegar 

only  pretty,  but  sor 

ty,  the  features  fine 

lips,  indeed,  are  se! 

then  the  flashing  o 

teeth  dispels  the  de 

—  though  the  exi 

granted — naturallj 

take  so  much  paini 

fectionery,  to  depri 

My  friend  R 

knew  c\  y  one  i 
worked  our  way  tl 
talk  nearly  as  far  n 
runs  out  among  di', 
York,  through  a  rf«f 
in  masonry.  The 
into  the  country  is 


MY  DIAUY  NORTH  AND  SOtTH. 


18 


nd 

ia 

es 
he 
up 


'0 


aspect,  which  arises  from  the  compulsory  nar- 
rowness of  frontage  in  prop  trtiou  to  the  hciglit 
of  the  building;;,  and  all  of  tlicm  are  bright  and 
new,  as  if  they  were  just  finished  to  order, — a 
most  astonishing  proof  of  the  rapid  development 
of  the  city.  As  the  hall  door  is  made  an  import- 
ant feature  in  the  residence,  the  front  parlour  is 
generally  a  narrow,  lanky  apartment,  struggling 
for  existence  between  the  hall  and  the  partition 
of  the  next  house.  The  outer  door,  wliicli  is  al- 
ways provided  with  fine  carved  panels  and  mould- 
ings, is  of  some  rich  varnished  wood,  and  looks 
much  better  than  our  painted  doors.  It  is  gen- 
erously thrown  open  so  as  to  show  an  inner  door 
with  curtains  and  plate  glass.  The  windows, 
whicli  are  double  on  account  of  the  climate,  are 
frequently  of  plate  glass  also.  Some  of  the  doors 
are  on  the  same  level  as  the  street,  with  a  base- 
ment story  beneath ;  others  are  approached  by 
flights  of  steps,  the  basement  for  servants  having 
the  entrance  below  the  steps,  and  this,  I  believe, 
is  the  old  Dutch  fashion,  and  the  name  of  "stoop" 
is  still  retained  for  it. 

No  liveried  servants  are  to  be  seen  about  the 
streets,  the  doorways,  or  the  area-steps.  Black 
faces  in  gaudy  caps,  or  an  unmistakcablc  "Bid- 
dy" in  crinoline  are  their  substitutes.  The  chief 
charm  of  the  street  was  the  living  ornature  which 
moved  up  and  down  the  trottoirs.  The  costumes 
of  Paris,  adapted  to  the  severity  of  this  wintry 
weather,  were  dniped  round  pretty,  graceful  fig- 
ures which,  if  wanting  somewhat  in  that  round- 
ed fulness  of  the  Medician  Venus,  or  in  height, 
were  svelte  and  well  poised.  The  French  boot 
has  been  driven  off  the  field  by  the  Balmoral, 
better  suited  to  the  snow  ;  and  one  must  at  once 
admit — all  prejudices  notwithstanding — that  the 
American  woman  is  not  only  well  shod  and  well 
gloved,  but  that  she  has  no  reason  to  fear  com- 
parisons in  foot  or  hand  with  any  daughter  of 
Eve,  except,  perhaps,  the  Hindoo. 

The  great  and  most  frequent  fault  of  the 
stranger  in  any  land  is  that  of  generalising  from 
a  few  facts.  Every  one  must  feel  there  are 
"pretty  days"  and  "ugly  days"  in  the  world, 
and  that  his  experience  on  the  one  would  lead 
him  to  conclusions  very  different  from  that  to 
which  he  would  arrive  on  the  other.  To-day  I 
am  quite  satisfied  that  if  the  American  women 
are  deficient  in  stature  and  in  that  which  makes 
us  say,  "There  is  a  fine  woman,"  they  are  easy, 
well  formed,  and  full  of  grace  and  prettiness. 
Admitting  a  certain  pallor — which  the  Russians, 
by  the  bye,  were  wont  to  admire  so  much  that 
they  took  vinegar  to  produce  it — the  face  is  not 
only  pretty,  but  sometimes  of  extraordinary  beau- 
ty, the  features  fine,  delicate,  well-defined.  Ruby 
lips,  indeed,  are  seldom  to  be  seen,  but  now  and 
then  the  flashing  of  snowy-white  cvcnly-set  ivory 
teeth  dispels  the  delusion  that  the  Americans  are 
—  though  the  excellence  of  their  dentists  be 
granted — naturally  ill  provided  with  what  they 
take  so  much  pains,  by  eating  bon-bons  and  con- 
fectionery, to  deprive  of  their  purity  and  colour. 

My  friend  R ,  with  whom  I  was  walking, 

knew  e\  y  one  in  the  Fifth  Avenue,  and  we 
worked  our  way  through  a  succession  of  small 
talk  nearly  as  far  as  the  end  of  the  street,  which 
runs  out  among  divers  places  in  the  Statp  of  New 
York,  through  a  debris  of  unfinished  conceptions 
in  masonry.  The  abrupt  transition  of  the  city 
into  the  country  is  not  unfavourable  to  an  idea 


that  the  Fifth  Avenue  might  have  been  trans- 
ported from  some  great  workshop,  where  it  had 
been  built  to  order  by  a  desjjot,  and  dropped 
among  the  Red  men :  indeed,  the  immense 
growth  of  New  York  in  this  direction,  although 
far  inferior  to  that  of  many  parts  of  London,  is 
remiirkable  an  the  work  of  eighteen  or  twenty 
years,  and  is  rendered  more  conspicuous  by  be- 
ing developed  in  this  elongated  street,  and  its 
contingents.  I  was  introduced  to  m.iny  persons 
to-day,  and  was  only  once  or  twice  asked  how  I 
liked  New-York ;  perhaps  I  anticipated  the  ques- 
tion by  expressing  my  high  opinion  of  the  Fifth 
Avenue.  Those  to  whom  I  spoke  had  generally 
something  to  say  in  reference  to  the  troubled 
condition  of  the  country,  but  it  was  principally 
of  a  self-complacent  nature.  "  I  suj)pose,  sir, 
you  are  rather  surprised,  coming  from  Europe, 
to  find  us  so  quiet  here  in  New  York :  we  arc  a 
peculiar  people,  and  you  don't  understand  us  in 
Europe." 

In  the  afternoon  I  called  on  Mr.  Bancroft,  for- 
merly minister  to  England,  whose  work  on  Amer- 
ica must  be  rather  rudely  interrupted  by  this  cri- 
sis. Any  thing  witli  an  "ex"  to  it  in  America 
is  of  little  weight — ex-presidents  are  nobodies, 
though  they  have  had  the  advantage,  during 
their  four  years'  tenure  of  oflicc,  of  being  prayed 
for  as  long  as  they  live.  So  it  is  of  ex-ministers, 
whom  nobody  prays  for  at  all.  Mr.  Bancroft 
conversed  for  some  time  on  the  asix?ct  of  affairs, 
but  he  appeared  to  be  unabl'!  to  arrive  nt  any  set- 
tled conclusion,  except  that  Jie  republic,  though 
in  danger,  was  the  most  staMe  and  beneficial 
form  of  govcnment  in  the  wor.  1,  and  that  as  a 
Government  it  had  no  power  to  "oerce  tlie  }ieo- 
plc  of  the  South  or  to  save  itself  from  the  dan- 
ger. I  was  indeed  astonished  to  hear  from  him 
and  others  so  much  philosophical  abstract  rea- 
soning as  to  the  riglit  of  seceding,  or,  what  is 
next  to  it,  the  want  of  any  power  in  the  Govern- 
ment to  prevent  it. 

Returning  home  in  order  to  dress  for  dinner, 
I  got  into  a  street-railway-car,  a  long  low  omni- 
bus drawn  by  horses  over  a  strada /errata  in  the 
middle  of  the  street.  It  was  filled  with  people 
of  all  classes,  and  at  every  crossing  some  one  or 
other  rang  the  bell,  and  the  driver  stopped  to  let 
out  or  take  in  passengers,  whereby  the  unoffend- 
ing traveler  became  possessed  of  much  snow- 
droppings  and  mud  on  boots  and  clothing,  i 
found  that  by  far  a  greater  inconvenience  caused 
by  these  street-railways  was  the  destruction  of  all 
comfort  or  rapidity  in  ordinary  carriages. 

I  dined  with  a  New  York  banker,  who  gave 
such  a  dinner  as  bankers  generally  give  all  over 
the  world.  He  is  a  man  still  young,  very  kind- 
ly, hospitable,  well-informed,  with  a  most  charm- 
ing household — an  American  by  theory,  an  En- 
glishman in  instincts  and  tastes  —  educated  in 
Europe,  and  sprung  from  British  stock.  Con- 
sidering the  enormous  interests  he  has  at  stake, 
I  was  astonisheil  to  jjcrceive  how  calmly  he  spoke 
of  the  impending  troubles.  His  friends,  all  men 
of  position  in  New  York  society,  had  the  same 
dilctfante  tone,  and  were  as  little  anxious  for 
the  future,  or  excited  by  the  present,  as  a  party 
of  savans  chronicling  the  movements  of  a  "  mag- 
netic storm." 

On  going  back  to  the  hotel,  I  heard  that 
Judge  Daly  and  some  gentlemen  had  called  to 
request  that  I  would  dine  with  the  Friendly  So- 


-iJD         f 


14 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


ciety  of  St.  Patrick  to-morrow  at  Astor  House. 
In  what  is  called  "the  bar,"!  met  several  gen- 
tlemen, one  of  whom  said,  "  the  majority  of  the 
people  of  New  York,  and  all  tiio  respectable  peo- 
ple, were  disgusted  at  the  election  of  such  a  fel- 
low as  Lincoln  to  be  President,  and  would  back 
the  Southern  States,  if  it  came  to  a  split." 


CHAPTER  HI. 

"St.  Patrick'n  day"  in  New  York— Public  dinner— Amer- 
ican Constitution  — Cionorul  topics  of  conversation  — 
Public  estiniato  of  tlio  Governmont— Evening  party  at 

Mens.  11 'd. 

Mondai/,  18<A.  —  "St.  Patrick's  day  in  the 
morning"  being  on  the  17th,  was  kept  by  the 
Irish  to-day.  In  the  early  morning  the  sounds 
of  drumming,  fiiing,  and  bugling  came  with  the 
hot  water  and  my  Irish  attendant  into  the  room. 
He  told  me  :  "We'll  have  a  pretty  nice  day  for 
it.  The  weather's  often  agin  us  on  St.  Patrick's 
day."  At  the  angle  of  the  square  outside  I  saw 
a  company  of  volunteers  assembling.  They  wore 
boar-skin  caps,  some  turned  brown,  and  rusty 
green  coatees,  with  white  facings  and  crossbelts, 
a  good  deal  of  gold-lace  and  heavy  woreted  ejjau- 
letteS)  anil  were  armed  with  ordinary  muskets, 
some  of  them  with  flint-locks.  Over  their  heads 
floated  a  green  and  gold  flag  with  mystic  em- 
blems, and  a  harp  and  sunbeams.  A  gentle- 
man, with  an  imperfect  seat  on  horseback,  which 
justified  a  suspicion  that  he  was  not  to  the  man- 
ner born  of  Squire  or  Squireen,  with  much  diifi- 
eulty  was  getting  tliem  into  line,  and  endanger- 
ing his  personal  safety  by  a  large  infantry-sword, 
the  hilt,  of  which  was  complicated  with  the  bri- 
dle of  his  charger  in  some  inexplicable  manner. 
This  gentleman  was  the  officer  in  command  of 
the  martial  body,  who  were  gathering  to  do  hon- 
our to  the  festival  of  the  old  country,  and  the 
din  and  clamour  in  the  streets,  the  strains  of  mu- 
sic, and  the  tramp  of  feet  outside  announced  that 
similar  associations  were  on  their  way  to  the  ren- 
dezvous. The  waitere  in  the  hotel,  all  of  whom 
were  Irish,  had  on  their  best,  and  wore  an  air  of 
pleased  importance.  Many  of  their  countrymen 
outside  on  the  pavement  exhibited  very  large 
decorations,  plates  of  metal,  and  badges  attached 
to  broad  ribands  over  their  left  breasts. 

After  breakfast  I  struggled  with  a  friend 
through  the  crowd  which  thronged  Union  Square. 
Bless  them  !  They  were  all  Irish,  judging  from 
S])eech,  and  gesture,  and  look ;  for  the  most  part 
decently  dressed,  and  comfortable,  evidently  bent 
on  enjoying  the  day  in  spite  of  the  cold,  and 
proud  of  the  privilege  of  interrupting  all  the 
trade  of  the  principal  streets,  in  which  the  Yan- 
kees most  do  congregate,  for  the  day.  They 
were  on  the  door-steps,  and  on  the  pavement 
men,  women,  and  children,  admiring  the  big  po- 
licemen— many  of  them  compatriots — and  they 
swarmed  at  the  corners,  cheering  popular  town- 
councillors  or  local  celebrities.  Broadway  was 
equally  full.  Plags  were  flying  from  the  win- 
dows and  steeples — and  on  the  cold  breeze  came 
the  hammering  of  drums,  and  the  blasts  of  many 
wind  instrnments.  The  display,  such  as  it  was, 
partook  of  a  military  chftiacter,  though  not  much 
more  formidable  in  that  sense  than  the  marcli 
of  the  Trades  Unions,  or  of  Temperance  Socie- 
ties.    Imagine  Broadway  lined  for  tho  long 


miles  of  its  course  by  spectators  mostly  Hiberni- 
an, and  the  great  gaudy  stars  and  stripes,  or  as 
one  of  the  Secession  journals  I  see  styles  it,  tht 
"  Sanguinary  United  States  Gridiron" — waving 
in  all  directions,  whilst  up  its  centre  in  tho  mud 
march  the  children  of  Erin. 

First  came  the  acting  Brigadier-General  and 
his  staff,  escorted  by  40  lancers,  very  ill-dressed, 
and  worse  mounted  ;  horses  dirty,  accoutrements 
in  tho  same  condition,  bits,  bridles,  and  buttons 
rusty  and  tarnished ;  uniforms  ill-fitting,  and 
badly  put  on.  But  tho  red  flags  and  the  show 
pleased  the  crowd,  and  they  cheered  "  bould  Nu- 
gent" right  loudly.  A  band  followed,  some  mem- 
bers of  which  had  been  evidently  "  smiling"  with 
each  other  ;  and  next  marched  a  body  of  drum- 
mers in  military  uniform,  rattling  away  in  the 
French  fashion.  Here  comes  the  G9th  N.  Y. 
State  Militia  Regiment  —  the  battalion  which 
would  not  turn  out  when  the  Prince  of  Wales 
was  in  New  York,  and  whose  Colonel,  Corcoran, 
is  still  under  court-martial  for  his  refusal.  Well, 
the  Prince  had  no  loss,  and  the  Colonel  may 
have  had  otlicr  besides  political  reasons  for  his 
dislike  to  parade  his  men. 

The  regiment  turned  out,  I  should  think,  only 
200  or  220  men,  fine  fellows  enough,  but  not  in 
the  least  like  soldiers  or  militia.  The  United 
States  uniform  which  most  of  the  military  bodies 
wore,  consists  of  a  blue  tunic  and  trousers,  and  a 
kepi-like  cap,  with  "U.  S."in  front  for  undress. 
In  full  dress  the  officers  wear  large  gold  epau- 
lettes, and  ofiicers  and  men  a  bandit-sort  of  felt 
hat  looped  np  at  one  side,  and  decorated  with  a 
plume  of  black-ostrich  '.'eathers  and  silk  cords. 
The  absence  of  facings,  and  the  want  of  some- 
thing to  finish  off'  the  collar  and  cufls,  render  the 
tunic  very  bald  and  unsightly.  Another  band 
closed  the  rear  of  the  ODtli,  and  to  eke  out  the 
military  show,  which  in  all  was  less  than  1,200 
men,  some  comjjanies  were  borrowed  from  an- 
other regiment  of  State  Militia,  and  a  troop  of 
very  poor  cavalry  cleared  the  way  for  the  Nap- 
per-Tandy  Artillery,  which  actually  had  three 
whole  guns  with  them  !  It  was  strange  to  dwell 
on  some  of  the  names  of  the  societies  which  fol- 
lowed. For  instance,  there  were  the  "Dungan- 
non  Volunteers  of  '82,"  prepared  of  course  to  vin- 
dicate the  famous  declaration  that  none  should 
make  laws  for  Ireland,  but  the  Queen,  Lords, 
and  Commons  of  Ireland !  Every  honest  Cath- 
olic among  them  ignorant  of  the  fact  that  the 
Volunteers  of  '82  were  all  Protestants.  Then 
there  was  the  "  Sarsfield  Guard!"  One  cannot 
conceive  anything  more  hateful  to  the  fiery  Wgh- 
spirited  cavalier,  than  the  republican  form  of 
Government,  which  these  poor  Irishmen  are, 
they  think,  oO  fond  of.  A  good  deal  of  what 
passes  for  national  sentiment,  is  in  reality  dislike 
to  England  and  religious  animosity. 

It  was  mtich  more  interesting  to  see  the  long 
string  of  Benevolent,  Friendly  and  Provident 
Societies,  with  bands,  numbering  many  thou- 
sands, all  decently  clad,  and  marching  in  order 
with  banners,  insignia,  badges  and  ribands,  and 
the  Irish  flag  flying  alongside  the  "stars  and 
stripes."  I  cannot  congratulate  them  on  the 
taste  or  good  eft'ect  of  their  accessories — on  their 
symbolical  standards,  and  ridiculous  old  harpers, 
carried  on  stages  in  "bardie  costume,"  very  like 
artificial  white  wigs  and  white  cotton  dressing- 
gowns,  but  the  actual  good  done  by  these  socle- 


V 


ties,  i.s,  I  nm  toh 

would  cover  far 

of  dress,  and  a  pi 

the  national  bag 

mustered  upward 

uniformed  and  a 

garments,  and  all 

coul  1  make  them 

regard  the  whole 

Roman  might  hi 

but  Paddy  was  ii 

be  openly  trifled  ' 

The  crowds  rei 

the  procession  h 

pickpockets  capti 

conveyed  to  ap] 

there  any  man  ol 

I  asked.     "No; 

some  wealthy  st( 

owners  perhaps ; 

bourgeoisie.     Su( 

may  bo  considers 

bar  for  instance,  ^ 

In  the  evening 

to  the  Astor  IIou 

like  a  railway  tern 

style,  with  great  1 

found,  to  my  sui 

was  to  be  a  great 

filled  with  the  coi 

dress  ;  and  in  a  f 

at  least  twenty-fo 

did  not  even  hear 

and  ribands,  mig 

believe  he  was  in 

ciety ;  but  he  woi 

nia  were  the  dec( 

vivial  associations 

tiiese  things  in  spi 

the  dinner  there  i 

English  descent,  s 

Englishmen,  Seot( 

chairman.  Judge  ] 

the  soil,  and  his  s 

mour,  fluency,  an 

was  produced  by  tl 

rocks  in  a  flower  j 

Ireland  for  the  oec 

but,  like  the  mira 

loses  its  eflbet,  anc 

I  confess  it  was 

serve  tlie  sentimen 

to  see  how  Irishmc 

in  their  climate,  v 

came  away  regret! 

tives  of  the  British 

a  hostile  feeling  fc 

statesman  has  yet 

acea  for  the  evils 

meaning  difference 

Their  strong  antip 

impossibility  of  gra 

and  certainly  the 

not  only  troublesc 

but  mischievous  t( 

much  as  they  are  : 

ness  the  victims  of  a 

The  Irish  element, 

ed  in  voting  times 

others ;  at  other  tii 

its  toil  —  Mr.  Sewi 

supposed  to  be  its  j 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


18 


long 

ident 

hou- 

arder 

and 

and 

.  the 

their 

pere, 

r  like 

sing- 

iocie- 


4i 


ties,  is,  I  nm  told,  very  great,  and  their  charity 
would  cover  fur  greater  sins  timn  incorreiancss 
of  dress,  and  a  ]ironcuess  to  "  piper's  placing  on 
the  national  bagpipes,"  The  various  societies 
mustered  upwards  of  10,00U  men,  some  of  tlieni 
uniformed  and  armed,  others  dressed  in  quaint 
garments,  and  all  as  noisy  us  music  and  talking 
coul  I  make  tliem.  The  Americans  appeared  to 
regard  the  whole  thing  very  much  as  an  ancient 
Roman  might  have  looked  on  the  Saturnalia; 
hut  Paddy  was  in  the  ascendant,  and  could  not 
be  openly  trifled  with. 

The  crowds  remained  in  the  streets  long  after 
the  procession  had  ])assed,  and  I  saw  various 
pickpockets  captured  by  the  big  policemen,  and 
conveyed  to  appropriate  reeoptacles.  "Was 
there  any  man  of  eminence  in  tliat  procession?" 
I  asked.  "No;  a  few  small  local  politicians, 
some  wealthy  store  -  keepers,  and  beer  -  saloon  ' 
owners  perhaps;  but  the  mass  were  of  the  small 
bourgeoisie.  Such  a  man  as  Mr.  O'Conor,  who  ] 
may  bo  considered  at  the  head  of  the  New  York 
bar  for  instance,  would  not  take  part  in  it." 

In  the  evening  I  went,  according  to  invitation, 
to  the  Astor  House — a  large  hotel,  with  a  front 
like  a  railway  terminus,  in  the  Americo-Classical 
style,  with  great  Doric  columns  and  portico,  and 
found,  to  my  surprise,  that  the  friendly  party 
was  to  be  a  great  public  dinner.  The  halls  were 
filled  with  the  company,  few  or  none  in  evening 
dress ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  I  was  presented  to 
at  least  twenty-four  gentlemen,  whoso  names  I 
did  not  even  hear.  The  use  of  badges,  mo  lals, 
and  ribands,  might,  at  first,  lead  a  stranger  to 
believe  he  was  in  very  distinguished  military  so- 
ciety ;  but  he  would  soon  learn  that  these  insig- 
nia were  the  decorations  of  benevolent  or  con- 
vivial associations.  There  is  a  latent  tsiste  for 
these  things  in  spite  of  pure  republicanism.  At 
the  dinner  there  were  Americans  of  Dutch  and 
English  descent,  some  "Yankees,"  one  or  two 
Englishmen,  Scotchmen,  and  Welchmen.  The 
chairman,  Judge  Daly,  was  indeed  a  true  son  of 
the  soil,  and  his  speeches  were  full  of  good  hu- 
mour, fluency,  and  wit ;  but  his  greatest  effect 
was  produced  by  the  exhibition  of  a  tuft  of  sham- 
rocks in  a  flower  pot,  which  had  been  sent  from 
Ireland  for  the  occasion.  This  is  done  annually, 
but,  like  the  miracle  of  St.  Januarius,  it  never 
loses  its  effect,  and  always  touches  the  heart. 

I  confess  it  was  to  some  extent  curiosity  to  ob- 
serve the  sentiment  of  the  meeting,  and  a  desire 
to  see  how  Irishmen  were  affected  by  the  change 
in  their  climate,  which  led  me  to  the  room.  I 
came  away  regretting  deeply  that  so  many  na- 
tives of  the  British  Isles  should  be  animated  with 
a  hostile  feeling  towards  England,  and  that  no 
statesman  has  yet  arisen  who  can  devise  a  pan- 
acea for  the  evils  of  these  passionate  and  un- 
meaning differences  between  races  and  religions. 
Their  strong  antipathy  is  not  diminished  by  the 
impossibility  of  gratifying  it.  They  live  in  hope, 
and  certainly  the  existence  of  these  feelings  is 
not  only  troublesome  to  American  statesmen, 
but  mischievous  to  the  Irish  themselves,  inas- 
much as  they  are  rendered  with  unusual  readi- 
ness the  victims  of  agitators  or  political  intriguers. 
The  Irish  element,  as  it  is  called,  is  much  regard- 
ed in  voting  times,  by  suff'raging  bishops  and 
others ;  at  other  times,  it  is  left  to  its  work  and 
its  toil  —  Mr.  Seward  and  Bishop  Hughes  are 
sapposed  to  be  its  present  masters.    Undoubted- 


ly the  mass  of  those  I  saw  to-day  were  better 
clad  than  they  would  have  been  if  ilioy  remain- 
ed at  home.  As  I  said  in  the  s])ec(  h  wiiich  I 
was  forced  to  make  much  against  my  will,  by  the 
gentle  violence  of  my  companions,  never  had  I 
seen  so  many  good  hats  and  coats  in  an  assem- 
blage of  Irishmen  in  any  other  part  of  the  world. 

March  1!).  The  morning  ncwsj)aper8  contain 
rejjorts  of  last  night's  speeches  which  are  amusing 
in  one  respect,  at  all  events,  as  affording  speci- 
mens of  the  different  versions  which  may  be  given 
of  the  same  matter.  A  "citizen"  who  was  kind 
enough  to  come  in  to  shave  me,  paid  me  some 
easy  com))liment8,  in  the  manner  of  the  "Bar- 
ber of  Seville,"  on  what  he  termed  the  "ora- 
tion" of  the  night  before,  and  then  pr()cceded  to 
give  his  notions  of  the  merits  and  defects  of  the 
American  (Constitution.  "  He  did  not  care  much 
about  the  Franchise — it  was  given  to  too  many 
he  thought.  A  man  must  be  five  years  resident 
in  New  York  before  he  is  admitted  to  the  privi- 
leges of  voting.  "When  an  emigrant  arrived,  a 
pajicr  was  delivered  to  him  to  certify  the  fact, 
which  he  produced  after  a  lapse  of  five  years, 
when  he  might  be  registered  as  a  voter ;  if  he 
omitted  the  ])rocess  of  registration,  he  could  how- 
ever Vote  if  identified  by  two  liouseholders,  and 
a  low  lot,"  observed  the  barber,  "  they  are — Irish 
and  such  like.    I  don't  want  any  of  tiieir  votes." 

In  tlie  afternoon  a  number  of  gentlemen  call- 
ed, and  made  the  kindest  offiirs  of  service ;  let- 
ters of  introduction  to  all  parts  of  the  States; 
facilities  of  every  description — all  tendered  with 
frankness. 

I  was  astonished  to  find  little  sympathy  and 
no  respect  for  the  newly  installed  Government. 
They  were  regarded  as  obscure  or  undistinguish- 
ed men.  I  alluded  to  the  circumstance  that  one 
of  the  journals  continued  to  speak  of  "The  Pres- 
ident" in  the  most  contemptuous  manner,  and 
to  designate  him  as  the  great  "Rail-Splitter." 
"Oh  yes,"  said  the  gentleman  with  whom  I  was 
conversing,  "  that  must  strike  you  as  a  strange 
way  of  mentioning  the  Chief  Magistrate  of  our 
great  Republic,  but  the  fact  is,  no  one  minds 
what  the  man  writes  of  any  one,  his  game  is  to 
abuse  every  respectable  man  in  the  country  in 
order  to  take  his  revenge  on  them  for  his  social 
exclusion,  and  at  the  same  time  to  please  the  ig- 
norant masses  who  delight  in  vituperation  and 
scandal." 

In  the  evening,  dining  again  with  my  friend 
the  banker,  I  had  a  favorable  opportunity  of 
hearing  more  of  the  special  ])leadlng  which  is 
brought  to  bear  on  the  solution  of  the  gravest 
])olitical  questions.  It  would  seem  as  if  a  coun- 
cil of  physicians  were  wrangling  with  each  other 
over  abstract  dogmas  respecting  life  and  health, 
whilst  their  patient  was  struggling  in  the  agonies 
of  death  before  them !  In  the  comfortable  and 
well-a])pointed  house  wherein  I  met  several  men 
of  position,  acquirements,  and  natural  sagacity, 
there  was  not  the  smallest  evidence  of  uneasiness 
on  account  of  circumstances  which,  to  the  eye  of 
a  stranger,  betokened  an  awful  crisis,  if  not  the 
impending  dissolution  of  society  itself.  Stranger 
still,  the  acts  which  are  bringing  about  such  a 
calamity  are  not  regarded  with  disfavour,  or,  at 
least,  are  not  considered  unjustifiable. 

Among  the  guests  were  the  Hon.  Horatio  Sey- 
mour, a  former  Governor  of  the  State  of  New 
York ;  Mr.  Tylden,  an  acute  lawyer ;  and  Mr. 


i 


1 
pi'i 


16 


MY  DIAUY  NOltTH  AND  SOUTH. 


Bancroft ;  the  result  left  on  my  mind  by  their 
convcrsutions  luid  urgunicnts  was  tliat,  accurcl- 
iu«  to  tlic  Constitution,  the  Uovernnient  could 
not  employ  force  to  prevent  scceswion,  or  to  com- 
pel States  whieh  had  seceded  by  the  will  of  the 
pcoi)lo  to  acknowledge  tlje  Federal  power.  In 
fact,  according  to  them,  the  Federal  Government 
was  the  mere  machine  put  forward  by  a  Society 
of  Sovereign  States,  as  a  common  instrument  for 
certain  ministerial  acts,  more  particularly  those 
which  affected  the  external  relations  of  the  Con- 
federation. 1  i\o  not  think  that  any  of  the  guests 
sought  to  turn  the  clianncl  of  talk  u\mv  politics, 
hut  the  occasion  offered  itself  to  Mr.  Horatio  Sey- 
mour to  give  me  his  views  of  the  Constitution  of 
the  United  States,  and  by  degrees  the  theme 
spread  over  the  table.  I  had  i)ought  the  "  Con- 
stitution" for  three  cents  in  liroadwny  in  the 
forenoon,  and  had  road  it  carefully,  but  I  could 
not  find  tliat  it  was  sclf-expouiuling  ;  it  referred 
itself  to  the  Supreme  Court,  but  what  was  to  sup- 
port the  Supreme  Court  in  a  contest  with  armed 
])ower,  either  of  Government  or  people  ?  There 
was  not  a  man  who  maintained  the  Government 
had  any  power  to  coerce  the  people  of  a  State, 
or  to  force  .1  State  to  remain  in  the  Union,  or 
under  the  action  of  the  Federal  Government ;  in 
other  words,  tlie  symbol  of  power  at  Washington 
is  not  at  all  analogous  to  that  wliieh  represents 
an  established  Government  in  other  countries. 
Quid  prosuiit  kf/is  sine  annis?  Althougli  they 
admitted  tlic  Southern  leaders  had  meditated 
"the  treason  against  the  Union"  years  ago,  they 
could  not  bring  themselves  to  allow  their  old  op- 
ponents, the  Republicans  now  in  power,  to  dis- 
pose of  tlie  armed  force  of  the  Union  against 
tiicir  brother  democrats  in  the  Southern  States. 

Mr.  Seymour  is  a  man  of  compromise,  but  his 
views  go  farther  than  those  which  were  enter- 
tained by  his  party  ten  years  ago.  Although  se- 
cession would  produce  revolution,  it  was,  never- 
theless, "a  right,"  founded  on  abstract  princi- 
ples, which  could  scarcely  be  abrogated  consist- 
ently with  duo  regard  to  the  original  compact. 
One  of  the  company  made  a  remark  which  w  as 
true  enough,  I  dare  say.  Wo  were  talking  of 
the  difficulty  of  relieving  Fort  Sumter — an  in- 
fallible topic  just  now.  "If  the  British  or  any 
foreign  pov  ir  were  threatening  the  fort,"  said 
he,  ' '  our  Government  would  find  means  of  re- 
lieving it  fast  enough."  In  fact,  the  Federal 
Government  is  groping  in  the  dark ;  and  whilst 
its  friends  are  telling  it  to  advance  boldly,  there 
are  myriad  voices  shrieking  out  in  its  ears,  "If 
you  j)ut  out  a  foot  you  are  lost."  There  is  nei- 
ther army  nor  navy  available,  and  the  ministers 
have  no  machinery  of  rewards,  and  means  of  in- 
trigue, or  modes  of  gaining  adherents  known  to 
European  administrations.  The  democrats  be- 
hold with  silent  satisfaction  the  troubles  into 
which  the  republican  triumph  has  plunged  the 
country,  and  are  not  at  all  disposed  to  extricate 
them.  The  most  notable  way  of  impeding  their 
efforts  is  to  knock  them  down  with  the  "Consti- 
tution" every  time  they  rise  to  the  surface  and 
begin  to  swim  out. 

New  York  society,  however,  is  easy  in  its  mind 
just  now,  and  the  upper  world  of  millionaire  mer- 
chants, bankers,  contractors,  and  great  traders 
are  glad  that  the  vulgar  republicans  are  suffering 
for  their  success.  Not  a  man  there  but  resented 
the  influence  given  by  universal  suff"rage  to  the 


mob  of  the  city,  and  complained  of  the  intoler- 
able effects  of  their  ascendency — of  the  corrup- 
tion  of  the  municipal  bodies,  the  venality  of  elect- 
ors and  elected,  and  tiie  abuse,  waste,  and  profli- 
gate outlay  of  the  public  funds.  Of  these  there 
were  many  illurtrations  given  to  me,  garnished 
with  historiettes  of  some  of  the  civic  dignitaricp, 
and  of  their  coadjutors  in  the  ))rcss;  but  it  did 
not  require  proof  that  universal  suffrage  in  a  city 
of  which  perhaps  three-fourths  of  the  voters  were 
born  abroad  or  of  foreign  parents,  and  of  whom 
many  were  the  scum  swcjit  oft"  the  seethings  of 
European  pojjulations,  must  work  most  injurious- 
ly on  property  and  capital.  1  confess  it  is  to  be 
much  wondered  at  that  the  consequences  are  not 
more  evil ;  but  no  doubt  the  time  is  coming 
when  the  mischief  can  no  longer  be  borne,  and  a 
social  reform  and  revolution  must  be  inevitable. 

Within  only  a  very  few  hundreds  of  yards 
from  the  house  and  jjicture  -  gallery  of  Mons. 

B ,  the  representative  of  European  millions, 

are  the  hovels  and  lodgings  of  his  equals  in  polit- 
ical power.     This  evening  I  visited  the  house  of 

Mons.  B ,  where  his  w  ife  had  a  reception,  to 

which  nearly  the  whole  of  the  party  went.  When 
a  man  looks  at  a  suit  of  armour  made  to  order 
by  the  first  blacksmith  in  Europe,  he  observes 
that  the  finish  of  the  joints  and  hinges  is  much 
higher  than  in  the  old  iron  clothes  of  the  former 
time.  Possibly  the  metal  is  better,  and  the  chas- 
ings and  garniture  as  good  as  the  work  of  Milan, 
byt  the  observer  is  not  for  a  moment  led  to  imag- 
ine that  the  fabric  has  stood  jn'oof  of  blows,  or 
that  it  smacks  of  ancient  watch-fire.  If  he  were 
asked  why  it  is  so,  he  could  not  toll ;  any  more 
l)erhaps  than  he  could  define  exactly  the  differ- 
ence between  the  lustrous,  highly-jewelled,  well- 
greaved  Achaian  of  New  York  and  the  very  less 
effective  and  showy  creature  who  will  in  every 
society  over  the  world  pass  muster  as  a  gentle- 
man. Here  was  an  elegant  house — I  use  the 
word  in  its  real  meaning — with  pretty  statues, 
rich  carpets,  handsome  furniture,  and  a  gallery 
of  charming  Meissoniers  and  genre  pieces ;  the 
saloons  admirably  lighted — a  fair  fine  large  suite, 
filled  with  the  prettiest  women  in  the  most  de- 
lightful toilettes,  with  a  proper  fringe  of  yonng 
men,  orderly,  neat,  and  well  turned-out,  fretting 
against  the  usual  advanced  posts  of  turbaned  and 
jewelled  dowagers,  and  provided  with  every  ac- 
cessory to  make  the  whole  good  society  ;  for  there 
was  wit,  sense,  intelligence,  vivacity;  and  yet 
there  was  something  wanting — not  in  host  or 
hostess,  or  company,  or  house — where  was  it? — 
whieh  was  conspicuous  by  its  absence.  Mr.  Ban- 
croft was  kind  enough  to  introduce  me  to  the 
most  lovely  faces  and  figures,  and  so  far  enabled 
me  to  judge  that  nothing  could  be  more  beauti- 
ful, easy,  or  natural  than  the  womanhood  or  girl- 
hood of  New  York.  It  is  prcttiness  rather  than 
fineness;  regular,  intelligent,  wax -like  faces, 
graceful  little  figures ;  none  of  the  grandiose 
lioman  type  which  Von  Kaumer  recognised  in 
London,  as  in  the  Holy  City,  a  quarter  of  a  cen- 
tury ago.  Natheless,  the  young  men  of  New 
York  ought  to  be  thankful  and  grateful,  and  try 
to  be  worthy  of  it.  Late  in  the  evening  I  saw 
these  same  young  men,  Novi  Eboracenses,  at 
their  club,  dicing  for  drinks  and  oathing  for  noth- 
ing, and  all  very  friendly  and  hospitable. 

The  club-house  is  remarkable  as  the  mansion 
of  a  happy  man  who  invented  or  patented  a  wa- 


tt 


tcrproof  hat- 
Sailnstian  vi 
rAlhaniitra, 
passed  away 
Ptatt's,  or  t 
C.  C.  C.'s  in 
drinks — and 


Strpcts  and  shoj 
Dinner  at  Mr 
I'ulitical  and 
nan  and  Sayci 

March  20t/i 
ter  and  Piekc 
are  not  to  be 
cd  in  each  pa 
ual  consistene 
on  my  speec 
whicii  it  is  pi 
tives  which  th 
in  making  it. 

Kcceived  se 
apparently  wi 
reality  about 
tress,  and  su 
down  Broadw 
standing   the 
kerbstones,  ar 
frozen  pools  i 
large  stores  or 
lisluncnts  in  ] 
in  value,  and  f 
dour  of  exteri 
marble,  or  of 
8000/.  a  year 
base  to  the  fou 
tions  of  all  th 
cess  of  all  poss 
indeed  I  was  t( 
ways  imported 
for.      Jewel  lei 
there  are  two 
collections  of 
gold  and  silvei 
tage  in  fine  1 
marble,  statua 

New  York  h 
veau  riche." 
of  any  appear 
not  see  even  si 
are  afforded  ir 
ence  of  shops 
try  cast  off  the 
the  new,  that  1 
are  old ;  there 
of  a  Wardoui 
made  to  supp 
mous  amount 
new  arts,  how 
togra})hy  has 
the  city,  and 
grant  displays 
of  the  large  I 
example — are 
the  American 
originality  of  I 
down  long  rov 
of  European 
shame !   stolci 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTlf. 


17 


* 


tcrnroof  hnt-Iinin(;,  whereby  ho  built  a  sort  of 
Sailiistinn  vilhi,  with  u  central  coiirt-yartl,  & 
rAlInunlini,  with  fountains  and  tluwers,  now 
passed  away  to  the  New  York  Club.  Here  was 
Piatt's,  or  tiio  defunet  Fielding,  or  the  old 
C.  C.  (J.'b  in  disregard  of  time  and  regard  of 
drinks — and  nothing  more. 


CHAPTER  IV. 

StrcctB  nnd  shops  In  New  York— Lltcrnttire— A  funrral — 

Dinner  at  Mr.  II 'a— Dinner  iit  Mr.  HamToft'H— 

Tulitical  and  Hociul  fcuturuH — Uturuiy  brcukfuHt ;  llec- 
nan  and  Saycrs. 

Marrh  20tfi. — The  papers  arc  still  full  of  Sum- 
ter and  Pickens.  The  reports  that  they  are  or 
are  not  to  bo  relieved  are  stated  and  contradict- 
ed in  each  paper  without  any  regard  to  individ- 
ual consistency.  Tiic  "Tril)une"  has  an  article 
on  my  speech  at  the  St.  Patrick's  dinner,  to 
which  it  is  pleased  to  assign  reasons  and  mo- 
tives which  the  speaker,  at  all  events,  never  had 
in  making  it. 

Received  several  begging  letters,  some  of  them 
apparently  with  only  too  much  of  the  stamp  of 
reality  about  their  tales  of  disappointment,  dis- 
tress, and  suffering.  In  the  afternoon  went 
down  Broadway,  which  was  crowded,  notwith- 
standing the  ])iles  of  blackened  snow  by  the 
kerbstones,  and  the  sloughs  of  mud,  and  half 
frozen  pools  at  the  crossings.  Visited  several 
large  stores  or  sii()i)s—  some  rival  the  best  estab- 
lishments in  Paris  or  London  in  richness  and 
in  value,  and  far  exceed  them  in  size  and  splen- 
dour of  exterior.  Some  on  Broadway,  built  of 
marble,  or  of  fine  cut  stone,  cost  from  0000/.  to 
8000/.  a  year  in  mere  rent.  Here,  from  the 
base  to  the  fourth  or  fifth  story,  are  piled  collec- 
tions of  all  the  world  can  produce,  often  in  ex- 
cess of  all  possible  requirements  of  the  country  ; 
indeed  I  was  told  that  the  United  States  have  al- 
ways imported  more  goods  than  they  could  pay 
for.  Jewellers'  shops  are  not  numerous,  but 
there  are  two  in  Broadway  which  have  splendid 
collections  of  jewels,  and  of  workmanship  in 
gold  and  silver,  displayed  to  the  greatest  advan- 
tage in  fine  apartments  decorated  with  black 
marble,  statuary,  and  plate-glass. 

New  York  has  certainly  all  the  air  of  a  "  nou- 
veau  riehc."  There  is  about  it  an  utter  absence 
of  any  appearance  of  a  grandfatlier — one  does 
not  see  even  such  evidences  of  eccentric  taste  as 
are  afforded  in  Paris  and  London,  by  the  exist- 
ence of  shops  where  the  old  families  of  a  coun- 
try cast  oflf  their  "exuviaj"  which  are  sought  by 
the  new,  that  they  may  persuade  the  world  they 
are  old  ;  there  is  no  curiosity  shop,  not  to  speak 
of  a  Wardour  Street,  and  such  efforts  as  are 
made  to  supply  the  deficiency  reveal  an  enor- 
mous amount  of  ignorance  or  of  bad  taste.  The 
new  arts,  however,  flourish  ;  the  plague  of  pho- 
tography has  spread  through  all  the  corners  of 
the  city,  and  the  shop-windows  glare  with  fla- 
grant displays  of  the  most  tawdry  art.  In  some 
of  the  large  booksellers'  shops — Appleton's  for 
example — are  striking  proofs  of  the  activity  of 
the  American  press,  if  not  of  the  vigour  and 
originality  of  the  American  intellect.  I  passed 
down  long  rows  of  shelves  laden  with  the  works 
of  European  authors,  for  the  most  ])art,  oh 
shame !  stolen  and  translated  into  American 
B 


typo  without  the  smallest  compunction  or  scru- 
ple, and  without  the  least  intention  of  ever 
yielding  the  most  jiitiful  dcodand  to  tho  au- 
tliors.  Mr.  Appleton  sells  no  less  than  one 
million  and  a  half  of  Webster's  spelling  books 
a  year;  his  tables  aro  covered  with  a  flood  of 
pamphlets,  some  for,  others  against  coercion ; 
some  for,  others  opjiosed  to  slavery, — but  when 
I  asked  for  a  single  solid,  substantial  work  on 
the  present  difficulty,  I  was  told  there  was  not 
one  i)ublished  worth  a  cent.  With  such  men 
as  Audubon  and  Wilson  in  natural  history, 
Prescott  and  Motley  in  historj',  Washington  Ir- 
ving and  Cooper  in  fiction,  Longfellow  and  Ed- 
gar L'oo  in  poetry,  even  Bryant  and  the  rcsj)ect- 
al)ilities  in  rhyme,  and  Emerson  as  essayist, 
there  is  no  reason  why  New  York  should  be  a 
l)altry  imitation  of  Leipzig,  without  the  good 
faith  of  Tauchnitz. 

I  dined  with  a  litterateur  well  known  in  En- 
gland to  many  people  a  year  or  two  ago  — 
sprig,  y,  loquacious,  and  well  informed,  if  nei- 
ther witty  nor  profound — now  a  Southern  man 
with  Southern  proclivities,  as  Americans  say ; 
once  a  Southern  man  with  such  strong  anti- 
slavery  convictions,  that  his  expression  of  them 
in  an  English  quarterly  had  secured  him  the 
hostility  of  his  own  people — one  of  the  emana- 
tions of  American  literary  life  for  which  their 
own  country  finds  no  fitting  receiver.  As  the 
best  proof  of  his  sincerity,  he  has  just  now  aban- 
doned his  connection  witli  one  of  the  New  York 
papers  on  the  republican  side,  because  he  be- 
lieved that  the  course  of  the  journal  was  dic- 
tated by  anti-Southern  fanaticism.  He  is,  in 
fact,  persuaded  that  there  will  be  a  civil  war, 
and  that  the  South  will  have  much  of  the  right 
on  its  side  in  the  contest.  At  his  rooms  were 
Mons.  B ,  Dr.  Gwin,  a  Californian  ex-sena- 
tor, Mr.  Barlow,  and  several  of  the  leading  men 
of  a  certain  clique  in  New  York.  The  Ameri- 
cans complain,  or  assert,  that  we  do  not  under- 
stand them,  and  I  confess  the  reproach,  or  state- 
ment, was  felt  to  be  well  founded  by  myself  at 
all  events,  when  I  heard  it  declared  and  admit- 
ted that  "  if  Mons.  Belmont  had  not  gone  to  tho 
Charleston  Convention,  the  present  crisis  would 
never  have  occurred." 

March  22nd. — A  snow-storm  worthy  of  Mos- 
cow or  Riga  flew  through  New  York  all  day,  de- 
positing more  food  for  the  mud.  I  paid  a  visit 
to  Mr.  Horace  Greeley,  and  had  a  long  conver- 
sation with  him.  He  expressed  great  ])lcafare 
at  the  intelligence  that  I  was  going  to  visi',  the 
Southern  States.  "Be  sure  you  cxamin':  the 
slave-pens.  They  will  be  afraid  to  refuse  j'ou, 
and  you  can  tell  the  truth."  As  the  capital  aud 
the  South  form  the  chief  attractions  at  present, 
I  am  preparing  to  escape  from  "the  divine 
calm"  and  snows  of  New  York.  I  was  recom- 
mended to  visit  many  places  before  I  left  New 
York,  principally  hospitals  and  prisons.  Sing- 
Sing,  the  state  penitentiary,  is  "  cljiimcd,"  as  tho 
Americans  say,  to  bo  the  first  "  institution"  of  its 
kind  in  the  world.  Time  presses,  however,  and 
Sing-Sing  is  a  long  way  off.  I  am  told  a  sys- 
tem of  torture  prevails  there  for  hardened  or  ob- 
durate ofi'enders — torture  by  dropping  cold  wa- 
ter on  them,  torture  by  thumb-screws,  and  tho 
like — rather  opposed  to  the  views  of  prison  phi- 
lanthropists in  modern  days. 

March  23rrf. — It  is  announced  positively  that 


IS 


MY  DIARY  NOHTII  AND  SOUTH. 


thcaiithoriticH  in  Pensacola  und  Chnrlcston  Imvo 
retuNcd  to  allow  any  fiirtli»'r  siijiplics  to  l)0  sent 
to  Fort  I'ickcna,  the  United  States  Hcct  in  tlie 
(iiilf,  and  to  Fort  Sumter.  Kvery where  the 
Southern  lenders  are  forcing?  on  a  solut'on  with 
decision  and  energy,  whilst  the  Government  np- 
jiears  to  bo  helplessly  drifting  wit'i  tl.o  current 
of  events,  having  neither  bow  nor  stern,  neither 
keel  nor  deck,  neither  rudder,  comjiass,  sails,  or 
Btcum.  Mr.  Seward  has  declined  to  receive  or 
bold  any  intercourse  with  the  three  gentlemen 
called  Southern  Commissioners,  who  repaired  to 
Washington  accredited  by  the  Government  and 
Congress  of  the  Seceding  States  now  sitting  at 
Montgomery,  so  that  there  is  no  channel  of  me- 
diation or  means  of  adjustment  left  open.  I 
hear,  indeed,  that  Government  is  secretly  pre- 
paring what  force  it  can  to  strengthen  the  garri- 
son at  Pickens,  and  to  reinf<jrec  Sumter  at  any 
liazard  ;  but  that  its  want  of  men,  ships,  and 
moncv  compels  it  to  temporise,  lest  the  Southern 
authorities  should  forestall  their  designs  by  n  vig- 
orous attack  on  the  enfeebled  forts. 

There  is,  in  reality,  very  little  done  by  New 
York  to  support  or  encourage  the  Government 
in  any  decided  policy,  and  the  jmirnals  are  more 
engaged  now  in  abusing  each  other,  and  in  small 
party  aggressive  warfare,  than  in  the  perform- 
ance of  the  duties  of  a  patriotic  press,  whose 
mission  atsueh  a  time  is  beyond  all  question  the 
resignation  of  little  ditterences  for  the  sake  of 
the  whole  country,  and  an  entire  devotion  to  its 
safety,  honour,  and  integrity,  liut  the  New  York 
])eoi)le  must  have  their  intellectual  drams  every 
morning,  and  it  matters  little  what  the  course  of 
Government  may  be,  so  long  a9  the  aristocratic 
democrat  can  Iw  amused  by  ridicule  of  the  Great 
Itail-SplittL  *  or  n  vivid  portraiture  of  Mr.  Hor- 
ace Greeley'  oM  "Ciit,  hat,  breeebcs,  and  um- 
brella. The  uoarsest  personalities  are  read  with 
gusto,  and  attacks  of  a  kind  which  would  not 
have  been  admitted  into  the  "Age"  or  "Satir- 
ist" in  their  worst  days,  form  tlie  staple  leading 
articles  of  one  or  two  of  the  most  largely  circu- 
lated journals  in  the  city.  "  Slang"  in  its  worst 
Americanised  form  is  freely  used  in  sensation 
headings  and  leaders,  and  a  class  of  advertise- 
ments which  arc  not  allowed  to  appear  in  re- 
spectable Englisii  papers,  have  possession  of  col- 
umns of  the  principal  newspapers,  few,  indeed, 
excluding  them.  It  is  strange,  too,  to  sec  in 
journals  which  profess  to  represent  the  civilisa- 
tion and  intelligence  of  the  most  enlightened 
and  highly  educated  people  on  the  face  of  the 
earth,  advertisements  of  sorcerers,  wizards,  and 
fortune-tellers  by  the  score — "wonderful  clair- 
voyants," "  the  seventh  child  of  a  seventh  child," 
"mesmeristic  necromancers,"  and  the  like,  who 
can  tell  your  thoughts  as  soon  as  you  enter  the 
room,  can  secure  the  affections  you  prize,  give 
lucky  numbers  in  lotteries,  and  make  everybody's 
fortunes  but  their  own.  Then  there  are  the 
most  impudent  quack  programmes — very  doubt- 
ful "personals"  addressed  to  "the  young  lady 
with  black  hair  and  blue  eyes,  who  got  out  of 
the  omnibus  at  the  corner 'of  7th  Streot" — ap- 
peals by  "a  lady  about  to  be  confined"  to  any 
respectable  person  who  is  desirous  of  adopting  a 
child  :  all  rather  curious  reading  for  a  stranger, 
or  for  a  family. 

^  It  is  not  to  be  expected,  of  course,  that  New 
York  is  a  very  pure  city,  for  more  than  London 


or  PaHs  it  is  the  sewer  of  nations.  It  is  n  city 
of  luxury  also — French  and  Italian  cooks  and 
milliners,  (icrniau  and  Italian  muRicians,  high 
prices,  extravagant  tastes  and  dressing,  money 
readily  made,  a  life  in  hotels,  Imr-rooms,  heavy 
gandiling,  sporting,  and  prize-tighting  flourish 
iiere,  antl  combine  to  lower  the  stamlard  of  the 
buurifeoisie  at  all  events.  Where  wealth  is  the 
sole  aristocracy,  thep  *roat  tianger  of  mistak- 
ing excess  and  profusi.  >•  elegance  and  good 
taste.  To-day  as  I  wai  .4ig  down  Uroadway, 
some  dozen  or  move  of  mo  most  over-dressed 
men  I  ever  saw  were  pointed  out  to  mo  as 
"sports;"  that  is,  men  who  lived  by  gambling- 
houses  and  betting  on  races;  and  the  class  is  so 
numerous  that  it  has  its  own  influence,  particu- 
larly at  elections,  when  the  power  of  a  hurd-hit- 
ting  prize-fighter  with  a  following  makes  itself 
nnmistakeably  felt.  Young  America  essays  to 
look  like  martial  France  in  mufti,  but  the  hat 
and  the  coat  suited  to  the  Colonel  of  ('arabiniers 
en  rvtraxte  do  not  at  all  become  the  thin,  tall, 
rather  long-faced'  gentlemen  one  sees  lounging 
about  Broadway.  It  is  true,  indeed,  the  type, 
though  not  F'rench,  is  not  English.  The  char- 
acteristics of  the  American  are  straight  hair, 
keen,  bright,  penetrutiiij^  eyes,  and  want  of  col- 
our in  the  cheeks. 

March  25/A. — I  had  an  invitation  to  meet  sev- 
eral members  of  the  New  York  j)ress  association 
at  breakfast.  Among  the  company  were — Mr. 
IJayard  Taylor,  with  whose  extensive  notes  of 
travel  his  countrymen  are  familiar — a  kind  of 
enlarged  Inglis,  full  of  the  genial  spirit  which 
makes  travelling  in  company  so  agreeable,  but  he 
has  come  back  as  travellers  generally  do,  satis- 
fied there  is  no  country  like  his  own — Prince 
Lecboo  loved  his  own  isle  the  best  after  all — Mr. 
Raymond,  of  the  "New  York  Times"  (formerly 
Lieutenant-Governor  of  the  State)  ;  Mr.  Olm- 
sted, the  indefatigable,  able,  and  earnest  writer, 
whom  to  descrilie  simply  as  an  Altolitionist 
would  be  to  confound  with  ignorant  if  zealous, 
unphilosophical,  and  impracticable  men  ;  Mr. 
Dann,  of  the  "Tribune;"  Mr.  Ilurlbcrt,  of  the 
"Times;"  the  Editor  of  the  "Courier  des  F^tats 
Unis;"  Mr.  Young,  of  the  "Albion,"  which  is 
the  only  English  journal  published  in  the  States; 
and  others.  There  was  a  good  deal  of  pleasant 
conversation,  though  every  one  differed  with  his 
neighbour,  as  a  matter  of  course,  as  soon  as  he 
touched  on  politics.  There  was  talk  de  ovmibus 
rebut  (t  quibusdam  aliis,  such  as  Hcenan  and 
Sayers,  Secession  and  Sumter,  the  press,  politi- 
cians, New  York  life,  and  so  on.  The  first  topic 
occupied  a  larger  place  than  it  was  entitled  to, 
because  in  all  likelihood  the  sporting  editor  of 
one  of  the  papers  who  was  present  expressed, 
perhaps,  some  justifiable  feeling  in  reference  to 
the  refusal  of  the  belt  to  the  American.  All  ad- 
mitted  the  courage  and  great  endurance  of  his 
antagonist,  but  seemed  convinced  that  Heenan, 
if  not  the  better  man,  was  at  least  the  victor  in 
that  particular  contest.  It  would  be  strange  to 
see  the  great  tendency  of  Americans  to  institute 
comparisons  with  ancient  and  recognised  stand- 
ards, if  it  were  not  that  they  are  adopting  the 
natural  mode  of  judging  of  their  own  capabili- 
ties. The  nation  is  like  a  growing  lad  who  is 
constantly  testing  his  powers  in  comi)etition  with 
his  elders.  He  is  in  his  youth  and  nonage,  and 
he  is  calling  down  the  lanes  and  allevs  to  all 


^ 


comers  to  l< 
to  fight  him 
of  weakness, 
and  vex  the 

Then  one 
treated  very 
be  by  a  set 
no  doubt  a  V 
fine  things  ii 
respectful  en 
that  he  will 

One  of  til 
gland   migh 
States  (rovoi 
own  States, 
under  treaty 
nd«  was  not . 
that  the  Pro! 
he  pleased ; 
eru  ports  by 
Order  of  Coi 
Great  Rritaii 
but  'hilt  the 
the  United  S 
her  rival,  am 


Off  to  tlio  rallw 

plllll  —  Wllrtll 
Niirtli  nnil  .S( 
injjton— Treai 

Aftkh  OUl 
cessity  for  ae 
guiscd  as  me 
revenge.  I  li 
say  the  morn 
who  stood  w: 
face,  and  loo 
books,  and  gi 
liensive  ehari 
six  o'clock  p 
conveyed  ove 
])avement8  th 
thetic,  gloom; 
o  ugh  fares,  o^ 
tracks,  to  a  li 
seriptions  res] 
the  bank  of 
could  see,  wj 
ments,  where 
mud.  There 
ognised  and 
which  we  are 
bcr  of  amatcii 
into  the  office 
for  my  ticket 
which  I  presc 
nient,  full  of 
tions,  which 
public  in  all  f 

The  whole 
was  taken  chi 
side  of  the  fc 
the  capital — 
number  corrc! 
piece.  Whet 
the  other  side 
called  for  a  p( 
gers  were  moi 
in  a  steady  sti 


MY  nrAUY  NOUTII  AND  SOU'I'II. 


19 


* 


coment  to  look  at  his  imiMclo,  to  run  ftK"'i"<t  or 
to  li^lit  him.  It  is  n  hIk"  <'t'  youth,  not  ii  prool' 
nf  wt'aiinoHs,  th<iUKl>  it  docH  ulll-ml  lliu  old  htuulM 
ami  vex  tiic  veti-nuiM. 

'I'hon  ouo  HuJh  that  Orcnt  Uritnin  is  often 
trpiitoil  very  mueli  iw  iin  old  IVniiisulii  nuin  nmy 
Ik!  hy  a  net  of  youuj?  siddicrs  at  ii  ciuli.  Ho  is 
no  doubt  a  very  K'dlunt  fellow,  und  has  done  very 
fine  thint^H  in  hiii  day,  and  hu  is  iistenod  to  with 
respectful  endurance,  hut  there  \h  n  secret  l)clief 
that  he  will  never  do  aiiythiuK  very  great  again. 

One  of  the  gentlemen  jjvesent  said  that  Kn- 
gland  might  dispute  the  right  of  the  United 
States  Govornment  to  blockade  the  ports  of  her 
own  iStatcs,  to  whielj  she  was  entitled  to  access 
under  treaty,  and  might  urge  that  such  a  block- 
ade was  not  justifiable  ;  but  then,  it  was  argued, 
tluU  the  President  could  ojH'n  and  shut  ports  as 
he  pleased ;  and  that  he  might  close  the  South- 
ern ports  by  a  proclamation  in  the  nature  of  an 
Onler  of  Council.  It  was  taken  for  granted  that 
(ireat  Britain  would  only  act  on  sordid  motives, 
but  Miat  the  well  known  affection  of  France  for 
the  United  States  is  to  check  the  selfishness  of 
her  rival,  und  jircveut  a  speedy  recognition. 


CIIAPTER  V. 


Off  to  the  rallwny  ftatlon— ItnIIwdy  PurrinRen— Phllodpl  ■ 
pliiu  —  WH!(liini?ton -- VVilliinrH  Hotel  — Mr.  Sewiird— 
North  nnd  .South— The  "  .Stato  Uepartinnnt"  at  Wa»h- 
Intjton— I'reaident  Lincoln — Ulnncr  at  Mr.  .Si'ward'n. 

Aftku  our  jdeasnnt  breakfast  came  that  ne- 
cessity for  activity  which  makes  such  meals  dis- 
guised as  mere  light  morning  repasts  take  their 
revenge.  I  had  to  j)ack  up,  and  I  am  bound  to 
say  the  moral  aid  attbrdcd  me  by  the  waiter, 
who  stood  with  a  sympathising  expression  of 
face,  and  looked  on  as  I  wrestled  with  boots, 
books,  and  great  coats,  was  of  a  most  com])rc- 
liensive  character.  At  last  I  conquered,  and  ut 
six  o'clock  P.M.I  left  the  Clarendon,  and  was 
conveyed  over  the  roughest  and  most  execrable 
jjavements  through  several  miles  of  uasymj).-!- 
thetic,  gloomy,  dirty  streets,  and  crowded'  thor- 
oughfares, over  jaw-wrenching  street-railway 
track.s,  to  a  large  wooden  shed  covered  with  in- 
scriptions resjMjcting  routes  and  destinations  on 
the  bank  of  the  river,  which  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  see,  was  bordered  by  similar  establi-sli- 
ments,  where  my  baggage  was  deposited  in  the 
mud.  There  were  no  porters,  none  of  the  rec- 
ognised and  established  aides  to  locomotion  to 
which  we  are  accustomed  in  Europe,  but  a  num- 
ber of  amateurs  divided  the  spoil,  and  carried  it 
into  the  offices,  whilst  I  was  directed  to  struggle 
for  my  ticket  in  another  little  wooden  box,  from 
which  I  presently  received  the  necessary  docu- 
ment, full  of  the  dreadful  warnings  and  condi- 
tions, which  railway  companies  inflict  on  the 
public  in  all  free  countries. 

The  whole  of  my  luggage,  except  a  large  bag, 
was  taken  charge  of  by  a  man  at  the  New  York 
side  of  the  ferry,  who  "checked  it  through"  to 
the  capital — giving  me  a  slip  of  brass  with  a 
number  corresponding  with  a  brass  ticket  for  each 
piece.  When  the  boat  arrived  at  the  stage  at 
the  other  side  of  the  Hudson,  in  my  innocence  I 
called  for  a  porter  to  take  my  bag.  The  passen- 
gers were  moving  out  of  the  capacious  ferry-boat 
in  a  steady  stream,  and  the  steam  throat  and  bell 


of  the  engine  were  going  whiliit  I  was  looking 
for  my  porter;  but  at  last  a  gentleman  puMHing 
Maid,  *'l  guess  y'ill  remain  hero  a  c(MiNiderablu 
tinu!  before  y'ill  get  any  one  to  come  for  that 
bag  of  yours,"  and  taking  the  hint,  I  just  got  olV 
In  time  to  stumble  into  a  long  box  on  wheels, 
with  n  double  row  of  most  uncomfortable  seats, 
and  a  pasitnge  down  the  middle,  where  I  found 
a  place  beside  Mr.  Sanford,  the  newly-appoint- 
ed United  States  Minister  to  Helgium,  vho  was 
kind  enough  to  take  me  under  his  charge  to 
Washington. 

The  night  wns  closing  in  very  fast  as  the  train 
started,  but  such  glimpses  as  I  had  of  the  coutin* 
nous  line  of  pretty-looking  villages  of  wooden 
houses,  two  stories  high,  painted  white,  each  with 
its  ('orinthian  portico,  gave  a  most  favourable 
impression  of  the  comfort  and  prosperity  of  the 
|)eopIe.  The  rail  pn8.sed  through  the  nuiiu  strev-'t 
of  most  of  these  hamlets  and  villages,  and  the 
IkjH  of^tho  engine  was  tolled  to  warn  the  inhab- 
itants, who  drew  up  on  the  side  walks  and  let 
us  go  by.  Soon  the  white  houses  faded  awny 
into  faint  blurred  tuarks  on  the  black  ground  of 
the  landscape,  or  twinkled  with  starliko  lights, 
and  there  was  nothing  more  to  sec.  The  pas- 
sengers were  crowded  as  dose  as  they  could  pack, 
aiul  as  there  was  an  immense  iron  stove  in  the 
centre  of  the  car,  the  heat  and  stuffiness  became 
most  trying,  although  I  had  been  undergoing  the 
ordeal  of  the  stove-heated  New  York  houses  for 
nearly  a  week.  Once  a  minute,  at  least,  the  door 
at  either  end  of  the  carriage  was  optnicd,  and 
then  closed  with  a  sharp  crashing  noise,  that 
jarred  the  nerves,  and  effectually  prevented  sleep. 
It  generally  was  done  by  a  man  whose  sole  ob- 
ject seemed  to  be  to  walk  up  the  centre  of  the 
carriage  in  order  to  go  out  of  the  opposite  door 
— occasionally  it  was  the  work  of  the  newspa])er 
boy,  with  a  sheaf  of  journals  and  trashy  illus- 
trated papers  under  his  arm.  Now  and  then  it 
was  the  conductor;  but  the  periodical  visitor 
was  a  young  gentleman  with  a  chain  and  rings, 
who  bore  a  tray  before  him,  and  solicited  orders 
for  "gum  drops,"'  and  "lemon  drops,"  which, 
with  tobacco,  ai)])les,  and  cakes,  were  consumed 
in  great  quantities  by  the  passengers. 

At  10  o'clock,  P.M.,  we  crossed  the  river  by  a 
ferry  boat  to  Philadeljihia,  and  dro^e  through 
the  streets,  stopping  for  supper  a  few  moments 
at  the  La  Pierre  Hotel.  To  judge  from  the  vast 
extent  of  the  streets,  of  small,  low,  yet  snug-look- 
ing hou.«es,  through  which  we  passed,  Philadel- 
phia must  contain  in  comfort  the  largest  number 
of  small  householders  of  any  city  in  the  world. 
At  the  other  terminus  of  the  rail,  to  which  we 
drove  in  a  carriage,  we  procured  for  a  small 
sum,  a  dollar  I  think,  berths  in  a  sleeping  car, 
an  American  institution  of  considerable  merit. 
Unfortunately  a  party  of  prize-fighters  had  a 
mind  to  make  themselves  comfortable,  and  the 
result  was  anything  but  conducive  to  sleep. 
They  had  plenty  of  whiskey,  and  were  full  of 
song  and  fight,  nor  was  it  possible  to  escape  their 
urgent  solicitations  "to  take  a  drink,"  by  feign- 
ing the  soundest  sleep.  One  of  these,  a  big  man, 
with  a  broken  nose,  a  mellow  eye,  and  a  very 
largo  display  of  rings,  jewels,  chains  and  pins, 
was  in  very  high  spirits,  and  informed  us  he  was 
"Going  to  Washington  to  get  a  foreign  mission 
from  Bill  Seward.  He  wouldn't  take  Paris,  ns 
he  didn't  care  much  about  French  or  French- 


f^   I 


MY  DIAUY  NOUTH  AND  SOUTIf. 


but  licM  jnut  liko  to  show  JdIiii  Hull  Imw 
it ;  or  lii-'tl  iaki«  jH|iim  if  tlicy  wno  very 


men ; 
to  do 

jircshiiiK."  Another  told  us  lie  wuh  "(Joiiig  to 
the  horn  Ml  of  Uiit  lo  AIkj"  (nifnniiiK  tho  I'rnil- 
dint)— "thai  ho  ktu'w  hitn  well  in  Krnlutky 
ytard  »p>,  and  alii^h  toned  Koutii-num  lio  wnH." 
*Any  iittcniiits  to  jHrsuiKlo  thcni  to  retire  tt)  rest 
nunlc  hy  the  eondiietors  were  treated  witli  Hover- 
ciKU  rontcmpt,  hut  at  hist  whiskey  asserted  its 
Ruprcniacv,  and  hnvin«eMal)Iished  the  point  that 

tliey  "  woiihl  not  sleep  unloBf  they pleased," 

they  sh'pt  anil  snored. 

At  tiix,  A.M.,  wc  were  roused  up  hy  flio  nrrivnl 
of  tlie  train  at  Washinclon,  haviuK  erossed  ^reat 
rivers  and  traversetl  cities  witiiont  knowing  it 
dnriiiR  the  niK'ht.  I  hioked  out  and  .saw  jv  vast 
nuLss  of  white  innrhlc  towering  ahove  ns  on  the 
hff,  (itretching  otit  in  eolonnadetl  portieoos,  and 
long  Hanks  of  windowed  ma.sonry,  and  surmount- 
ed Iiy  an  unlinislied  enpoln,  front  whieli  sealVold 
anil  <  raiu's  raised  their  hhuk  arms.  'J'his  was 
tiic  Capitol.  To  tlie  right  was  a  cleared  space 
of  mud,  .sand,  and  fields  studded  with  wooden 
sheds  and  hut.s,  heyond  wliieli,  again,  could  he 
8ccn  rudimentary  streets  of  small  red  brick 
houses,  and  some  church-8|)ires  aiiovo  them. 

Kmerging  from  the  station,  we  found  a  vocif- 
erous crowcl  of  hlacks,  who  were  the  hackney- 
coachmen  of  the  ])Iaec;  hut  Mr.  Sanford  had  his 
carriage  in  waiting,  and  drove  mc  straight  to 
Willard's  Hotel,  wliero  he  consigned  mo  to  the 
huullord  at  the  bar.  Our  route  lay  through 
IVnnsylvaniiv  avenue — a  street  of  nuich  breadth 
and  length,  lined  with  relantlius  trees,  each  in  a 
white-waslicn  wootled  8ei\try  box,  and  by  most 
irregularly-built  hou.ses  in  all  kinds  of  material, 
from  deal  plank  to  marble — of  all  heights,  and 
every  sort  of  trade.  Few  shop-windows  were 
open,  and  the  inincipal  j)0])ulati(m  consisted  of 
blacks,  who  were  moving  about  on  domestic  af- 
fairs. At  one  end  of  the  long  vista  there  is  the 
Capitol ;  and  at  the  other,  the  Treasury  build- 
ings— a  fine  block  in  marble,  with  the  usual 
American  classical  colonnades. 

(-lose  to  these  rises  the  great  ])ilc  of  Willard's 
Hotel,  now  occupied  by  ajjiilieants  for  office,  and 
by  the  members  of  the  newly-assembled  Con- 
gress. It  is  a  quadrangular  mass  of  rooms,  six 
stories  high,  and  some  hundred  yards  square ; 
and  it  probably  contains  at  this  moment  more 
schemi  .^,  jilotting,  ])lanning  heads,  more  aching 
and  jo  'ul  hearts,  than  any  Imilding  of  the  same 
size  ever  held  in  the  world.  I  was  ushered  into 
a  bed-room  which  had  just  been  vacated  by  some 
candidate — whether  he  succeeded  or  not  I  can- 
not tell,  hut  if  his  testimonials  spoke  truth,  he 
ought  to  have  been  selected  at  once  for  the  high- 
est office.  The  room  was  littered  with  printed 
copies  of  letters  testifying  that  J.  Smith,  of  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  was  about  the  ablest,  lionestest,  clev- 
erest, and  best  man  the  writers  ever  knew.  Up 
and  down  the  long  passages  doors  were  opening 
and  shutting  for  men  with  papers  bulging  out  of 
their  pockets,  who  hurried  as  if  for  their  life  in 
and  out,  and  the  building  almost  shook  with  the 
tread  of  the  candidature,  which  did  not  always 
in  its  present  aspect  justify  the  correctness  of  the 
original  appellation. 

It  was  a  remarkable  sight,  and  difficult  to  un- 
derstand unless  seen.  From  California,  Texas, 
from  the  Indian  Reserves,  and  the  Mormon  ter- 
ritory, from  Nebraska,  as  from  the  remotest  bor- 


dem  of  Minnietiota,  from  every  portion  of  tho 
vast  terriioricH  of  the  Union,  cxce]it  from  the  Su. 
ceded  StatcH,  the  triumphant  republicuhs  had 
winged  their  way  to  the  prey. 

Tiiere  were  crowds  in  the  hall  through  which 
one  couhl  scarce  make  his  way — the  writing- 
room  was  crowiled,  and  the  rustle  of  pens  roe  f) 
a  little  bree/e — ihi^  hmoking-room,  the  bar,  i ho 
barbers,  the  reception-room,  the  ladies' drawing.  ! 
room — all  were  crowded.  At  jircsent  not  les«  ■ 
than  '2J>W)  |)Co))le.  dine  in  the  ]iublie  room  every  ' 
(lay.  On  the  kitchen  tloor  there  is  avast  apart- 
ment, a  hall  without  carpets  or  any  furniture  but 
plain  chairs  and  tables,  which  are  ranged  in  closo 
rows,  at  which  Jlocks  of  jicople  are  feeding,  or 
discoursing,  or  from  which  they  arc  Hying  away. 
Tho  servants  never  cease  shoving  the  chairs  to 
and  fro  with  a  harsh  screeching  noise  over  tho 
floor,  so  that  one  can  scarce  hear  his  neighbour 
speak.  If  he  did,  ho  would  j)robably  hear  as  I 
did,  at  this  very  hot«'l,  a  man  order  breakfast, 
"HIack  ten  and  toast,  scrambled  eggs,  fn  sli 
spring  shad,  wild  pigeon,  i)igs'  feet,  two  robinn 
on  toast,  oysters,"  and  a  (|uantity  of  breatis  and 
cakes  of  various  denominations.  The  waste  con- 
sequent on  such  orders  is  enormous — and  the 
ability  required  to  conduct  these  enormous  es- 
tablishments successfully  is  expressed  by  tho 
common  i)hrase  in  the  States,  "  Jlrown  is  a  clev- 
er man,  but  he  eiin't  manage  an  hotel."  Tho 
tumult,  the  miscellaneous  nature  of  the  comimny 
—  my  friends  the  iirize-fightcrs  are  already  in 
possession  of  the  (hiorway  —  tho  heated,  muggy 
rooms,  not  to  sjieak  of  the  great  abominableness 
of  the  jmssagcs  and  halls,  des])ite  a  most  liberal 
\  ovision  of  spittoons,  conduce  to  render  these 
institutions  by  no  means  agreeable  to  a  Euro- 
jjcan.  Late  in  the  day  I  succeeded  in  obtaining 
a  sitting-room  with  a  small  bed-room  attached, 
which  made  mo  somewhat  more  independent 
and  comfortab'e — but  you  must  pay  highly  for 
any  departure  from  the  roiftino  life  of  the  na- 
tives. Ladies  enjoy  a  handsome  drawing-room, 
with  piano,  sofas,  and  easy-chairs,  all  to  them- 
selves. 

I  dined  at  INIr.  Sanford's,  where  I  was  intro- 
duced to  Mr.  Seward,  Secretary  of  State ;  Mr, 
Truman  Smith,  an  ex-senator,  much  respected 
among  the  Kepubliean  party;  Mr.  Antony,  a  sen- 
ator of  the  United  States,  a  journalist,  a  very  in- 
telligent-looking man,  with  an  Israelitish  cast  of 
face;  Colonel  Foster  of  the  Illinois  railway,  of 
reputation  in  the  States  as  a  geologist ;  and  ono 
or  two  more  gentlemen.  Mr.  Seward  is  a  slight, 
middle-sized  man,'<if  feeble  build,  with  the  stoop 
contracted  from  sedentary  habits  and  application 
to  the  desk,  and  has  a  peculiar  attitude  when 
seated,  which  immediately  attracts  attention.  A 
well-formed  and  large  head  is  placed  on  a  long, 
slender  neck,  and  ))roject8  over  the  chest  in  an 
argumentative  kind  of  way,  ns  if  the  keen  eyes 
were  seeking  for  an  adversary :  the  mouth  is  re- 
markably flexible,  large  but  well-formed,  the  noso 
))rominent  and  aquiline,  the  eyes  secret,  but  pene- 
trating, and  lively  with  humour  of  some  kind 
twinkling  about  them  ;  the  brow  bold  and  broad, 
but  not  remarkably  elevated  ;  the  white  hair  sil- 
very and  fine — n  subtle,  quick  man,  rejoicing  in 
power,  given  to  perorate  and  to  oracular  utter- 
ances, fond  of  badinage,  bursting  with  the  im- 
portance of  state  mysteries,  and  with  the  dignity 
of  directing  the  foreign  policy  of  the  greatest 


4> 


country — ns 
After  ilinnei 
on  the  I're 
nniusod  the 
freely  and 
liowuver,  fe\N 
assertion  in 
been  given  t^ 
"  is  a  plain  I 
\Vi!  willgivo 
ing  that  Inv 
would  only 
tlic3  l'resi(lei 
c(!ived."  11. 
•'  History  te 
liaments  lost 
company  he 
his  historiea 

All  throng 
of  a  man  ver 
tempt  for  tin 
serious  in  se 
sidf,  my  brotl 
gionists — wo 
young,  but  \a 
'riioso  States 
I  doubt  if  li( 
finned  that  tl 
was  somethii 
sixty  or  suvei 
lifi!,  enterpris 
South  there  v 
an  idle  extra 
gant luxury- 
such  as  had 
for  half  a  c 
groomed  horJ 
sent  to  town 
bad  cookery, 
could  be  iWiW 
States  at  all. 
"about  the  I 
let  us  bt>,  best 
judge  righth 
V'O  judge  wro 
results,  and  s 
that  if  tne  M 
raises  a  revc 
nothing,  .ind 
is  raised  hen 
tariff  fails  to 
to  modify  or 

The  compi 
which  led  to 
ho  was  in  h 
name  down  ^ 
caused  a  di; 
whether  he  i 
of  a  public  c( 
England  treii 
due  to  his  po? 
resent  very  n 
in  high  place 
infer  that  ho 
had  met  in  I 
can  artbrd  it, 
old  stream  h 
of  tho  Mississ 
ract. 

Afarch  27/ 
Mr.  Sanford 
took  mo  to  t 


MY  DIAIIV  NOIITII  AND  SOUTH. 


tt 


A> 


country — nit  nil  AmerirnnM  tliiiik — in  tlio  worlfl. 
AftiT  tliniK-r  lui  told  (tomc!  Ntoriot  nf  tlio  jiri>siiio 
«in  till)  I'lcHiilfiit  for  plucc',  wliicli  vi'ry  iiiucli 
ainiisiul  tiiu  ^iicHtH  who  knew  tlin  nirn,  iiml  tiilkfd 
frui'ly  and  |ilciiHHnlly  of  niiiny  tiling!* — Niiuiin^, 
liDWuvcr,  few  fiu-iH  positivi-ly.  In  rffcri-nco  lo  an 
UHsortion  in  a  New  Yoik  paper,  that  ordiTH  had 
bet-n  (?iv('n  to  evacuati!  Sumter,  "'rhaf,"he  said, 
"  is  a  plain  lie — no  sueli  orders  have  lieen  f';iven. 
We  will  nive  up  nothin>(  we  have — ahaiidon  noth. 
iuK  that  has  heen  entrusted  to  uh.  If  people 
would  oidy  read  these  ctateineiits  l»y  the  li^luof 
tlio  I'resiilont's  inaugural,  they  would  not  he  dc- 
ctdved."  II(!  wanted  no  extra  session  of  ('ouKresH. 
"  History  tells  us  that  kinns  who  eall  extra  par- 
liaments lose  their  heads,"  and  he  informed  the 
conifiany  he  hail  impressed  tho  President  with 
liis  historieal  parallels. 

All  throuj?li  this  eonvorsntion  his  tone  wns  tlint 
of  a  man  very  sanpuine,  and  with  n  supreme  eon- 
tempt  for  tliuso  who  thought  thGi<.  was  nnythiuK 
Herious  in  seeesslon.  "Why," said  ho,  "I  my- 
self, my  brothers,  and  sisters,  have  been  all  seces- 
Bionists — wo  seceded  from  home  when  wo  were 
voun;j,  but  wo  all  went  baek  to  it  sooner  or  later. 
'riiose  States  will  all  eomc  baek  in  the  same  way." 
I  doubt  if  he  was  ever  in  the  South ;  but  he  af- 
firmed that  the  state  of  livinR  and  of  soeiety  there 
was  something  like  that  in  the  State  of  New  York 
sixty  or  seventy  years  aHo.  In  the  Norih  all  was 
lifii,  enter|)risc,  industry,  mechanical  skill.  In  the 
South  there  was  dependence  on  black  labour,  and 
nn  idle  oxtravat^ancc  which  was  mistaken  for  ele- 
gant luxury — tumbledown  old Imckney-coaches, 
such  as  had  not  been  seen  north  of  the  rotomac 
fm"  half  a  century,  harness  never  cleaned,  iin- 
groomiul  horses,  worked  at  tho  mill  one  day  and 
sent  to  town  the  next,  badly  furnished  houses, 
bad  cookery,  imperfect  education.  No  parallel 
coidd  be  drawn  between  them  and  the  Northern 
States  at  all.  "  You  arc  all  very  anpry,"  ho  said, 
*' about  tho  Morrill  tariff.  You  must,  however, 
let  us  bi",  best  judges  of  our  own  affairs.  If  wc 
judj^c  riglitly,  you  have  no  right  to  com[)lain  ;  if 
ve  judge  wrongly,  wc  shall  soon  be  taught  by  tho 
results,  and  shall  correct  our  error.  It  is  evident 
that  if  tlic  Morrill  tariff  fulfils  expectations,  and 
raises  a  revenue,  British  manufacturers  sutler 
nothing,  :ind  we  suffer  nothing,  for  the  reveniio 
is  raised  here,  and  trade  is  not  injured.  If  tho 
tariff  fails  to  create  a  revenue,  wc  shall  be  driven 
to  modify  or  repeal  it." 

The  company  addressed  him  as  "Governor," 
which  Icil  to  Mr.  Seward's  mentioning  that  when 
he  was  in  England  he  was  induced  to  put  his 
name  down  with  that  jnefix  in  a  hotel  book,  and 
caused  a  discussion  among  the  waiters  as  to 
whether  he  w(is  tho  "  Governor"  of  a  prison  or 
of  a  pu!)lic  company.  I  hope  the  great  i)eo])le  of 
England  treated  Mr,  Seward  with  the  attention 
due  to  his  position,  as  he  would  assuredly  feel  and 
resent  very  much  any  slight  on  the  part  of  those 
in  high  places.  From  what  he  said,  however,  I 
infer  that  ho  wns  satisfied  with  the  reception  he 
had  met  in  London.  Like  most  Americans  who 
can  afford  it,  he  has  heen  up  tho  Nile.  The  weird 
old  stream  has  great  fascinations  for  the  people 
of  the  Mississippi — as  far  at  least  as  the  first  cata- 
ract. 

March  27th. — This  morning,  after  breakfast, 
Mr.  Sanford  called,  according  to  promise,  and 
took  me  to  the  State  department.     It  is  a  very 


I  humble  —  in  fact,  dingy  —  mansion,  two  Btorlen 
hi^h,  and  situated  at  the  end  of  th<'  magniticeiit 
line  of  lonnade  in  while  marble,  called  tli<' 
Treanury,  which  is  hereafter  to  do  duty  as  tlie 
head  ijuarteitt  of  nearly  all  tho  public  depnrt- 
nients.  People  familiar  with  Downing  Street, 
liow<!ver,  cannot  object  to  tho  dinginess  of  the 
bureaux  in  which  tho  foreign  and  state  nfi'airs  of 
the  American  Uepnbliir  are  transacteil.  A  llight 
of  steps  leads  to  the  halUh)or,  on  which  an  an- 
nouncement in  writing  is  afiixed,  to  iixlicati^  tho 
days  of  reception  for  the  variiuis  classes  of  jier- 
soiis  who  have  business  with  the  Secittaiy  of 
State  ;  in  the  hall,  on  tlM<  right  and  left,  are  small 
rooms,  with  the  names  of  the  difiereiit  ofiicers  oil 
the  doors — most  of  them  persons  of  importance  ; 
half-way  in  tho  hall  a  flight  of  stairs  conducts  ns 
to  a  similar  corridor,  ratlurr  dark,  with  doors  on 
each  side  opening  into  the  bureaux  of  tlio  chief 
clerks.  All  the  appointments  were  very  (|uiet, 
and  ono  would  see  much  more  busth^  in  the  pas- 
sage of  ft  Poor  Law  Hoard  or  a  parish  vestry. 

In  a  moderately  sized,  but  very  comfortable, 
npartinenf,  surrounded  with  book-shelves,  and  or- 
namented with  ft  few  engravings,  wo  found  the 
Secretary  of  Stutc  seated  at  his  table,  and  enjoy- 
ing a  cigar;  he  received  me  with  great  courtesy 
and  kindness,  and  after  a  time  said  ho  would 
take  occasion  to  i)fesent  nii;  to  the  President,  wlio 
was  to  give  auilience  that<lay  to  the  minister  ot' 
the  new  kingdom  of  Italy,  who  had  hitherto  only 
represented  the  kingdom  of  Sardinin. 

I  have  already  described  Mr.  Seward's  per- 
sonal ai)pcaranco ;  his  son,  to  whom  he  intro- 
duced me,  is  the  Assistant-Secretary  of  State, 
and  is  editor  or  proprietor  of  a  journal  in  the 
State  of  New  York,  which  has  a  reputation  fur 
ability  and  fairness.  Mr.  Frederick  Seward  is 
a  slight  dclicatc-looking  man,  with  a  high  fore- 
head, thoughtful  brow,  dark  eyes,  and  amiable 
expression  ;  his  manner  is  very  jilacid  and  mod- 
est, and,  if  not  reserved,  ho  is  by  no  means  lo- 
quacious. As  wo  were  speaking,  a  carriage 
drove  up  to  the  door,  and  Mr.  Seward  exclaim- 
ed to  his  father,  with  something  like  dismay  in 
his  voice,  "Hero  comes  tho  Chevalier  in  full 
tiniform!" — and  in  a  few  seconds  in  effect  tho 
Ohevalier  Bertinatti  made  his  appearance,  in 
cocked  hat,  white  gloves,  diplomatic  suit  of  blue 
and  silver  lace,  sword,  sash,  and  riband  of  the 
cross  of  Savoy.  I  thought  there  was  a  quiet 
smile  on  Mr.  Sewartl's  face  as  he  saw  his  bril- 
liant comi)ani()n,  who  contrasted  so  strongly 
with  the  more  than  republican  simplicity  of  his 
own  attire.  "Fred,  do  you  take  Mr.  Kiissell 
round  to  tho  President's,  whilst  I  go  with  tho 
Chevalier,  We  will  meet  at  the  White  House." 
We  accordingly  set  out  through  a  private  door 
leading  to  the  grounds,  and  within  a  few  sec- 
onds entered  the  hall  of  the  moderate  mansion, 
White  House,  which  has  very  much  the  air  of 
a  portion  of  a  bank  or  public  office,  being  pro- 
vided with  glass  doors  and  plain  heavy  chairs 
and  forms.  The  domestic  who  was  in  attend- 
ance was  dressed  like  any  ordinary  citizen,  and 
seemed  perfectly  indifferent  to  the  high  position 
of  tho  great  personage  with  whom  he  conversed, 
when  Mr.  Seward  asked  him,  "Where  is  the 
President?"  Passing  through  one  of  the  doors 
on  tho  left,  wc  entered  a  handsome  spacious 
room,  ricldy  nnd  rather  gorgeously  furnished, 
and  rejoicing  in  a  kind  of  "demi-Jour,"  which 


22 

gave  increased  effect  to  the  gilt  chairs  and  or- 
molu ornaments.  Mr.  Seward  and  the  Cheva- 
lier stood  in  the  centre  of  the  room,  whils^  l-'s 
son  and  I  remained  a  little  on  one  side  :  "  For," 
said  Mr.  Seward,  "you  are  not  to  be  supposed 
to  be  here." 

Soon  afterwards  there  entered,  with  a  sham- 
blinp,  loose,  irrcRular,  almost  unsteady  gait,  a 
tall,  lank,  lean  man,  considerably  over  six  feet 
in  height,  '  .ih  stooping  shoulders,  long  pendu- 
lous arms,  terminating  in  hands  of  extraordina- 
ry dimenticns,  whicii,  however,  were  far  exceed- 
ed in  proportion  by  his  feet.  lie  was  dressed 
in  an  ill-fitting,  wrinkled  suit  of  black,  which 
put  one  in  mind  of  an  undertaker's  uniform  at 
a  funeral;  round  his  neck  a  rope  of  black  silk 
was  knotted  in  a  large  bulb,  with  flying  ends 
projecting  beyond  the  collar  of  his  coat;  his 
turned -down  shirt -collar  disclosed  a  sinewy 
muscular  yellow  neck,  and  above  that,  nestling 
in  a  great' black  mass  of  hair,  bristling  and  com- 
pact like  a  ruff  of  mourning  pins,  rose  the 
strange  .juaint  face  and  head,  covered  with  its 
thatch  of  wild  republican  luiir,  of  President  Lin- 
coln. The  impression  produced  by  the  size  of 
his  extremities,  and  by  his  flapping  and  wide 
projecting  ears,  may  be  removed  by  the  appear- 
ance of  kindliness,  sagacity,  and  the  awkward 
bonhommic  of  his  face  ;  the  mouth  is  absolutely 
prodigious ;  the  lips,  straggling  and  extending 
almost  from  one  line  of  black  beard  to  the  other, 
are  only  kept  in  order  by  two  deep  furrows  from 
the  nostril  to  the  chin ;  the  nose  itself — a  prom- 
inent organ — stands  out  from  the  face  with  an 
inquiring,  anxious  air,  as  though  it  were  snif- 
fing for  some  good  thing  in  the  wind  ;  the  eyes 
dark,  full,  and  deeply  set,  are  penetrating,  but 
full  of  an  expression  which  almost  amounts  to 
tenderness;  and  above  them  ])rojects  the  shaggy 
brow,  running  into  the  small  hard  frontal  space, 
the  development  of  which  can  scarcely  be  esti 
mated  a^'curately,  owing  to  the  irregular  flocks 
of  tli;  k  hair  carelessly  brushed  across  it.  One 
v/ould  spv  that,  although  the  mouth  was  made 
to  enjoy  .i  joke,  it  could  also  utter  the  severest 
sentence  which  the  head  could  dictate,  but  that 
Mr.  Lincoln  would  be  ever  more  willing  to  tem- 
per justice  with  mercy,  and  to  enjoy  what  he 
considers  the  amenities  of  life,  than  to  tako  a 
harsli  view  of  men's  nature  and  of  the  world, 
and  to  estimate  things  in  an  ascetic  or  puritan 
spirit.  A  person  who  met  Mr.  Lincoln  in  the 
street  would  not  take  him  to  be  what — accord- 
ing to  the  usages  of  European  soii(!ty — is  called 
a  "gentleman;"  and,  indeed,  since  1  came  to 
the  United  States,  I  have  heard  more  dispara- 
ging allusions  made  by  Americans  to  him  on 
that  account  than  I  could  have  expected  among 
simple  republicans,  where  all  should  be  equals ; 
but,  at  the  same  time,  it  would  not  be  possible 
for  the  most  indifterent  observer  to  pass  him  in 
the  street  without  notice. 

As  he  advanced  through  the  room,  he  evi- 
dently controlled  a  desire  to  shake  har.ds  all 
round  with  everybody,  and  smilecl  good-humour- 
cdly  till  he  was  suddenly  brought  up  by  the 
staid  deportment  of  Mr.  Seward,  and  by  the 
profound  diplomatic  bows  of  the  Chevalier  Ber- 
tinatti.  Then,  indeed,  he  suddenly  jerked  him- 
self back,  and  stood  in  front  of  the  two  minis- 
ters, with  his  body  slightly  drooped  forward, 
ftnd  his  hands  behind  his  back,  his  knees  touch- 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


ing,  and  his  feet  iipart.  Mr.  Seward  formally 
presented  the  minister,  whereujion  the  Piesident 
made  a  prodigiously  violent  demonstration  of  hia 
body  in  a  bow  which  had  almost  the  effect  of  a 
smack  in  its  rapidity  and  abruptness,  and,  recov- 
ering himself,  proceeded  to  give  his  utmost  at- 
tention, whilst  the  Chevalier,  with  another  bow, 
read  from  a  paper  a  long  address  in  presenting 
the  royal  letter  accrediting  him  as  "minister 
resident;"  and  when  he  said  that  "the  king 
desired  to  give,  under  your  enlightened  admin- 
istration, all  possible  strength  and  extent  to 
those  sentiments  of  frank  sympathy  which  do 
not  cease  to  be  exhibited  every  moment  between 
the  two  peoples,  and  whose  origin  dates  back  as 
far  as  the  exertions  which  have  presided  over 
their  common  destiny  as  self-governing  and  free 
nations,"  tiie  President  gave  another  bow  still 
more  violent,  as  much  as  to  accept  the  allusion. 

The  minister  forthwith  handed  his  letter  to 
the  President,  who  gave  it  into  the  custody  of 
Mr.  SeAvard,  and  then,  dijtping  his  hand  into  his 
coat-pocket,  Mr.  Lincoln  drew  out  a  sheet  of 
paper,  from  wh  ..  he  read  his  reply,  the  most 
remarkalile  part  of  which  was  his  doctrine  "  that 
file  United  States  were  bound  by  duty  not  to 
interfere  with  the  diftcrcnecs  of  foreign  govern- 
ments and  coimtries."  After  some  words  of 
compliment,  the  President  shook  hands  with 
the  minister,  who  soon  afterwards  retired.  Mr. 
Seward  then  took  me  by  the  hand  and  said — 
"  Mr.  President,  allow  me  to  jjresent  to  you  Mr. 
Russell,  of  the  London  'Times.'"  On  which 
Mr.  Lincoln  put  out  his  hand  in  a  very  friendly 
manner,  and  said,  "Mr.  Russell,  I  am  very 
glad  to  make  your  acquaintance,  and  to  see  you 
in  this  country.  The  London  'Times'  is  one 
of  the  greatest  powers  in  the  world, — in  fact,  I 
ilon't  know  anything  which  lias  much  more  jk/W- 
er, — except  perhaps  the  Mississipjii.  I  nni  ^lad 
to  know  you  as  its  minister."  Conversation  en- 
sued for  some  minutes,  which  the  President  en- 
livened by  two  or  three  peculiar  little  sallies, 
and  I  left  agreeably  imi)ressed  with  his  shrewd- 
ness, humour,  and  natural  sagacity. 

In  the  evening  I  dined  with  Mr.  Seward,  in 
company  with  his  son,  Mr.  Seward,  junior,  Mr. 
Saiifoiil,  and  a  quaint,  natural  specimen  of  an 
American  rustic  lawyer,  who  was  going  to  Brus- 
sels as  Secretary  of  Legation.  His  chief,  Mr. 
Sanford,  did  not  appear  nltogetliei  liaj)py  when 
introduced  to  his  srcrctaiy,  fur  he  found  tiiat  he 
had  a  very  limited,  knowledge  (if  any)  of  French, 
and  of  oth^r  things  v.hich  it  is  generally  consid- 
ered desirable  that  secretaries  should  know. 

Very  naturally,  conversation  turned  on  poli- 
tics. Altliough  no  man  can  foresee  the  nature 
of  the  crisis  which  is  coming,  nor  the  mode  in 
which  it  is  to  be  encountered,  the  faith  of  men 
like  Mr.  Sanford  and  Mr.  Seward  in  the  ulti- 
mate success  of  their  jirinciples,  and  in  the  in- 
tegrity of  the  Republic,  is  very  remarkable ;  and 
the  boldness  of  their  language  in  reference  to 
foreign  i)owers  almost  amounts  to  arrogance  and 
menace,  if  not  to  temerity.  Mr.  Seward  assert- 
ed that  the  Ministers  of  England  or  of  France 
had  no  right  to  make  any  allusion  to  thq  civil 
war  whicli  appeared  imminent ;  and  that  the 
Southern  Commissioners  who  had  hoen  sent 
abroad  could  not  be  received  bv  '.he  (jovernment 
of  any  foreign  ])ower,  officially  or  otherwise,  even 
to  hand  in  a  document  or  to  mak3  a  rcprcsenta- 


* 


V 


tion,  withon 
relations  wi 
States.     As 
curiosity,  th 
maintains  a 
declaration, 
eye,  that  "  t 
on  that  anc 
President's 
no  deviatioi 
sage,  howev 
cation,  a.s  I\ 
the  course  t 
cabinet.     T 
seems  as  if 
velop  thems 
upon  acts  th 
inite  prineip 
future. 

I  should 
high  terms  n 
qualities  of  J 
belief  that  h 
never  could 
and  would,  i 
taken  place 
troduccd,  ai 
lowed.     TIk 
large,  and  1 
travel ; — if  I 
say  further, 
land,  aild  tli 
peculiar  sati 
with  because 
tion  of  the 
ness,  and  pre 
that  it  wonk 
communicai! 
ers  then  in  \ 
mo,  after  wl 
Mr.  Banks, 
d  card  from  1 
the  fuUowini 


A  stato  dinner 
Cabinet  Min 
Friday  at  W 

March  2»l 
from  a  giea 
journalists, 
pressions  of  i 
would  gladli 
in  their  city. 
T'ncoln,  aiu 
circulated  at 
uhir  pleasur 
the  seat  of  h 
cap  and  doa 

In  tlio  eve 
The  servant 
ticuhirly  inq 
tion  in  life ; 
minister,  he 
right  to  be  t 
are  none  hul 
wives  anu  da 
tually  he  .•*>; 
my  hat  so  t. 
nify,  and  inl 
tieii)utc  in  a 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


*!* 


tion,  without  incurring  the  risk  of  breaking  off 
relations  with  the  Government  of  the  United 
States.  As  regards  the  great  object  of  jmblic 
curiosity,  the  relief  of  Fort  Sumter,  Mr.  Seward 
maintains  a  profound  silence,  beyond  the  mere 
declaration,  made  w'  h  a  jjleasant  twinkle  of  the 
eye,  that  "the  whole  policy  of  the  Government, 
on  that  and  other  questions,  is  put  forth  in  the 
President's  inaugural,  from  which  there  will  be 
no  deviation."  Turning  to  the  inaugural  mcs- 
supe,  however,  there  is  no  such  very  certain  indi- 
cation, as  Mr.  Seward  pretends  to  discover,  of 
the  course  to  be  pursued  by  Mr.  Lincoln  and  the 
cabinet.  To  an  outside  observe^',  like  myself,  it 
seems  as  if  they  were  waiting  for  events  to  de- 
velop themselves,  and  rested  their  policy  rather 
upon  acts  that  had  occurred,  than  upon  any  def- 
inite principle  designed  to  control  or  direct  the 
future. 

I  should  here  add  that  Mr.  Sewai-d  spoke  in 
high  terms  of  the  ability,  dexterity,  and  personal 
qualities  of  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  and  declared  his 
belief  tliat  but  for  him  the  Secession  movement 
never  could  have  succeeded  as  far  as  it  has  gone, 
and  would,  in  all  probability,  indeed,  have  never 
taken  place  at  all.  After  dinner  cigars  were  in- 
troduced, and  a  quiet  little  rubber  of  whist  fol- 
lowed. The  Secretary  is  given  to  expatiate  at 
large,  and  told  us  many  anecdotes  of  foreign 
travel ; — if  I  am  not  doing  him  injustice,  I  would 
say  further,  that  he  remembers  his  visit  to  li^ng- 
land,  and  the  attention  he  received  there,  with 
peculiar  satisfaction.  He  cannot  be  found  fault 
with  because  he  has  formed  a  most  exalted  no- 
tion of  the  superior  intelligence,  virtue,  happi- 
ness, and  prosperity  of  his  own  jieople.  He  said 
that  it  would  not  be  proper  for  him  to  hold  any 
communication  with  the  Southern  Commission- 
ers then  in  Wasliington  ;  which  rather  surprised 
mc,  after  what  I  had  heard  from  tlieir  friend, 
Mr.  Banks.  On  returning  to  my  hotel,  I  found 
a  card  from  the  President,  inviting  me  to  dinner 
the  following  day. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

A  state  dinnor  nt  tho  White  House — Mra.  Lincoln — Tho 
Cabinet  Ministers — ,\  newspaper  correspondent — Good 
Friday  at  Wasliington. 

March  2St/i. — I  was  honoured  to-day  by  visits 
from  a  great  number  of  Members  of  Congress, 
journalists,  and  others.  Judging  from  the  ex- 
pressions of  most  of  the  Washington  people,  thoy 
would  gladly  sec  a  Southern  Cabinet  installed 
in  their  city.  The  cold  shoulder  is  given  to  Mr. 
T  inc'.dn,  and  all  kinds  of  stories  and  jokes  arc 
circulated  at  bis  expense.  People  take  partic- 
ular pleasure  in  telling  how  he  came  towards 
the  seat  of  his  Government  disguised  in  a  Scotch 
cap  and  cloak,  whatever  that  may  mean. 

In  the  evening  I  repaired  to  the  White  House. 
The  servant  who  took  my  hat  and  coat  was  j)ar- 
ticularly  inquisitive  as  to  my  name  and  condi- 
tion in  life;  and  when  he  heard  I  was  not  a 
minister,  he  seemed  inclined  to  question  my 
right  to  be  there  at  all:  "for,"  said  he,  " there 
are  none  but  members  of  the  cabinet,  and  their 
wives  anJ  daughters,  dining  liore  to-day."  Even 
tually  he  -olaxed — instructed  me  how  to  place 
my  hat  so  t.  '*  it  would  be  exposed  to  no  indig- 
nity, and  informed  me  that  I  was  about  to  par- 
ticipate in  a  prandiul  enjoyment  of  uo  ordinary 


character.  There  was  no  parade  or  display,  no 
announcement — no  gilded  staircase,  with  its  liv- 
eried heralds,  transmitting  and  translating  one's 
name  from  landing  to  landing.  From  tho  un- 
pretending ante-chamber,  a  walk  across  the  lofty 
hall  led  us  to  the  recej)tion-room,  which  was  tho 
same  as  that  in  which  the  President  held  his  in- 
terview yesterday. 

Mrs.  Lincoln  was  already  seated  to  receive  her 
guests.  She  is  of  the  middle  age  and  height,  of 
a  plumpness  degenerating  to  the  embonpoint  nat- 
ural to  her  years ;  her  features  are  plain,  her 
nose  and  mouth  of  an  ordinary  type,  and  her 
manners  and  appearance  homely,  stiffened,  how- 
ever, by  the  consciousness  that  her  position  re- 
quires her  to  be  something  more  than  plain  Mrs. 
Lincoln,  the  wife  of  the  Illinois  lawyer ;  she  is 
profuse  in  the  introduction  of  the  word  "  sir"  in 
every  sentence,  which  is  now  almost  an  Ameri- 
canism confined  to  certain  classes,  although  it 
was  once  as  common  in  England.  Her  dress  I 
shall  not  attempt  to  describe,  though  it  was  very 
gorgeous  and  highly  coloured.  She  handled  a 
fan  with  much  energy,  displaying  a  round,  well- 
proportioned  arm,  and  was  adorned  with  some 
simple  jewellery.  Mrs.  Lincoln  struck  me  as  Ijc- 
ing  desirous  of  making  herself  agreeable  ;  and  I 
own  I  was  agreeably  disappointed,  as  the  Seces- 
sionist ladies  at  Washington  had  been  amusing 
themselves  by  anecdotes  which  could  scarcely 
have  been  founded  on  fact. 

Several  of  the  Ministers  had  already  arrived; 
by-and-by  all  had  come,  and  the  ])arty  only  wait- 
ed for  General  Scott,  who  seemed  to  be  the  rep- 
resentative man  in  Washington  of  the  monarch- 
ical idea,  and  to  absorb  some  of  the  feeling  which 
is  lavished  on  the  pictiires  and  memory,  if  not  on 
the  monument,  of  Washington.  Whilst  we  were 
waiting,  Mr  Seward  took  me  round,  and  intro- 
duced me  to  the  Ministers,  and  to  their  wives 
and  daughters,  among  the  latter.  Miss  Chase, 
who  is  very  attractive,  agreeable,  and  sjjrightly. 
Her  father,  tlie  Finance  Minister  ^truck  me  as 
one  of  the  most  intelligent  and  di&imguishcd  per- 
sons in  the  whole  assemblage  ;  tall,  of  a  good 
presence,  with  a  well-formed  head,  fine  forehead, 
and  a  face  indicating  energy  and  power.  There 
is  a  j)eculiar  droop  and  motion  of  the  lid  of  one 
eye,  which  seems  to  have  suffered  from  some  in- 
jury, that  detracts  from  the  n-reeable  eftect  of 
his  face  ;  but,  on  the  whole,  he  is  one  who  would 
not  pass  quite  unnoticed  in  a  European  crowd 
of  the  same  description. 

In  the  whfde  assemblage  there  was  not  a  scrap 
of  lace  or  a  piece  of  ribbon,  except  the  gorgeous 
e])aulettes  of  an  old  naval  ofiicer  who  had  served 
against  us  in  the  last  war,  and  who  represented 
some  branch  of  the  naval  department.  Nor 
were  the  Ministers  by  any  means  remarkable  for 
their  personal  ajipearancc. 

Mr.  Cameron,  the  Secretary  for  War,  a  slight 

man,  above  the  middle  height,  with  grey  hair, 

deep-set  keen  grey  eyes,  and  a  t'lin  tnouth,  gave 

me  the  idea  of  a  jwrson  of  ability  and  adroitness. 

His  colleague,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  a  small 

man,  with  a  great  long  grey  beard  and  sjK-cta- 

j  cles,  dm  not  look  like  one  of  much  originality  or 

ability ;  but  i)eopIe  who  know  Mr.  Welles  de- 

I  clare  that  he  is  possessed  of  administrative  pow- 

'  cr,  although  they  admit  that  he  does  not  know 

I  the  stem  from  the  stern  of  a  ship,  and  are  in 

'■  doubt  whether  ho  ever  saw  tho  sea  in  his  life. 


24 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


Mr.  Smith,  the  Minister  of  the  Interior,  is  a 
bright-cycil,  smart  (I  use  the  word  in  the  Eng- 
lish sense)  gentleman,  with  the  reputation  of  be- 
ing one  of  the  most  conservative  members  of  the 
cabinet.  Mr.  IJlair,  the  Postmaster-General,  is 
a  person  of  mueli  greater  influence  than  his  po- 
sitiun  would  indicate.  He  has  the  reputation  of 
being  one  of  the  most  determined  republicans  in 
the  Ministry ;  but  he  held  peculiar  notions  with 
reference  to  the  black  and  the  white  races, 
whicii,  if  carried  out,  would  not  by  .any  means 
conduce  to  the  comfort  or  happiness  of  free  ne- 
groes in  the  United  States.  He  is  a  tall,  lean 
man,  with  a  hard,  Scotch,  practical-looking  head 

an  anvil  for  ideas  to  be  hammered  on.     His 

eyes  are  small  and  deeply  set,  and  have  a  rat- 
like expression  ;  ar.d  he  speaks  with  caution,  as 
though  he  weighed  every  word  before  he  uttered 
it.     The  last  of  the  Ministers  is  Mr.  Bates,  a 
stout,  tliick-set,  common-looking  man,  with   a  | 
large  beard,  who  fills  the  office  of  Attorney-Gen- 1 
eral.     Some  of  the  gentlemen  were  in  evening  i 
dress;  others  wore  black  frock  coats,  which  it 
seem-i,  as  in  Turkey,  are  considered  to  bo  eti  re- 
gie at  a  Republican  Ministerial  dinner. 

In  the  conversation  which  occurred  before  din- 
ner, I  was  amused  to  observe  the  manner  in 
which  Mr.  Lincoln  used  the  anecdotes  for  which 
he  is  famous.  Wiiere  men  bred  in  courts,  ac- 
customed to  the  world,  or  versed  in  diplomacy, 
would  use  some  subterfuge,  or  would  nuike  a  po- 
lite speech,  or  give  a  shrug  of  the  shouldei's  as 
the  means  of  getting  out  of  an  embarrassing  po- 
sition, Mr.  Lincoln  raises  a  laugh  by  some  bold 
west-country  anecdote,  and  moves  off  in  the 
cloud  of  merriment  produced  by  his  joke.  Thus, 
when  Mr.  Bates  was  remonstrating  apparently 
against  the  appointment  of  some  indifferent  law- 
yer to  a  place  of  judicial  importance,  tiic  Presi- 
dent interi)osed  witii,  "Come  now,  Bates,  he's 
not  lialf  as  bad  as  you  think.  Besides  that,  I 
must  tell  you,  he  did  me  a  good  turn  long  ago. 
When  I  took  to  the  law,  I  was  going  to  court 
one  morning,  with  some  ten  or  twelve  miles  of 
bad  road  before  me,  and  I  had  no  horse.  The 
judge  overtook  me  in  his  wagon.  'Hollo,  Lin- 
coln !  Are  you  not  going  to  the  court-house  ? 
Come  iu  and  I'll  give  you  a  seat.'  Well,  I  got 
in,  and  the  judge  went  on  reading  his  papers. 
Presently  the  waggon  struck  a  stump  on  one 
side  of  the  road  ;  then  it  hopped  off  to  the  oth- 
er. I  looked  out,  and  I  saw  the  driver  was  jerk- 
ing from  side  to  side  in  his  scat;  so  says  I, 
'Judge,  I  think  your  coachman  has  becniaking 
a  little  drop  too  much  this  morning.'  '  Well  I 
declare,  Lincoln,'  said  he,  '  I  should  not  much 
wonder  if  you  are  right,  for  he  has  nearly  u])set 
me  h'llf-a-dozen  of  times  since  starting.'  So, 
putting  his  head  out  of  the  window,  he  shouted, 
'  Wliy,  you  infernal  scoundrel,  you  are  drunk  !' 
Upon  which,  jjulling  up  Iiis  horses,  and  turning 
round  with  great  gravity,  the  coachman  said, 
'By  gorra!  that's  tlie  first  rightful  decision  yon 
have  given  for  the  last  twelvemonth.'  "  Whilst 
the  company  were  laughing,  the  President  beat 
a  quiet  retreat  from  the  neighborhood  of  the 
Attorney-General. 

It  was  at  last  announced  that  General  Scott 
was  unable  to  be  present,  and  that,  although 
actually  in  the  house,  he  had  been  compelled  to 
retire  from  indisposition,  and  we  mo'^ed  in  to  the 
banquetting-hall.     The  first  "state  dinner,"  as 


it  is  called,  of  the  President  was  not  remarkable 
for  ostentation.  No  liveried  servants,  no  Persic 
splendour  of  ancient  plate,  or  chefs  d'  ocuvre  of 
art  glittered  round  the  board.  Vases  of  flowers 
decorated  the  table,  combined  with  dishes  in 
what  may  be  called  the  "  Gallo- American"  style, 
with  wines  which  owed  their  parentage  to  France, 
and  their  rearing  and  education  to  the  United 
States,  which  abound  in  cunning  nurses  for  such 
productions.  The  conversation  was  suited  to 
the  state  dinner  of  a  cabinet  at  which  women 
and  strangers  were  present.  I  was  seated  next 
Mr.  Bates  and  the  very  agreeable  and  lively  Sec- 
retary of  the  President,  Mr.  Hay,  and  except 
when  there  was  an  attentive  silence  caused  by 
one  of  the  President's  stories,  there  was  a  Babel 
of  small  talk  round  the  table,  in  which  I  was 
surprised  to  find  a  diversity  of  accent  almost  as 
great  as  if  a  number  of  foreigners  had  been 
speaking  English.  I  omitted  the  name  of  Mr. 
Hamlin,  the  Vice-President,  as  well  as  those  of 
less  remarkable  ])eople  who  were  present ;  but  it 
would  not  be  becoming  to  pass  over  a  man  dis- 
tinguished for  nothing  so  much  as  his  persistent 
and  unvai7ing  adlicsion  to  one  political  doctrine, 
which  has  made  him,  in  combination  with  the 
belief  in  his  honesty,  the  occuj)ant  of  a  post 
which  leads  to  the  Presidency,  in  event  of  any 
occurrence  which  may  remove  Mr.  Lincoln. 

After  dinner  the  ladies  and  gentlemen  retired 
to  the  drawing-room,  and  the  circle  was  increased 
by  the  addition  of  several  politicians.  I  had  an 
opportunity  of  conversing  with  some  of  the  Min- 
isters, if  not  with  all,  from  time  to  time,  and  I 
was  struck  by  the  unifcn-m  tendency  of  their  re- 
marks in  reference  to  the  policy  of  Great  Britain. 
They  seemed  to  think  that  England  was  bound 
by  her  anti-slavery  antecedents  to  discourage  to 
the  utmost  any  attempts  of  the  South  to  estab- 
lish its  independence  on  a  basis  of  slavery,  and 
to  assume  that  they  were  tlie  representatives  of 
an  active  war  of  emancipation.  As  the  veteran 
Commodore  Stewart  passed  the  chair  of  the  young 
lady  to  whom  I  was  speaking,  she  said,  "I  sup- 
pose, Mr.  Russell,  you  do  not  admire  that  offi- 
cer?" "On  the  contrary,"  I  said,  "I  think  ho 
is  a  very  fine-looking  old  man."  "  I  don'tmean 
that,"  she  replied;  "but  you  know  he  can't  bo 
very  much  liked  by  you,  because  he  fought  so 
gallantly  against  you  in  the  last  war,  as  you  must 
know."  I  had  not  tlie  courage  to  confess  igno- 
rance of  the  Ca])tam's  antecedents.  There  fs  a 
delusion  among  more  than  the  fair  American 
who  si)oke  to  me,  that  we  entertain  in  Enghind 
the  sort  of  feeling,  morbid  or  wholes(  nie  as  it 
may  be,  in  reference  to  our  reverses  at  New  Or- 
leans and  elsewhere,  that  is  attributed  to  French- 
men respecting  Waterloo. 

On  returning  to  Willard's  Hotel,  I  was  accost- 
ed by  a  gentleman  who  came  out  from  the  crowd 
in  front  of  the  office.  "  Sir,"  be  said,  "  you  havo 
been  dining  with  our  President  to-night."  I 
bowed.  "Was  it  an  agreeable  partv?"  said  he. 
"  What  do  you  think  of  Mr.  Lincoln ?"  "May 
I  ask  to  whom  I  have  the  pleasure  of  speaking?" 
"My  name  is  Mr. ,  and  I  am  t!ie  corre- 
spondent of  the  New  York ."    "Then,  sir," 

I  replied,  "it  gives  me  satisfaction  to  tell  you 
that  I  think  a  great  deal  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  and 
that  I  am  equally  pleased  with  my  dinner.  I 
have  the  honour  to  bid  you  good  evening."  The 
same  gentleman  informed  me  afterwards  that  he 


\>- 


hud  created  \ 
ent  to  the 
he,  "  I  men 
much ;  then 
let  off  storici 
dieted  me  — 
facts.     The 
I  was  told  to 
resjjondence 
Y'ork  papers 
in  the  hotel 
office  seeker 
after  senator 
in  any  way 
entourage  of  ■ 
spects.     Mis 
that  she  was 
thcr's  good  o 
duction  to  I 
on  "  Uncle 

As  I  was 
smiling  youn 
appearance, 
mo  as  an  art 
trated  Londo 
tour,  and  wh( 
of  my  friend 
call  on  me, 
hesitation, 
lad !  and  tol 
and  of  the  dej 
as  a  prelude 
to  go  South  ' 
of  wliicii  he 
gagemcnt  wi 
doubt  that  if 
all  bo  rcceiv< 
which  my  let 
in  England  ti 
why  I  should 
in  the  same  1 
pleased.     At 
was  in  no  wa 
ble  for  him. 

3Iarch  29ti 
scrvancc  of  t 
would  be  in  1 
ceremonia'i  i 
parently  aCtcc 
soutli  as  this, 
streets  dresse 
sion  producec 
ly-coloured  di 
faces,  flat  figi 
but,  in  justice 
ly-dressed  wc 
ing  to  ehurcl: 
this  surprise  - 
front  view, 
coats,  silk  or 
pantaloons, 
book,  i)oekct- 
infinitc  affect 

As  I  was 
fine,  tall  you 
save  as  to  hi 
der  wluit  he 
gentleman  w 
said,  "that  f 
too  respectab 
1500  dollars, 
continued  lu 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


25 


i 


had  created  the  office  of  Washington  Correspond- 
ent to  the  New  York  papers.  "At  first,"  said 
he,  "I  merely  wrote  news,  and  no  one  cared 
miicli ;  then  I  spiced  it  up,  squihbed  a  little,  and 
let  off  stories  of  my  own.  Congress  men  contra- 
dicted me  —  issued  cards  —  said  they  were  not 
facts.  The  public  attention  was  attracted,  and 
I  wiis  told  to  go  on ;  and  so  the  Washington  cor- 
resi)ondence  became  a  feature  in  all  the  New 
York  papers  by  degrees."  The  hum  and  bustle 
in  the  hotel  to-night  were  wonderful.  All  the 
office  seekers  were  in  the  passages,  hungering 
after  senators  and  representatives,  and  the  ladies 
in  any  way  related  to  influential  peo]jlo,  had  an 
entourage  of  courtiers  sedulously  paying  their  re- 
spects. Miss  Chase,  indeed,  laughingly  told  me 
that  she  was  pestered  by  applicants  for  her  fa- 
ther's good  offices,  and  by  persons  seeking  intro- 
duction to  her  as  a  means  of  making  demands 
on  "  Uncle  Sam." 

As  I  was  visiting  a  book-shop  to-day,  a  pert, 
smiling  young  fellow,  of  slight  figure  and  boyish 
appearance,  came  up  and  introduced  himself  to 
mo  as  an  artist  who  had  contributed  to  an  illus- 
trated London  paper  during  the  Prince  of  Wales's 
tour,  and  who  had  become  acquainted  with  some 
of  my  friends ;  and  he  requested  permission  to 
call  on  me,  which  I  gave  without  difficulty  or 
hesitation.  Ho  visited  me  this  evening,  j)oor 
lad  !  and  told  me  a  sad  story  of  his  struggles, 
and  of  the  dependence  of  his  family  on  his  efforts, 
as  a  prelude  to  a  request  that  I  would  allow  him 
to  go  South  when  I  was  making  the  tour  there, 
of  wiiicli  he  had  heard.  lie  was  under  an  en- 
gagement with  the  London  paper,  and  had  no 
doubt  that  if  he  was  with  me  his  sketches  would 
all  bo  received  as  illustrations  of  the  places  to 
which  my  letters  were  attracting  public  interest 
in  England  at  the  time.  There  was  no  reason 
why  I  should  be  averse  to  his  travelling  with  me 
in  the  same  train.  He  could  certainly  go  if  he 
pleased.  At  the  same  time  I  intimated  that  I 
was  in  no  way  to  bo  connected  with  or  responsi- 
ble fur  him. 

March  2dth,  Good  Friday. — The  religious  ob- 
servance of  the  day  was  not  quite  as  strict  as  it 
would  be  in  England.  The  Puritan  aversion  to 
cercmonia' .  a"-^'  formulary  observances  has  ap- 
parently affected  the  American  world,  even  as  far 
south  as  this.  The  people  of  colour  were  in  the 
streets  dressed  in  their  best.  The  first  impres- 
sion ))roduced  by  fine  bonnets,  gay  shawls,  bright- 
ly-coloured dresses,  and  silk  brodequins,  on  black 
Sices,  flat  figures,  and  feet  to  match,  is  singular ; 
but,  in  justice  to  the  backs  of  many  of  the  gaudi- 
ly-dressed women,  who,  in  little  groups,  were  go- 
ing to  church  or  chajxil,  it  must  be  admitted  tliat 
this  surprise  only  came  upon  one  when  he  got  a 
front  view.  The  men  generally  aftected  black 
coats,  silk  or  satin  waistcoats,  and  parti-coloured 
pantaloons.  They  carried  Missal  or  Prayer- 
book,  pocket-handkerchief,  cane  or  pai'asol,  with 
infinite  aflectation  of  correctness. 

As  I  was  looking  out  of  the  window,  a  very 
fine,  tall  young  negro,  dressed  irreproachably, 
save  as  to  hat  and  boots,  passed  by.  "I  won- 
der what  he  is?"  I  exclai;"3d  inquiringly  to  a 
gentleman  who  stood  beside  me.  "Well,"  ho 
said,  "  that  fellow  is  not  a  free  nigger ;  he  looks 
too  respectable.  I  daresay  yon  could  get  him  for 
1500  dollars,  without  his  clothes.  You  know," 
continued  he,  "what  om*  Minister  said  when 


he  saw  a  nigger  at  some  Court  in  Europe,  and 
was  asked  what  he  thought  of  him:  'Well,  I 
guess,'  said  he,  'if  you  take  off  his  fixings,  he 
may  be  worth  1000  dollars  down.'  In  the  course 
of  the  day,  Mr.  Banks,  a  corpulent,  energetic 
young  Virginian,  of  strong  Southern  views,  again 
called  on  me.  As  the  friend  of  the  Southern 
Commissioners,  he  complained  vehemently  of  the 
refusal  of  Mr.  Seward  to  hold  intercourse  with 
him.  "These  fellows  mean  treacliery,  but  wo 
will  baulk  them."  In  answer  to  a  remark  of 
mine,  that  the  English  Minister  would  certainly 
refu.se  to  receive  Commissioners  from  any  part 
of  the  Queen's  dominions  which  had  seized  upon 
the  forts  and  arsenals  of  the  empire  and  menaced 
war,  he  replied:  "The  case  is  quite  different. 
The  Crown  claims  a  right  to  govern  the  whole 
of  your  empire ;  but  the  Austrian  Government 
could  not  refuse  to  receive  a  de])utation  from 
Hungary  for  an  adjustment  of  grievances  ;  nor 
could  any  State  belonging  to  the  German  Diet 
attemjit  to  claim  sovereignty  over  another,  be- 
cause they  were  members  of  the  same  Confeuer- 
ation."  I  remarked  "that  his  views  of  the  ob- 
ligations of  each  State  of  the  Union  were  i)cr- 
fectly  new  to  me,  as  a  stranger  ignorant  of  the 
controversies  which  distracted  tliem.  An  En- 
glishman had  nothing  to  do  with  a  Virginian 
and  New  Yorkist,  or  a  South  Carolinian  —  he 
scarcely  knew  anything  of  a  Texan,  or  of  an  Ar- 
kansasian;  we  only  were  conversant  with  the 
United  States  as  an  entity  ;  and  all  our  dealings 
were  with  citizens  of  the  United  States  of  North 
America."  This,  however,  only  prov(jked  logic- 
ally diffuse  dissertations  on  the  Articles  of  the 
Constitution,  and  on  the  spirit  of  the  Federal 
Compact. 

Later  in  the  day,  I  had  the  advantage  of  a  con- 
versation with  Mr.  Truman  Smith,  an  old  and 
respected  rcjiresentative  in  former  days,  who  gave 
me  a  very  different  account  of  the  matter;  and 
who  maintained  that  by  the  Federal  Compact 
each  State  had  delegated  irrevocably  the  essence 
of  its  sovereignty  to  a  Government  to  be  estab- 
lished in  perpetuity  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole 
body.  The  Slave  States,  seeing  tliat  the  prog- 
ress  of  free  ideas,  and  the  material  ])ower  of  the 
North,  ^,ere  obtaining  an  influence  which  must 
be  subversive  of  the  supremacy  they  had  so  long 
exercised  in  the  Federal  Government  tor  their 
own  advantage,  had  developed  this  doctrine  of 
States'  Rights  as  a  cloak  to  treason,  ])rcforring 
the  material  advantages  to  be  gained  by  the  ex- 
tension of  their  system  to  the  grand  moral  j)osi- 
tion  which  they  would  occupy  as  a  j)ortiou  of  the 
United  States  in  the  face  of  all  the  world. 

It  is  on  such  radical  differences  of  ideas  as 
these,  that  tlie  whole  of  the  quarrel,  which  is 
widening  every  day,  is  founded.  The  Federal 
Compact,  at  the  very  outset,  was  written  on  a 
torn  sheet  of  paper,  and  time  has  worn  away  the 
artificial  cement  by  wliich  it  was  kcjit  together. 
The  corner  stone  of  the  Constitution  had  a  crack 
in  it,  which  the  heat  and  fury  of  faction  have 
widened  into  a  fissure  from  top  to  bottom,  never 
to  be  closed  again. 

In  the  evening  I  had  the  pleasure  of  dining 
with  an  American  gentleman  who  has  seen  much 
of  the  world,  travelled  far  and' wide,  who  has 
read  much  and  beheld  more,  a  scholar,  a  politi- 
cian, after  his  way,  a  poet,  and  an  ologist — one 
of  those  modern  Grceculi,  who  is  unlike  his  pro- 


j 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


toty|)o  in  Juvcniil  only  in  this,  that  he  is  not 
hungry,  and  that  he  will  not  go  to  heaven  if  you 
order  him. 

Sucli  men  never  do  or  can  succeed  in  the 
United  States ;  they  are  far  too  refined,  j)hilo- 
Bophical,  and  cosmopolitan.  From  what  I  see, 
success  here  may  he  ohtained  hy  refined  men,  if 
they  arc  dishonest,  never  by  philosophical  men, 
unless  they  be  corrupt — not  by  cosmopolitan  men 
under  any  circumstances  whatever ;  for  to  have 
sympathies  with  any  people,  or  witii  any  nation 
in  tiie  world,  cxcept'his  own,  is  to  doom  a  states- 
man witli  the  American  public,  unless  it  be  in 
the  form  of  an  aflectation  of  pity  or  good  will, 
intended  really  as  an  offence  to  some  allied  peo- 
plo.  At  dinner  there  was  the  very  largest  naval 
officer  I  have  seen  in  conii)any,  although  I  must 
own  that  our  own  service  is  not  destitute  of 
some  pood  specimens,  and  I  have  seen  an  Aus- 
trian admiral  at  Tola,  and  the  superintendent  of 
the  Arsenal  at  Tophaneh,  who  were  not  unlit  to 
be  marshals  of  France.  This  Lieutenant,  named 
Nelson,  was  certainly  greater  in  one  sense  than 
his  British  namesake,  for  he  weiglied  2G0  pounds. 

It  may  be  here  remarked,  jmssiin  and  obiter, 
that  the  Americans  are  much  more  precise  than 
ourselves  in  the  enumeration  of  weights  and 
matters  of  this  kind.  They  speak  of  pieces  of 
artillery,  for  example,  as  being  of  so  many  pounds 
weight,  and  of  so  many  inches  long,  where  we 
would  use  cwts.  and  feet.  With  a  people  ad- 
dicted to  vertical  rather  than  lateral  extension  in 
every  thing  but  politics  and  morals,  precision  is 
amatter  of  importance.  I  was  amused  by  a  de- 
8crii)tion  of  some  ])opular  personage  I  saw  in  one 
of  the  papers  the  other  day,  which  after  an  enu- 
meration of  many  high  mental  and  i)!iysical  at- 
tributes, ended  thus:  "In  fact,  he  is  a  remark- 
ably fine,  high-toned  gentleman,  and  weighs  210 
pounds." 

The  Lieutenant  was  a-  strong  Union  man,  and 
he  inveighed  fiercely,  and  even  coarsely,  against 
the  members  of  his  profession  who  had  thrown 
up  their  commissions.  The  superintendent  of 
the  Washington  Navy  Yard  is  supposed  to  be 
very  little  disposed  in  favour  of  this  present  Gov- 
ernment ;  in  fact,  Capt.  Buchanan  may  be  called 
a  Secessionist,  nevertheless,  I  am  invited  to  the 
wedding  of  his  daughter,  in  order  to  see  the 
President  give  away  the  bride.  Mr.  Nelson 
says,  Sumter  and  Pickens  are  to  be  reinforced. 
Charleston  is  to  be  reduced  to  order,  and  all 
traitors  hanged,  or  he  will  know  the  reason  why ; 
and,  says  he,  "I  have  some  weight  in  the  coun- 
try." In  the  evening,  as  we  were  going  home, 
notwithstanding  the  cold,  we  saw  a  number  of 
ladies  sitting  out  on  the  door -steps,  in  white 
dresses.  The  streets  were  remarkably  quiet  and 
deserted ;  all  the  coloured  population  had  been 
sent  to  bed  long  ago.  The  tire-bell,  as  usual, 
made  an  alann  or  two  about  midnight. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

Barbers'  Bhopa— Place-hunting— Tlin  XnvyYavd— Dinner 
at  Lord  Lyons' — Lstimato  of  AVaBliington  among  liis 
countr)-nicii  — WaBliington'a  hou.s&  and  tonilj  — Tlie 
Soutliorn  Commissioners — Pinner  witl>  the  Southern 
Commissioners — Feeling  towards  Kngland  among  the 
Southerners— Animosity  between  North  and  South. 

March  ?>Otfi. — Descended  into  the  barber's  shop 
off  the  hall  of  the  hotel ;  all  the  operators,  men 


of  colour,  mostly  mulattocs,  or  yellow  lads,  good- 
looking,  dressed  in  clean  white  jackets  and 
aprons,  were  .smart,  quick,  and  attentive.  Some 
seven  or  eight  shaving  chairs  were  occupied  by 
gentlemen  intent  on  early  morning  calls.  Shav- 
ing is  carried  in  all  its  accessories  to  a  high  de- 
gree of  publicity,  if  not  of  perfection,  in  America ; 
and  as  the  poorest,  or  as  I  may  call  them  with- 
out offence,  the  lowest  orders  in  England  have 
their  easy  shaving  for  a  penny,  so  the  highest, 
if  there  be  any  in  America,  submit  themselves  in 
public  to  the  inexpensive  operations  of  the  negro 
barber.  It  must  be  admitted  that  the  chairs  aro 
easy  and  well-arranged,  the  fingers  nimble,  sure, 
and  light  J  but  the  affectation  of  French  names, 
and  the  corruption  of  foreign  languages,  in  which 
the  hairdressers  and  barbers  delight,  arc  exceed- 
ingly amusing.  On  my  way  down  a  small  street 
near  the  Capitol,  I  observed  in  a  shop  window, 
"Rowland's  make  easier  paste," which  I  attrib- 
ute to  an  imperfect  view  of  the  etymology  of  the 
great  "Macassar;"  on  another  occasion,  I  was 
asked  to  try  Somebody's  "Curious  Elison,"  which 
I  am  afraid  was  nn  attempt  to  adapt  to  a  shav- 
ing paste,  an  address  not  at  all  suited  to  jirofano 
uses.  It  appears  that  the  trade  of  barber  is  al- 
most the  birthright  of  the  free  negro  or  coloin-ed 
man  in  the  United  States.  There  is  a  striking 
exemplification  of  natural  equality  in  the  use  of 
brushes,  and  the  senator  flops  down  in  the  seat, 
and  has  his  noble  nose  seized  by  the  same  fingers 
which  the  moment  before  were  occupied  by  the 
person  and  chin  of  an  unmislakeable  rowdy. 

In  the  midst  of  the  divine  calm  produced  by 
hard  hand  rubbing  of  my  head,  I  was  aroused  by 
a  stout  gentleman  who  sat  in  a  chair  directly  op- 
jiosite.  Through  the  door  which  opened  into 
the  hall  of  the  hotel,  one  could  see  the  great 
crowd  passing  to  and  fro,  thronging  the  passage 
as  though  it  had  been  the  entrance  to  the  Forum, 
or  the  "Salle  de  pas  peidus."  I  had  ulserved 
my  friend's  eye  gazing  fixedly  through  the  open- 
ing on  the  outer  world.  Suddenly,  with  his  face 
half-covered  with  lather,  and  a  bib  tucked  under 
his  chin,  he  got  up  from  his  seat  exclaiming, 
"Senator!  Senator!  hallo!"  and  made  a  divo 
into  the  passage — whether  he  received  a  stern 
rebuke,  or  became  aware  of  his  impropriety,  I 
know  not,  but  in  an  instant  he  came  back  again, 
and  submitted  quietly,  till  the  work  of  the  barber 
was  completed. 

The  great  employment  of  four-fifths  of  the  peo- 
ple at  Willard's  at  present  .seems  to  be  to  hunt 
senators  and  congress  men  through  the  lobbies* 
Every  man  is  heavy  with  documents — those 
which  he  cannot  carry  in  his  pockets  and  hat, 
occupy  his  hands,  or  are  thrust  under  his  arms. 
In  the  hall  are  advertisements  announcing  that 
certificates,  and  letters  of  testimonial,  and  such 
documents,  are  printed  with  expedition  and  neat- 
ness. From  paper  collars,  and  cards  of  address 
to  carriages,  and  new  suites  of  clothes,  and  long 
hotel  bills,  nothing  is  left  untried  or  uninvigor- 
ated.  The  whole  city  is  jilacarded  with  an- 
nouncements of  facilities  for  assaulting  the  pow- 
ers that  be,  among  which  must  not  be  forgotten 
the  claims  of  the  "excelsior  card-writer,"  at 
Willard's,  who  prepares  names,  addresses,  styles, 
and  titles  in  superior  penmanship.  The  men 
who  have  got  places,  having  been  elected  by  the 
people,  must  submit  to  the  people,  who  think 
they  have  established  a  claim  on  them  by  their 


n 


favours.  Th( 
seem  to  forge 
can  enjoy  the 
the  whole  co 
on  getting  son 
ment  a  mem 
There  arc  mc 
orally  thousai 
can  only  be  t 
true  Americai 
ing  and  pursi 
canvas ;  and 
having  been 
judgeship,  co 
Post  Office,  a 
be  appointed 
..  I  not  particulai 

f  I  ^  to  the  Washii 

Lieutenant  N 
two  miles  out 
land  projectin 
river,  which 
broad.     If  the 
is  it  could  sc 
Russians,  or  J 
tified  in  desfr 
of  the  city  by 
tie  fought  out 
not  give  muc 
American  flee 
the  Thames ; 
tie  more  than 
with  pride  of 
on  the  Lakes, 
the  Washingt 
war,  as  an  un 
nV  nations,  and  ; 

\)^^  For  all  the  go 

it  were  as  wc 
jurisconsult  w 
a  legitimate,  ( 
ligerent  right 
not  seek  tern 
after  battle  los 
ty  of  their  sta 
in  war,  to  th 
standing  all  t 
can  people  ir 
foreign  power 
ever  have  bee 
human  familj 
make  them  o: 
The  Navy 
walls ;  in  the 
blue  tunics,  3 
brightly  polis 
wearing  a  ca] 
very  clean  an 
tropliies  of  g 
and  from  th( 
The  interior 
houses  and  sti 
white  stone ; 
fenced  in  by 
trees,  give  an 
j)lace.     Clos( 
of  course  thei 
machinery, 
books,  papers 
by  shell  and 
descriptions, 
ing  superintc 


MY  DIARY  NOUTII  AND  SOUTH. 


27 


\l>i 


favoure.  The  mnjority  confer  power,  but  they 
seem  to  forget  that  it  is  only  the  minority  wlio 
ctiii  enjoy  the  first  fruits  of  success.  It  is  ns  if 
the  whole  constituency  of  Maryiebone  insisted 
on  RCttinf;  some  office  under  the  Crown  the  mo- 
ment a  member  was  returned  to  rarlianient. 
There  are  men  at  Willard's  who  have  come  lit- 
erally thousands  of  miles  to  seek  for  j»laccs  which 
can  only  be  theirs  for  four  years,  and  who  with 
true  American  facility  have  abandoned  tlic  call- 
ing and  pursuits  of  a  lifetime  for  this  doubtful 
canvas ;  and  I  was  told  of  one  gentleman,  who 
having  been  informed  that  he  could  not  get  a 
judgeship,  condescended  to  seek  a  place  in  the 
i'ost  Office,  and  finally  ai)plied  to  Mr.  Chase  to 
be  appointed  keeper  of  a  "lighthouse,"  he  was 
not  ])articular  where.  In  the  forenoon  I  drove 
to  the  Washington  Navy  Yard,  in  comi)iiny  with 
Lieutenant  Nelson  and  two  friends.  It  is  about 
two  miles  outside  the  city,  situated  on  a  fork  of 
land  projecting  between  a  creek  and  the  Potomac 
river,  which  is  here  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
broad.  If  the  French  had  a  Navy  Y'ard  at  Par- 
is it  could  scarcely  be  contended  that  English, 
Russians,  or  Austrians  would  not  have  been  jus- 
tified in  destroying  it  in  case  they  got  possession 
of  tlie  city  by  force  of  arms,  after  a  pitched  bat- 
tle fought  outside  its  gates.  I  confess  I  would 
not  give  much  for  Deptford  or  Woolwich  if  an 
American  fleet  succeeded  in  forcing  its  way  up 
the  Tiiames  ;  but  our  American  cousins, — a  lit- 
tle more  than  kin  and  less  than  kind,  who  speak 
with  pride  of  Paul  Jones  and  of  their  exploits 
on  the  Lakes, — affect  to  regard  the  burning  of 
the  Washington  Navy  Yard  by  ns,  in  the  last 
war,  as  an  unpardonable  outrage  on  the  law  of 
nations,  and  an  atrocious  exercise  of  power. 
For  all  the  good  it  did,  for  my  own  part,  1  think 
it  were  as  well  had  it  never  happened,  but  no 
jurisconsult  will  for  a  moment  deny  that  it  was 
a  legitimate,  even  if  extreme,  exercise  of  a  bel- 
ligerent right  in  the  case  of  an  enemy  who  did 
not  seek  terms  from  the  conqueror;  and  who, 
after  battle  lost,  fled  and  abandoned  the  proper- 
ty of  their  state,  which  might  be  useful  to  them 
in  war,  to  the  power  of  the  victor.  Notwith- 
standing all  the  unreasonableness  of  the  Ameri- 
can people  in  reference  to  their  relations  with 
foreign  powers,  it  is  deplorable  such  scenes  shoidd 
ever  have  been  enacted  between  members  of  the 
human  family  so  closely  allied  by  all  that  shall 
make  them  of  the  same  household. 

The  Navy  Yard  is  surrounded  by  liigh  brick 
walls  ;  in  the  gateway  stood  two  sentries  in  dark 
blue  tunics,  yellow  facings,  with  eagle  buttons, 
brigiitly  polished  arms,  and  white  Berlin  gloves, 
wearing  a  cap  something  like  a  French  kepi,  all 
very  clean  and  creditable.  Inside  are  some  few 
trophies  of  guns  taken  from  us  at  York  Town, 
and  from  the  Mexicans  in  the  land  of  Cortpz. 
The  interior  inclosure  is  surrounded  by  red  brick 
houses  and  stores  and  magazines  picked  out  with 
white  stone  ;  and  two  or  three  green  grass-plots, 
fenced  in  by  pillars  and  chains  and  bordered  by 
trees,  give  an  air  of  agreeable  freshness  to  the 
j)lace.  Close  to  the  liver  are  the  worksho])s : 
of  course  there  is  smoke  amj  noise  of  steam  and 
machinery.  In  a  modest  office,  surrounded  by 
books,  papers,  drawings,  and  models,  as  well  as 
by  shell  and  shot  and  racks  of  arms  of  different 
descriptions,  wc  for. id  Capt.  Dahlgren,  the  act 
ing  superintendent  of  the  yard,  and  the  inventor 


of  the  famous  gun  which  bears  his  name,  and  is 
the  favourite  armament  of  the  American  navy. 
Hy  our  own  sailors  they  are  irreverently  term- 
ed "soda-water  bottles,"  owing  to  their  sIiajK!. 
Capt.  Dahlgren  contends  that  guns  capable  of 
throwing  tiie  heaviest  shot  may  be  constructed 
of  cast-iron,  carefully  prepared  and  moulded  so 
that  the  greatest  thickness  of  metal  may  be  iilaccd 
at  the  points  of  resistance,  at  the  base  i/f  the  gun, 
the  muzzle  and  forward  portions  bein^  of  very 
moderate  thickness. 

All  inventors,  or  even  adajjtcrs  of  systems, 
must  be  earnest  self-reliant  persons,  full  of  con- 
fidence, and,  above  all,  impressive,  or  they  will 
make  little  way  in  the  conservative,  slatus-quo- 
loving  world.  Cai)tain  Dahlgren  has  certainly 
most  of  these  characteristics,  but  he  has  to  light 
with  his  navy  department,  with  the  army,  with 
boards  and  with  commissioners, — in  fact,  with 
all  s  .ts  of  obstructors.  When  1  was  going  over 
the  yard,  he  deplored  the  parsimony  of  tlie  de- 
partment, which  refused  to  yield  to  bis  urgent 
entreaties  for  additional  furnaces  to  cast  guns. 

No  large  guns  are  cast  at  Washington.  The 
foundries  are  only  capable  of  turning  out  brass 
field -pieces  and  boat -guns.  Capt.  Dalilgren 
obligingly  got  one  of  the  latter  out  to  ])racticc 
for  us — a  12-pounder  howitzer,  which  can  be  car- 
ried in  a  boat,  run  on  land  on  its  carriage,  which 
is  ])rovidcd  with  wheels,  and  is  so  light  tliat  the 
gun  can  be  drawn  readily  about  by  the  crew, 
lie  made  some  good  ])ractice  with  shra])nel  at  a 
target  1200  yards  distant,  firing  so  ra])idly  as  to 
keep  three  shells  in  the  air  at  the  same  time. 
Compared  with  our  establishments,  this  dock- 
yard is  a  mere  toy,  and  but  few  hands  arc  em- 
])loyed  in  it.  One  steam  sloop,  the  "Pawnee," 
was  under  the  shears,  nearly  ready  for  sea :  the 
frame  of  another  was  under  the  building-shed. 
There  are  no  facilities  for  making  iron  shiiis,  or 
putting  on  ])late-armour  here.  Everytiiing  was 
shown  to  us  with  the  utmost  frankness.  The 
fuse  of  the  Dahlgren  shell  is  constructed  on  the 
vis  inertue  principle,  and  is  not  unlike  that  of  the 
Armstrong. 

On  returning  to  the  hotel,  I  found  a  magnifi- 
cent bouquet  of  flowers,  with  a  card  attached  to 
them,  with  Mrs.  Lincoln's  com])limenls,  and  an- 
other card  announcing  that  she  had  a  "recep- 
tion" at  3  o'clock.  It  was  rather  late  before  I 
could  get  to  the  White  House,  and  there  were 
only  two  or  three  ladies  in  the  drawing-room 
when  I  arrived.  I  was  informed  afterwards 
that  the  attendance  was  very  scanty.  Tlie  Wash- 
ington ladies  have  not  yet  made  up  their  minds 
that  Mrs.  Lincoln  is  the  fashion.  Tiiey  miss 
their  Southern  friends,  and  constantly  draw  com- 
parisons between  them  and  the  vulgar  Yankee 
women  and  men  who  are  now  in  power.  I  do 
not  know  enough  to  say  whether  the  affectation 
of  superiority  be  justified;  but  assuredly  if  New 
York  be  Yankee,  there  is  nothing  in  which  it 
does  not  far  surpass  this  preposterous  cni)ital. 
The  imjiression  of  homeliness  produced  by  Mrs. 
Lincoln  on  first  sight,  is  not  diminished  by  closer 
acquaintance.  Few  women  not  to  the  manner 
born  there  are,  whose  heads  would  not  br  disor- 
dered, and  circidation  disturbed,  by  a  rapid  tran- 
sition, almost  instantaneous,  from  a'condilion  of 
ihscurity  in  a  country  town  to  be  mistress  of  the 
White  ilouse.  Her  smiles  and  her  frowns  be- 
come a  matter  of  consequence  to  the  whole 


I      I 


It 


l< 


98 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


American  workl.  As  the  wife  of  tlie  country 
lawyer,  or  even  of  tlic  congress  man,  lier  move- 
ments were  of  no  consequence.  The  journals  of 
SprinRtield  would  not  have  wasted  a  line  upon 
them.  Now,  if  she  but  drive  down  Pennsylvania 
Avenue,  tlie  electric  wire  thrills  the  news  to  every 
hamlet  in  the  Union  wliich  has  a  newspaper; 
and  fortunate  is  the  correspondent  who,  in  a  spe- 
cial despatch,  can  u,Wq  authentic  particulars  of 
her  destination  and  of  lier  dress.  Tlie  lady  is 
surrounded  by  liattcrcrs  and  intriguers,  seeking 
for  influence  or  such  jilaccs  as  she  can  give.  As 
Soldcn  says,  "  Tliose  wlio  wish  to  set  a  house  on 
fire  bcgin'with  the  thatch." 

Afarch  S\st,  Easter  Stmilwj. — I  dined  with 
Lord  Lyons  and  tlic  members  of  the  Legation  ; 
tlie  only  stranger  present  being  Senato)  Sumner. 
Politics  were  of  course  eschewed,  for  Rlr.  Sum- 
ner is  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Foreign 
Relations  of  the  Senate,  and  Lord  Lyons  is  a 
•ery  discreet  Minister ;  but  still  there  crept  in  a 
word  of  Pickens  and  Sumter,  and  that  was  all. 
Jlr.  Fox,  formerly  of  tlie  United  States'  Navy, 
and  since  that  a  master  of  a  steamer  in  the  com- 
mercial marine,  who  is  related  to  Mr.  Blair,  has 
been  sent  on  some  mission  to  Fort  Sumter,  and 
has  been  allowed  to  visit  INIajoi  Anderson  by  the 
authorities  at  Charleston ;  but  it  is  not  known 
what  was  the  object  of  his  mission.  Everywhere 
there  is  Secession  resignation,  in  a  military  sense 
of  the  word.  The  Southern  Commissioners  de- 
clare they  will  soon  retire  to  Montgomery,  and 
that  any  attempt  to  reinforce  or  supply  the  forts 
will  bo  a  casus  belli.  There  is  the  utmost  anx- 
iety to  know  what  Virginia  will  do.  General 
Scott  belongs  to  the  State,  and  it  is  feared  he 
may  be  shaken  if  the  State  goes  out.  Already 
the' authorities  of  Richmond  have  intimated  they 
will  not  allow  the  foundry  to  furnish  guns  to  the 
seaboard  forts,  such  as  Monroe  and  Norfolk  in 
Virginia  This  concession  of  an  autonomy  is 
really  a  recognition  of  States'  Rights.  For  if  a 
State  can  vote  itself  in  or  out  of  the  Union,  why 
can  it  not  make  war  or  peace,  and  accept  or  re- 
fuse the  Federal  Government?  In  fact,  the  Fed- 
eral system  is  radically  defective  against  internal 
convulsion,  however  excellent  it  is  or  may  be  for 
purposes  of  external  polity.  I  walked  home  with 
Mr.  Sumner  to  his  rooms,  and  heard  some  of  his 
views,  which  were  not  so  sanguine  as  those  of 
Mr.  Seward,  and  I  thought  I  detected  a  desire 
to  let  the  Southern  States  go  out  with  their 
slavery  if  they  so  desired  it.  Mr.  Chase,  by  the 
way,  expressed  sentiments  of  the  same  kind  more 
decidedly  the  other  day. 

April  \st. — On  Easter  Monday,  after  breakfast 
with  Mr.  Olmsted,  I  drove  over  to  visit  Senator 
Douglas.  Originally  engaged  in  some  mechan- 
ical avocation,  by  his  ability  and  eloquence  he 
has  raised  himself  to  the  highest  position  in  the 
State  short  of  the  Presidency,  which  might  have 
been  his  but  for  the  extraordinary  success  of  his 
op[ioucnt  in  a  fortuitous  suilVage  scramble.  He 
is  called  the  Little  Giant,  being  modo  hipednli 
sluturti,  but  his  head  entitles  him  to  some  recog- 
nition of  intellectual  height.  His  sketch  of  the 
causes  which  have  led  to  the  present  disruption 
of  juirties,  and  the  hazard  of  civil  war,  was  most 
vivid  and  able ;  and  for  more  than  an  hour  he 
spoke  with  a  vigour  of  thought  and  terseness  of 
phrase  which,  even  on  such  dreary  and  unin- 
viting themes  as  s([uatler  sovereignty  and  the 


Kansas-Nebraska  question,  interested  a  foreigner 
in  the  man  and  the  subject.  Although  his  sym- 
pathies seemed  to  go  with  the  South  on  the  ques- 
tion of  slavery  and  territorial  extension,  he  con- 
demned altogether  tho  attempt  to  destroy  tho 
Union. 

A]>ril2ml. — The  following  day  I  started  ear- 
ly, and  performed  my  jnlgrimago  to  "the  shrine 
of  St.  Washington,"  at  Mount  Vernon,  as  a  for- 
eigner on  board  called  the  i)lace.  Mr.  Rniicroft 
has  in  his  possession  a  letter  of  tlie  General's 
mother,  in  which  she  ex])resses  her  gratification 
at  his  leaving  tho  British  army  in  a  manner 
which  implies  that  he  had  been  either  extrava- 
gant in  his  expenses  or  wild  in  his  manner  of 
living.  But  if  he  had  any  human  frailties  in 
after  life,  they  neither  oU'ended  the  morality  of 
his  age,  or  shocked  the  susceptilnlity  of  his  coun- 
trymen ;  and  from  the  time  that  the  much  ma- 
ligned and  unfortunate  Braddock  gave  sco])e  to 
his  ability,  down  to  his  I'ctiremcnt  into  jirivate 
life,  after  a  career  of  singular  trials  ami  extraor- 
dinary successes,  his  character  acquired  each 
day  greater  altitude,  strength,  and  lustre.  Had 
his  work  failed,  had  the  Rejjublic  broken  up  into 
small  anarchical  states,  we  should  hear  now  lit- 
tle of  Washington.  But  the  princijjlcs  of  liber- 
ty founded  in  the  original  Constitution  of  the 
colonies  themselves,  and  in  no  degree  derived 
from  or  dependent  on  the  revolution,  combined 
with  the  sufferings  of  the  Old  and  tlie  bounty  of 
nature  in  the  New  World  to  carry  to  an  un])iec- 
edented  degree  the  material  prosperity,  which 
Americans  have  mistaken  for  good  government, 
and  the  physical  conifdi  ts  which  have  made  some 
States  in  the  Union  the  nearest  a])i)roach  to  Uto- 
pia. The  Federal  Government  hitherto  ''let  the 
])eople  alone,"  and  they  went  on  their  way  sing- 
ing and  jjraising  their  Washington  as  the  author 
of  so  much  greatness  ixvX  lia]ipiness.  To  doubt 
his  iii'iiority  to  any  man  of  woman  born,  is  to 
insult  the  American  jicojjle.  They  are  not  con- 
tent with  his  being  great — or  even  greater  than 
the  great:  he  must  be  greatest  of  all; — "first 
in  peace,  and  first  in  war."  The  rest  of  the 
world  cannot  find  fault  with  the  assertion,  that 
he  is  "first  in  the  hearts  of  his  countiymcn." 
But  he  was  not  possessed  of  the  highest  military 
qualities,  if  we  are  to  judge  from  most  of  the  reg- 
ular actions,  in  whieh  the  British  had  the  best 
of  it;  and  the  final  blow,  when  Cornwallis  sur- 
rendered at  York  Town,  was  struck  by  the  arm 
of  France,  by  Rochambcau  and  the  French  fleet, 
rather  than  by  Washington  and  his  Americans. 
He  had  all  the  qualities  for  the  work  for  which 
he  was  designed,  and  is  fairly  entitled  to  the  po- 
sition his  countrymen  have  given  him  as  the  im- 
mortal czar  of  the  United  States.  His  pictures 
are  visible  everywhere — in  the  humblest  inn,  in 
the  Minister's  bureau,  in  the  millionaire's  galle- 
ry. There  are  far  more  engravings  of  Wash- 
ington in  America  than  there  are  of  Napoleon 
in  France,  and  that  is  saying  a  good  deal. 

What  have  we  here  ?  Tlie  steamer,  which  has 
been  paddling  down  the  gentle  current  of  the 
Potomnc,  here  a  mile  or  more  in  breadth,  bank- 
ed in  by  forest,  through  which  can  be  seen  home- 
steads and  white  farm-houses,  in  the  midst  of 
large  clearings  and  c(un-fields — has  moved  in 
towards  a  high  bluff,  covered  with  trees,  on  the 
summit  of  which  is  visible  the  trace  of  some  sort 
of  building — a  ruined  summer-house,  rustic  tem- 


ple— whatevc 
begins  to  toll 
uncover  thcii 
stops  at  a  ro 
leads  to  a  wi 
through  tho  \ 
The  pilgrims 
forty,  of  both 
er  classes  of 
cigncrs  like 
which  seemec 
primeval  fore 
till  the  plate 
Washington 
is  reached. 
-  two  stories  ii 
the  river  face 
and  on  the  1( 
little  paltry  g 
glass  door  at 
en  alcove  exi 
which  arc  ve 
been  recently 
to  the  end  c 
poultry-hutch 
attempt  at  n 
though  the  e 
repair,  the  gr 
mod,  —  neglc 
have  marked 
is  in  keejiing 
entered  the 
hall,  stained  \ 
ran  across  the 
a  man  at  a  i 
visitors,  and  \ 
"no  person  is 
this  book  wht 
ington  Fund, 
out  money  W( 
the  warning, 
ing  their  nar 
and  others  d 
When  I  had 
must  have  re 
Washingtoni( 
the  day,  I  wa 
as  the  rooms 
thus  the  most 
shut  from  the 
sented  nothir 
ing,  dusty,  dc 
chord,  dust,  ( 
himself.     Bii 
the  key  of  th- 
tabooed ;  but 
dcrncss  of  n 
mingled  witl 
ground.    Lei 
distance  froii 
some  fine  trc 
witii  a  point( 
through  whic 
small  room  ( 
Over  the  art 
the  words:  ' 
mains  of  Get 

•  Since  born 
handed  over  by 
Washington.  h( 
played  ao  cons] 
liberto  des  den: 
his  work,  and  t 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


29 


pic — whatever  it  may  be ;  and  tlic  bell  on  deck 
begins  to  toll  solemnly,  and  some  of  the  pilgrims 
uneovcr  their  heads  lor  a  moment.  The  boat 
stops  at  a  rotten,  tumble-down  little  ])ier,  which 
leads  to  a  waste  of  mud,  and  a  path  rudely  cut 
through  the  wilderness  of  briars  on  the  hill-side. 
The  pilgrims,  of  whom  there  are  some  thirt-  or 
forty,  of  both  sexes,  mostly  belonging  to  the  low- 
er classes  of  citizens,  and  comprising  a  few  for- 
eigners like  myself,  proceed  to  climb  this  steep, 
wliieli  seemed  in  a  state  of  nature  covered  with 
primeval  forest,  and  tangled  weeds  and  briars, 
till  the  plateau,  on  which  stands  the  house  of 
Washington  and  the  domestic  offices  around  it, 
is  reached.  It  is  an  oblong  wooden  house,  of 
two  stories  in  height,  with  a  colonnade  towards 
the  river  face,  and  a  small  balcony  on  the  top 
and  on  the  level  of  the  roof,  over  which  rises  a 
little  paltry  gazebo.  There  arc  two  windows,  a 
glass  door  at  one  end  of  the  oblong,  and  a  wood- 
en alcove  extending  towards  the  slave  quarters, 
which  are  very  small  sentry-box  huts,  that  have 
been  recently  painted,  and  stand  at  right  angles 
to  the  end  of  the  house,  with  dog-houses  and 
poultry-hutches  attached  to  them.  There  is  no 
attempt  at  neatness  or  order  about  the  place ; 
though  the  exterior  of  the  house  is  undergoing 
repair,  the  grass  is  unkempt,  the  shrubs  untrim- 
med,  —  neglect,  squalor,  and  chicken  feathers 
have  marked  the  lawn  for  their  own.  The  house 
is  in  keeping,  and  threatens  to  fall  to  ruin.  I 
entered  the  door,  and  found  myself  in  a  small 
hall,  stained  with  tobacco  juice.  An  iron  railing 
ran  across  the  entrance  to  the  stairs.  Here  stood 
a  man  at  a  gate,  who  presented  a  b-^ok  to  the 
visitors,  and  jjointed  out  the  notice  therein,  that 
k  "no  person  is  permitted  to  inscribe  his  name  in 

''  this  book  who  does  not  contribute  to  the  Wash- 

ington Fund,  and  that  any  name  put  down  with- 
out money  would  be  erasid."  Notwithstanding 
the  warning,  some  patriots  succeeded  in  record- 
ing their  names  without  any  pecuniary  mulct, 
and  others  did  so  at  a  most  reasonable  rate. 
When  I  had  contributed  in  a  manner  which 
must  have  represented  an  immense  amount  of 
Washingtoniolatry,  estimated  by  the  standard  of 
the  day,  I  was  informed  I  could  not  go  upstairs, 
as  the  rooms  above  were  clo« 'd  to  the  public,  and 
thus  the  most  interesting  portion  of  the  house  was 
shut  from  the  strangers.  The  lower  rooms  pre- 
sented nothing  worthy  of  notice — some  lumber- 
ing, dusty,  decayed  furniture ;  a  broken  harpsi- 
chord, dust,  cobwebs — no  remnant  of  the  man 
himself.  But  over  the  door  of  one  room  hung 
the  key  of  the  Bastille.*  The  gardens,  too,  were 
tabooed ;  but  through  the  gate  I  could  sec  a  wil- 
derness of  neglected  trees  and  shrubs,  not  un- 
mingled  with  a  suspicion  of  a  present  kitchen- 
ground.  Let  us  pass  to  the  Tomb,  which  is  some 
distance  from  the  house,  beneath  the  shade  of 
some  fine  trees.  It  is  a  plain  brick  mausoleum, 
with  a  pointed  arch,  barred  by  an  iron  grating, 
through  which  the  light  penetrates  a  chamber  or 
small  room  containing  two  sarcophagi  of  stone. 
Over  the  arch,  on  a  slab  let  into  the  brick,  are 
the  words:  "Within  this  enclosure  rast  the  re- 
mains of  Gen.  George  Washington."    The  fallen 

*  Since  borrowed,  it  in  supposed,  by  Mr.  Seward,  and 
handed  over  by  liim  to  Mr.  Stanton.  Lafayette  gave  it  to 
Waahington,  he  also  gave  liia  name  to  the  Fort  which  has 
played  so  conspicuous  a  part  in  the  war  for  liberty — "•  La 
liberto  des  deux  monde?,"  might  well  sigh  if  he  could  see 
his  work,  and  wliat  it  has  led  to. 


leaves  which  had  drifted  into  the  chamber  rested 
thickly  on  the  Hoor,  and  were  piled  up  on  the  sar- 
cophagi, and  it  was  difficult  to  determine  which 
was  the  hero's  grave  without  the  aid  of  an  expert, 
but  there  was  neither  guide  nor  guardian  on  the 
spot.  Some  four  or  live  gravestones,  of  various 
members  of  the  family,  stand  in  the  ground  out- 
side the  little  mausoleum.  The  place  was  most 
dcj)rcssing.  One  felt  angry  with  a  ])eople  whose 
lip  service  was  accompanied  by  so  little  of  actual 
respect.  The  owner  of  this  property,  inherited 
from  the  "Pater  ratria;,"  has  been  abused  in 
good  set  terms  because  he  asked  its  value  from 
the  country  which  has  been  so  very  mindful  of 
the  services  of  his  ancestor,  and  which  is  now 
erecting  by  slow  stages  the  overgrown  Cleopatra's 
needle  that  is  to  be  a  Washington  monument 
when  it  is  finished.  Mr.  Everett  has  been  lec- 
turing, the  Ladies'  Mount  Vernon  Association 
has  been  working,  and  every  one  has  been  ad- 
juring everybody  else  to  give  liberally;  but  the 
result  so  lately  achieved  is  by  no  means  worthy 
of  the  object.  Perhaps  the  Americans  think  it  is 
enough  to  say — "aS'i  monumcntum  qwcris,  circuin- 
spice."  But,  at  all  events,  there  is  a  St.  Paul's 
round  those  words. 

On  the  return  of  the  steamer  I  visited  Fort 
Washington,  which  is  situated  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  Potomac.  I  found  everything  in  a  state 
of  neglect — gun-carriages  rotten,  shot-i)iles  rusty, 
furnaces  tumbling  to  pieces.  The  place  might 
bo  made  strong  enough  on  the  river  front,  but 
the  rear  is  weak,  though  there  is  low  marshy 
land  at  the  back.  A  company  of  regulars  were 
on  duty.  The  sentries  took  no  precautions 
against  surprise.  Twenty  determined  men,  arm- 
ed with  revolvers,  could  have  taken  the  whole 
work ;  and,  for  all  the  authorities  knew,  we  might 
have  had  that  number  of  Virginians  and  the  fa- 
mous Ben  McCullough  himself  on  board.  Aft- 
erwards, when  I  A'cntured  to  make  a  remark  to 
General  Scott  as  to  the  carelessness  of  the  garri- 
son, he  said-  "A  few  weeks  ago  it  might  have 
been  taken  with  a  bottle  of  whiskey.  The  whole 
garrison  consisted  of  an  old  Irish  pensioner." 
Now  at  this  very  moment  Washington  is  full  of 
rumours  of  desperate  descents  on  the  capital,  and 
an  attack  on  the  President  and  his  Cabinet. 
The  long  bridge  across  the  Potomac  into  Vir- 
ginia is  guarded,  and  the  militia  and  volunteers 
of  the  District  of  Columbia  are  to  be  called  out 
to  resist  JNIcCullough  and  his  Richmond  despera- 
does. 

A/n-il  i^rd. — I  had  an  interview  with  the  South- 
ern Commissioners  to-day,  at  their  hotel.  For 
more  than  an  hour  I  heard,  from  men  of  position 
and  of  difi'orent  sections  in  the  South,  cxjives- 
sions  which  satisfied  me  the  Union  could  never 
be  restored,  if  they  truly  represented  the  feelings 
and  opinions  of  their  fellow-citizens.  They  have 
the  idea  they  are  ministers  of  a  foreign  power 
treating  with  Yankeedom,  and  their  indignation 
is  moved  by  the  refusal  of  Government  to  nego- 
tiate with  them,  armed  as  they  are  with  full  au- 
thority to  arrange  all  questions  arising  out  of  an 
amicable  separation — such  as  the  adjustment  of 
Federal  claims  for  property,  forts,  stores,  public 
works,  debt,  land  purchases,  and  the  like.  One 
of  the  Judges  of  the  Su])rome  Court  of  the  Uni- 
ted States,  Mr.  Campbell,  is  their  intermediary, 
and  of  course  it  is  not  known  what  hojies  Mr. 
Seward  has  held  out  to  him ;  but  there  is  some 


'1 


*       I 


■^}! 


*     ■ 

ii 


!        ( 


80 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


imputation  of  Punic  fnith  ngninst  tlio  Govern- 
incut  ou  account  of  recent  nets,  and  there  is  no 
doul)t  tlie  ('ommissionors  liear,  as  I  do,  tlint 
there  are  preparations  at  the  Navy  Yard  and  at 
New  York  to  relieve  Sumter,  at  any  rate,  with 
provisions,  and  that  Tickens  has  actually  been 
reinforced  by  sea.  In  the  evening  I  dined  at  the 
liritish  Legation,  and  went  over  to  the  house  of 
the  Russian  minister,  M.  de  Ktoeekl,  in  the  even- 
ing. The  diplomatic  body  in  Washington  con- 
stitute a  snuill  and  very*  agreeable  society  of 
their  own,  in  which  few  Americans  mingle  ex- 
cept at  the  receptions  and  large  evening  assem- 
blies. As  the  people  now  in  jjower  are  7iovi  hom- 
ines, the  wives  and  daughters  of  ministers  aud  at- 
tache's are  deprived  of  their  friends  who  belong- 
ed to  the  old  society  in  \Vashington,  and  who 
have  eitiioi"  gone  of!'  to  Secession,  or  sympathise 
so  dcejily  with  the  Southern  States  that  it  is 
scarcely  becoming  to  hold  very  intimate  relations 
with  thom  in  the  face  of  Government.  From 
the  house  of  M.  de  Stoeckl  I  went  to  a  party  nt 
the  residence  of  M.Tassara,  the  Spanish  Minis- 
ter, where  there  was  a  crowd  of  diplomats,  young 
aiul  old.  Dijilomatists  seldom  or  never  talk  pol- 
itics, and  so  I'iekcns  and  Sumter  were  unheard 
of;  but  it  is  stated  nevertheless  that  Virginia  is 
on  the  eve  of  secession,  and  will  certainly  go  if 
the  President  attempts  to  use  force  in  relieving 
and  strengthening  the  Federi'l  forts. 

April  itii. — I  had  a  long  interview  with  Mr. 
Seward  to-day  at  the  State  Department.  He 
set  fort!i  at  great  length  the  heli»less  condition 
in  which  the  President  and  the  cabinet  found 
themselves  when  they  began  the  conduct  of  pub- 
lic atVairs  at  ^Vashington.  The  last  cabinet  had 
tampered  with  treason,  and  had  contained  trait- 
ors; a  miserable  imbecility  had  encouraged  the 
leaders  of  the  South  to  mature  their  jtlans,  and 
had  furnished  them  with  the  means  of  canying 
out  their  design.  One  Minister  had  jjurposely 
sent  away  the  navy  of  tlie  United  States  to  dis- 
tant Jind  scattered  stations;  another  had  pur- 
posely ))hiccd  the  arms,  ordnance,  aud  munitions 
of  war  in  undue  proportions  in  the  Southern 
States,  and  had  weakened  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment so  that  they  might  easily  fall  into  the 
hands  of  the  traitors  and  enable  them  to  secure 
the  war  materiel  of  the  Union  ;  a  Minister  had 
stolen  the  public  funds  for  traitorous  purjwses — 
in  every  ])ort,  in  every  department  of  the  State,  at 
home  and  abroad,  on  sea  and  by  land,  men  were 
placed  who  were  engaged  in  this  deep  conspir- 
acy— and  when  the  voice  of  the  people  declared 
Mr.  Linc^  President  of  the  United  States,  they 
set  to  work  as  one  man  to  destroy  the  Union  un- 
der the  most  flimsy  pretexts.  The  President's 
duty  was  clearly  defined  by  the  Constitution.  lie 
had  to  guard  what  he  had,  and  to  regain,  if  pos- 
sible, what  he  liad  lost.  He  would  not  consent 
to  any  dismemberment  of  the  Union  nor  to  the 
abandonment  of  one  iota  of  Federal  property — 
nor  could  he  do  so  if  he  desired. 

These  and  many  more  topics  were  presented 
to  me  to  show  that  the  Cabinet  were  not  account- 
able for  the  temporising  policy  of  inaction,  which 
was  forced  upon  them  by  circumstances,  and  that 
they  would  deal  vigorously  with  the  Secession 
movement — as  vigorously  as  Jackson  did  with 
nullification  in  South  Carolina,  if  they  had  the 
means.  But  what  could  they  do  when  such 
men  as  Twiggs  surrendered  his  trust  and  sacri- 


ficed the  troops  to  a  crowd  of  Tcxans;  or  when 
naval  and  military  officers  resigtied  en  inmme,  that 
they  might  accept  service  in  the  rebel  forces? 
All  this  excitement  would  come  right  in  a  very 
short  time — it  was  a  brief  madness,  which  woidd 
pass  away  when  the  people  had  opportunity  for 
reflection.  Meantime  the  danger  was  that  for- 
eign powers  would  be  led  to  imagine  the  Fideral 
Government  was  too  weak  to  defend  its  rights, 
and  that  the  attempt  to  destroy  the  Union  and 
to  set  up  a  Southern  Confederacy  was  success- 
ful. In  other  words,  again,  Mr.  Seward  fears 
that,  in  this  transition  state  between  their  forced 
inaction  and  the  coup  by  which  they  intend  to 
strike  down  Secession,  Great  Britain  may  recog- 
nise the  Government  established  at  Montgomery, 
and  is  ready,  if  needs  be,  to  threaten  Great  Brit- 
ain with  war  as  the  consccpience  of  such  recog- 
nition. But  he  certainly  assumed  the  existence 
of  strong  Union  sentiments  in  many  of  the  se- 
ceded States,  as  a  basis  for  his  remarks,  and  ad- 
mitted that  it  would  not  become  the  spirit  of  tho 
American  Government,  or  of  the  Federal  system, 
to  use  armed  force  in  subjugating  the  Southern 
States  against  the  will  of  the  majority  of  the  peo- 
l)lc.  Therefore  if  the  majority  desire  Secession, 
Mr.  Seward  would  let  them  have  it — but  he  can- 
not believe  in  anything  so  monstrous,  for  to  him 
the  Federal  Government  and  Constitution,  as  in. 
tcrpreted  by  liis  party,  are  divine,  heaven-born. 
He  is  fond  of  repeating  that  the  Federal  Govern- 
ment never  yet  sacrificed  any  man's  life  on  ac- 
count of  his  political  opinions,  but  if  this  strug- 
gle goes  on  it  will  sacrifice  thousands  —  tens  of 
thousands,  to  the  idea  of  a  Federal  Union. 
"Any  attempt  against  us,"  he  said,  "would  re- 
volt the  good  men  of  the  South,  and  arm  all  men 
in  the  North  to  dct' nd  their  Government." 

But  I  had  seen  that  day  an  assemblage  of  men 
doing  a  goose-step  march  forth  dressed  in  blue 
tunics  and  grey  trowsers,  shakoes  and  cross-beits, 
armed  with  musket  and  bayonet,  cheering  and 
hurrahing  in  the  square  before  the  War  Depart- 
ment, who  were,  I  am  told,  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia volunteers  and  militia.  They  had  in- 
deed been  visible  in  various  forms  parading, 
marching,  and  trumpeting  about  the  town  with 
a  poor  imitation  of  Fi-eneli  pm  and  (f/on,  but  they 
did  not,  to  the  eye  of  a  soldier,  give  any  appear- 
ance of  military  efficiency,  or  to  the  eye  of  tho 
anxious  statesman  any  indication  of  the  animus 
jnignandi.  Starved,  wa.'^hed-out  creatures  most 
of  them,  interpolated  with  Irish  and  flat-footed, 
stumpy  Germans.  It  was  matter  for  wonder- 
ment that  the  Foreign  Minister  of  a  nation 
which  was  in  such  imminent  danger  in  its  very 
capital,  and  which,  with  its  chief  and  his  cabi- 
net, was  almost  at  the  mercy  of  the  enemy,  should 
hold  the  language  I  was  aware  he  had  transmit- 
ted to  the  rfiost  powerful  nations  of  Europe. 
Was  it  consciousness  of  the  strength  of  a  great 
people,  who  would  be  united  by  the  first  appre- 
hensioii  of  foreign  interference,  or  w  as  it  the  ])c- 
culiar  emptiness  of  a  bombast  which  is  called 
Buncombe?  In  all  sincerity  I  think  Mr.  Sew- 
ard meant  it  as  it  was  written. 

When  I  arrived  at  the  hotel,  I  found  our  young 
artist  waiting  for  me,  to  entreat  I  would  permit 
him  to  accompany  me  to  the  South.  I  had  been 
annoyed  by  a  paragraph  which  had  appeared  in 
several  pajiers,  to  the  effect  that  "The  talented 
young  artist,  our  gifted  countryman,  Mr.  Deo-. 


•i 


dorc  F.  Mos( 
&c.,  in  his  t( 
formed  the 
sanction  sue 
assured  me  I 
but  having 
connected  w 
travel  south\ 
of  his  friend 
service  to  th 
very  trilling 
I  dined  w 
was  a  large  j 
Secretary  of 
of  the  Interi( 
sioncr ;  and 
Congress, 
house  with  g 
observe  a  grt 
and   theorisi 
after-dinner 
tic  and  sente 
Senator  Dou 
flow  of  his  i( 
vigorous,  anc 
orous — he  se 
he  told  me  h 
ZoUverein  se 
tinent,  incUn 
attention  evt 
ment  of  the 
sies.     For  hi 
icans,  the  ar 
is  very  seduc 
the  courtesies 
Czar,  irni)lyii 
ently  in  Enj 
yet,  had  Mr. 
United  State 
ain  might  ha' 
been  cheaply 
attention  to 
man  of  the 
care  for  none 
April  Tyth. 
missioners  a 
French  resti 
The  gentlem 
of  one  way  o 
sec  the  light 
is  advisable  i 
expose  perso 
not  bo  suspi 
marks  of  atte 
to  pay  to  tl 
confess  that 
been  laid  in 
the  Federal 
political  en( 
struction,  it 
have  forfeite 
once  occupic 
al  force,  anc 
which  Basti 
arrests,  and 
unconstituti 
of  trial  by  ji 
As  Col.  I 
Secessionist! 
South,  after 
her  anti-fed 
to  mention 


MY  DIAUY  NUUTll  AND  SOUTH. 


81 


U 


i 


doro  F.  Moses,  was  about  to  uccompany  Mr.  &c. 
&c.,  in  his  tuiir  tlirougli  tho  Kuuth."  I  luid  in- 
formed tile  young  gentleman  thiit  I  could  not 
siinctiun  kucU  an  announcement,  wliercu|ion  he 
assured  mo  he  had  not  in  any  wiiy  authorised  it, 
but  having  mentioned  incidentally  to  a  person 
connected  with  the  press  that  he  was  going  to 
travel  southwards  wiili  mc,  the  injudicious  zeal 
of  his  friend  had  led  him  to  tiiink  he  would  do  a 
service  to  the  youth  by  making  tho  most  of  the 
very  trilling  circumstance. 

I  dined  with  Senator  Douglas,  where  there 
was  a  large  party,  among  whom  were  Mr.  Chase, 
Secretary  of  the  Treasury  ;  Mr.  Smith,  Secretary 
of  the  Interior ;  Mr.  Forsyth,  Southern  Commis- 
sioner; and  several  members  of  the  Senate  and 
Congress.  Mrs.  Douglas  did  the  honours  of  her 
bouse  with  grace  and  charming  goodnature.  I 
observe  a  great  tendency  to  abstract  speculation 
and  theorising  among  Americans,  and  their 
after-dinner  conversation  is  apt  to  become  didac- 
tic and  sententious.  Few  men  speak  better  than 
Senator  Douglas  :  his  words  are  well  chosen,  the 
flow  of  his  ideas  even  and  constant,  his  intellect 
vigorous,  and  thoughts  well  cut,  precise,  and  vig- 
orous— he  seems  a  man  of  great  ambition,  and 
he  told  mc  ho  is  engaged  in  preparing  a  sort  of 
ZoUverein  scheme  for  the  North  American  con- 
tinent, including  Canada,  which  will  fix  public 
attention  everywhere,  and  may  lead  to  a  settle- 
ment of  the  Northern  and  Southern  controver- 
sies. For  his  mind,  as  for  that  of  many  Amer- 
icans, the  aristocratic  idea  embodied  in  Itussia 
is  very  seductive  ;  and  he  dwelt  with  pleasure  on 
tiic  courtesies  he  had  received  at  the  court  of  the 
Czar,  implying  that  ho  had  been  treated  differ- 
ently in  England,  and  perhaps  France.  And 
yet,  had  Mr.  Douglas  become  President  of  the 
United  States,  his  goodwill  towards  Great  Brit- 
ain might  have  been  invaluable,  and  surely  it  had 
been  cheaply  purchased  by  a  little  civility  and 
attention  to  a  distinguished  citizen  and  states- 
man of  the  Kepublie.  Our  Galleos  very  often 
care  for  none  of  these  things. 

April  Tith. — Dined  with  the  Southern  Com- 
missioners and  a  small  party  at  Gautier's,  a 
French  restaurateur  in  Pennsylvania  Avenue. 
The  gentlemen  present  were,  I  need  not  say,  all 
of  one  way  of  thinking ;  but  as  these  leaves  will 
sec  the  light  before  the  civil  war  is  at  an  end,  it 
is  advisable  not  to  give  their  names,  for  it  would 
expose  persons  resident  in  Washington,  who  may 
not  be  suspected  by  the  Government,  to  those 
marks  of  attention  which  they  have  not  yet  ceased 
to  pay  to  their  political  enemies.  Although  I 
confess  that  in  my  judgment  too  much  stress  has 
been  laid  in  England  on  the  severity  with  whicli 
the  Federal  authorities  have  acted  towards  their 
political  enemies,  who  were  seeking  their  de- 
struction, it  may  be  candidly  admitted,  that  they 
have  forfeited  all  claim  to  the  lofty  position  they 
once  occupied  as  a  Government  existing  by  mor- 
al force,  and  by  the  consent  of  the  gi  erncd,  to 
which  Bastilles  and  kUritit  de  r.aclwt,  arbitrary 
arrests,  and  doubtful,  illegal,  if  not  altogether 
unconstitutional,  suspension  of  habeas  corpus  and 
of  trial  by  jury  were  unknown. 

As  Col.  Pickett  and  Mr.  Banks  are  notorious 
Secessionists,  and  Mr.  Phillips  has  since  gone 
South,  after  the  arrest  of  his  wife  on  account  of 
her  anti-federal  tendencies,  it  may  be  permitted 
to  mention  that  they  were  among  the  guests.    I 


had  pleasure  in  making  tho  acquaintance  of 
Governor  Koman.  Mr.  (^rawford,  his  i)r()thor 
commissioner,  is  a  nnich  younger  man,  of  con- 
siderably greater  energy  and  determination,  but 
jirobably  of  less  judgment.  The  third  commis- 
sioner, Mr.  Forsyth,  is  fanatical  in  his  ojiposi- 
tion  to  any  suggestions  of  comjjromise  or  recon- 
struction ;  but,  indeed,  upon  that  point,  there  is 
little  difference  of  ojjinion  amongst  any  of  tho 
real  adherents  of  the  South.  Mr.  Lincoln  they 
sjjoke  of  with  contempi ;  Mr.  Seward  tiiey  evi- 
dently regarded  as  tho  ablest  and  most  unscru- 
j)ulous  of  their  enemies;  but  the  tone  in  which 
they  alluded  to  the  whole  of  the  Northern  jicoplo 
indicated  the  dear  conviction  that  trade,  com- 
merce, the  jiursuit  of  gain,  manufacture,  and  tho 
base  mechanical  arts,  had  so  degraded  the  whole 
race,  tiiey  would  never  atiemi)t  to  strike  a  l)low 
in  fair  fight  for  what  they  prized  so  higiiiy  in 
theory  and  in  words.  Whether  it  be  in  conse- 
(pience  of  some  secret  intluence  which  slavery 
has  upon  the  minds  of  men,  or  that  tho  aggres- 
sion of  the  North  upon  their  institutions  has  been 
of  a  nature  to  excite  the  deepest  animosity  and 
most  vindictive  hate,  certain  it  is  there  is  a  de- 
gree of  something  like  ferocity  in  liie  Southern 
mind  towards  New  England  which  exceetls  be- 
lief. I  am  persuaded  that  these  feelings  of  con- 
tempt arc  extended  towards  England.  They  be- 
lieve that  we,  too,  have  had  the  canker  of  peace 
upon  us.  One  evidence  of  this,  according  to 
Southern  men,  is  the  abolition  of  duelling.  Thja 
])ractice,  according  to  them,  is  highly  wholesome 
and  meritorious ;  and,  indeed,  it  may  bo  admit- 
ted that  in  the  state  of  society  which  is  reported 
to  exist  in  the  Southern  States,  it  is  a  useful 
check  on  such  men  as  it  restrained  in  our  own 
islands  in  tho  last  century.  In  tho  course  of 
conversation,  one  gentleman  remarked,  that  he 
considered  it  disgraceful  for  any  man  to  take 
money  for  tho  dishonour  of  his  wife  or  his  daugli- 
tcr.  "With  us,"  he  said, "  there  is  but  one  mode 
of  dealing  known.  The  man  who  dares  tamper 
Avith  the  honour  of  a  white  woman,  knows  what 
he  has  to  expect.  We  shoot  him  down  like  a 
dog,  and  no  jury  in  the  South  will  ever  find  any 
man  guilty  of  murder  for  punishing  such  a  scoun- 
drel." An  argument  which  can  scarcely  be  al- 
luded to  was  used  by  them,  to  show  that  these 
offences  in  slave  States  had  not  the  excuse  which 
might  be  adduced  to  diminish  their  gravity  when 
they  occurred  in  States  where  all  the  po[)ulation 
were  white.  Indeed,  in  this,  as  in  some  other 
matters  of  a  similar  character,  slavery  is  their 
siimmum  Iwniwi  of  morality,  ))hysical^xcellence, 
and  social  purity.  I  was  inclined  to  (luestion 
the  correctness  of  the  standard  which  they  had 
set  up,  and  to  inquire  whether  the  virtue  which 
needed  this  murderous  use  of  the  pistol  and  the 
dagger  to  defend  it,  was  not  open  to  some  doubt ; 
but  I  found  there  was  very  little  sympathy  with 
my  views  among  the  company. 

The  gentlemen  at  table  asserted  that  tho  white 
men  in  the  slave  States  are  physically  superior 
to  the  men  of  the  free  States;  and  indulged  in 
curious  theories  in  morals  and  physics  to  which 
I  was  a  stranger.  Disbelief  of  anything  a  North- 
ern man — that  is,  a  Republican — can  say,  is  a 
fixed  principle  in  their  minds.  I  could  not  help 
remarking,  when  the  conversation  turned  on  the 
duplicity  of  Mr.  Seward,  and  the  wickedness  of 
tho  Federal  Government  in  refusing  to  give  tho 


\      . 


St 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AM)  SOUTIF. 


nKSiiriincc  Sumter  would  not  be  relieved  by  force 
of  nrnis,  tliiit  it  must  be  of  very  little  conseqiieiiee 
what  |pioiiiihi'.s  Mr.  Seward  iiwulc,  as,  acTdnliiif? 
to  tiu'in,  not  the  least  reliance  was  to  be  ]ilaeed 
on  bis  word.  The  notion  that  tlio  Nortlicrn  men 
are  eowaiils  is  jusiilied  by  instances  in  whidi 
Conf;rcss-nien  have  been  insulted  by  Southern 
men  witiiout  calling  them  out,  and  Mr.  Sumner's 
case  was  (juoted  as  the  typo  of  the  afliiirs  of  the 
kind  between  the  two  siiles. 

1  haiipcnoil  to  say  that  I  always  understood 
Mr.  Sumner  had  been  attacked  sutldenly  and  un- 
expectedly, and  struck  down  before  he  could  rise 
from  his  desk  to  defend  himself;  whereujion  a 
warm  refutation  of  that  version  of  the  story  was 
given,  and  I  was  assured  that  Mr.  JJrooks,  who 
was  a  very  slight  man,  and  much  inferior  in 
heii,'iit  to  Air,  Simmer,  struck  him  a  slij^'ht  blow 
at  lirst,  and  only  inflicted  the  heavier  strokes 
when  irritated  by  the  Senator's  cowardly  de- 
meanor. In  reference  to  some  remark  made 
about  tiic  cavaliers  and  their  connecticm  with  the 
South,  1  reminded  the  jrentlemen  that,  after  all, 
the  descendants  of  the  I'uritans  were  not  to  be 
desi)ised  in  battle ;  and  tiiat  the  best  <:entry  in 
England  were  worsted  at  last  by  tiu(  train-bunds 
of  London,  and  the  "  rabbledom"  of  Cromwell's 
Independents. 

Mr.,  or  Colonel  IMckett,  is  n  tall,  good-looking 
mai;,  of  ])leasant  manners,  and  w  'H  educated. 
But  this  gentleman  was  a  j)rofesse(l  buccaneer, 
a  friend  of  "Walker,  the  grey-eyed  man  of  destiny 
— his  connade  in  his  most  dangerous  rnzzie.  He 
was  a  nowsj)a])er  writer,  a  solilicr,  a  filibuster ; 
and  he  now  threw  himself  intt)  the  cause  of  the 
South  with  vehemence  ;  it  was  not  diflicuU  to 
imagine  he  saw  in  that  cause  the  realisation  of 
the  dreams  of  emi)ire  in  the  south  of  the  Gulf, 
and  of  conquest  in  the  islands  of  the  sea,  which 
have  such  a  fascinating  intiuenec  over  the  imag- 
ination of  a  large  portion  of  the  American  co- 
plo.  He  referred  to  Walker's  fate  with  much 
bitterness,  and  insinuated  he  was  betrayed  by  the 
British  officer  who  ought  to  have  protected  him. 

The  acts  of  Mr.  Floyd  and  Mr.  Howell  Cobb, 
which  must  be  esteemed  of  doubtful  morality, 
arc  here  justified  by  the  States'  Rights  doctrine. 
If  the  States  had  a  right  to  go  out,  they  were 
quite  right  in  obtaining  their  quota  of  the  na- 
tional ])roi)erty  which  would  not  have  been  given 
to  tiiem  by  the  Lineolnites.  Therefore,  their 
friemls  were  not  to  be  censured  because  they  had 
sent  arms  and  money  to  the  South. 

Altogether  the  evening,  notwithstanding  the 
occasional  warmth  of  the  controversy,  was  ex- 
ceedingly instructive ;  one  could  understand  from 
the  velunicnce  and  force  of  the  speakers  the  full 
meaning  of  the  ]ihrase  of  '"firing  the  Southern 
heart,"  so  often  (piotcd  as  an  illustration  of  the 
peculiar  force  of  political  jjassion  to  be  brought 
to  boar  against  the  Republicans  in  the  Secession 
contest.  Mr.  For.syth  struck  me  as  being  the 
most  astute,  and  perha])S  most  capulile,  of  the 
gentlemen  whose  mission  to  Wasliington  seems 
likely  to  1)0  so  abortive.  His  name  is  historical 
in  America — his  father  filled  high  office,  and  his 
son  has  also  exercised  dii)lomatie  function.  Des- 
potisms and  Republics  of  the  American  model 
approach  each  other  closely.  In  Turkey  the 
Pasha  unemi)loyed  sinks  into  insignificance,  and 
the  son  of  the  I'asha  dccenscd  is  literally  nobody. 
Mr.  Forsyth  was  not  selected  as  Southern  Com- 


missioner on  account  of  tlio  political  status  nc- 
<piircd  by  his  father;  but  the  ])osition  gained  by 
his  own  ablility,  as  editor  of  "The  Mobile  Reg- 
ister," induced  the  Confederate  authorities  to  se- 
lect him  for  the  post.  It  is  quite  ]>ossible  to  liavo 
nuide  u  mistake  in  such  nmtters,  but  I  am  almost 
certain  that  the  colouicd  waiters  who  attended 
us  at  table  looked  as  sour  and  disccmtcnted  as 
could  be,  and  seemed  to  give  their  service  with  n 
sort  of  ja-otest.  I  am  told  that  the  tradcsjicojilo 
of  Washington  arc  strongly  inclined  to  favour 
the  Southern  side. 

Ajnil  (Uh. — To-day  I  paid  a  second  visit  to 
fJcneral  Scott,  who  recoived  me  very  kindly,  and 
made  nniny  inquiries  respecting  the  events  in  the 
Crimea  and  the  Indian  mutiny  and  rebellion. 
He  professed  to  have  no  api)rehensi()n  for  the 
safety  of  the  capital ;  but  in  rcidity  there  arc 
only  some  700  or  W)0  regulars  to  protect  it  and 
the  Navy  Yard,  and  two  field  -  batteries,  com- 
nmnded  by  an  officer  of  very  doubtful  attach-i 
ment  to  the  Union.  The  head  of  the  Navy  Yard 
is  o](enly  accused  of  treasonable  sympathies. 

Mr.  Seward  has  definitely  refused  to  hold  any 
intercourse  whatever  with  the  Southern  Commis. 
sioners,  and  they  will  retire  almost  immediately 
from  the  ca])ital.  As  matters  look  very  threat- 
ening, I  must  go  South  and  see  with  my  own 
eyes  how  afi'airs  stand  there,  before  the  two  sec- 
tions come  to  open  rupture.  Mr,  Seward,  the 
other  day,  in  talking  of  the  South,  described 
them  as  being  in  every  res])ect  lichind  the  age, 
with  fashions,  habits,  level  of  thought,  and  modes 
of  life,  belonging  to  the  worst  i)art  of  the  last 
century.  But  still  he  never  has  been  there  him- 
self! The  Southern  men  come  up  to  the  North- 
ern cities  and  springs,  but  the  Northerner  larcly 
travels  southwards.  Indeed,  I  am  informed,  tiiat 
if  he  were  a  well-known  Abolitionist,  it  would 
not  be  .safe  for  him  to  appear  in  a  Southern  city, 
I  quite  agree  with  my  thoughtful  and  eariKst 
friend,  Olmsted,  that  the  United  States  can  lU'V- 
er  be  considered  as  a  free  country  till  a  man  can 
sjicak  as  freely  in  Charleston  as  he  can  in  New 
York  or  Boston. 

I  (lined  with  Mr.  Riggs,  the  banker,  wlio  had 
an  agreeable  party  to  meet  me.  Mr.  Corcoran, 
his  former  jiartner,  who  was  present,  erected  at 
his  own  cost,  and  i)resented  to  the  city,  a  fine 
building,  to  be  used  as  an  art  gallery  aiul  muse- 
um ;  but  as  yet  the  arts  which  are  to  be  found 
in  Washington  are  political  and  feminine  only. 
Mr.  Corcoran  has  a  ])rivate  gallery  of  jiictin-es, 
and  a  collection,  in  which  is  the  much-praised 
Greek  Slave  of  Hiram  Rowers.  The  gentry  of 
Colinnbia  are  thoroughly  Virginian  in  sentiment, 
and  look  rather  south  than  north  of  the  I'otomac 
for  jiolitical  results.  The  President,  I  hear  this 
evening,  is  alarmed  lest  Virginia  should  become 
hostile,  and  his  policy,  if  he  has  any,  is  tempor- 
ising and  timid.  It  is  perfectly  wonderful  to 
hear  people  using  the  word  "(iovernmcnt'' at 
all,  as  applied  to  the  President  and  his  cabinet — 
a  body  which  has  no  power  "according  to  the 
Constitution"  to  save  the  country  governed  or  it- 
self from  destruction.  In  fact,  fi^m  the  circum- 
stances under  which  the  Constitution  was  framed, 
it  was  natural  that  the  principal  point  kejit  in 
view  should  be  the  exhibition  of  a  strong  front 
to  foreign  powers,  combined  with  the  least  possi- 
ble amount  of  constriction  on  the  internal  rela- 
tions of  the  different  States. 


MY  DIAIIY  NOUTII  AND  SOUTH. 


88 


In  tl  'J  lidti'l  llio  roar  of  i)(H (■•'-seekers  is  nn- 
nbatud.  Tniin  al'tcr  tniiii  adils  tu  their  iiuinherH. 
Tlii-y  eiinilu'r  tlie  jmssiines.  I'lie  imli  is  (mdwiI- 
oil  tti  siieli  II  ilcKrco  tiiiit  Kiirtueiition  ininiit  lic- 
Hcrilw  the  decree  to  wliicii  tlie  pressure  reiu'lies, 
were  it  not  that  toluieeo-siuolte  iiivijjonites  and 
HUstaiiis  tiio  ediistitiitioii.  As  to  tiiu  coiulitiuii 
of  the  floor  it  is  beyond  description. 


CIIAl'TEU  viir. 

New  York  PrcHM— IJiiinniirH  in  to  tlio  Smitlirrnoni— Vlult  to 
till)  SmltliHiiiiiaii  IiiHtilutf  — I'ytliniiH  l;vfiiin«  iit  Mr. 
HflWiiril'H  — KiMi^li  limit  of  oflicial  ilii|)!it<'li  ti>  l.iinl  •!. 
Itii'<-<i'll  -r.rttlmuto  (if  itii  tlTuct  lu  lUipiiic—Tlie  uttitiulc 
of  Vlr(,'iiil:i. 

April  1th. — KiiiiiiiiR  all  day,  eold  and  wet.  I 
nni  tired  and  weary  of  tliis  perpetual  jaliber  about 
Fort  Suintor.  Men  here  who  know  notbinp  at 
all  of  what  is  passing  send  letters  to  the  New 
York  papers,  wliieh  are  eagerl)'  read  by  the  })eo- 
))le  in  Wttshin}J!t()n  as  soon  as  the  journals  reach 
the  city,  and  then  all  these  vaRne  surmises  arc 
taken  as  Rospel,  and  argued  upon  as  if  they  were 
facts.  The  "  Herald"  keeps  up  the  courage  and 
spirit  of  its  Soutliern  friends  iiy  giving  the  most 
florid  accounts  of  their  jirospeets,  and  making 
continual  attacks  on  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  Gov- 
ernment; but  the  majority  of  the  New  York  pa- 
pers arc  inclined  to  resist  Secession  and  aid  the 
Government.  I  dined  with  Lord  Lyons  in  the 
evening,  and  met  Mr.  Sumner,  Mr.  Blackwcll, 
the  manager  of  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway  of 
(Janada,  his  wife,  and  the  members  of  the  Lega- 
tion. After  dinner  I  visited  AL  dc  Stoeckl,  the 
Russian  Minister,  and  M.  Tassara,  the  Minister 
of  Spain,  who  had  small  rccc]jtions.  There  were 
few  Americans  present.  As  a  rule,  the  diplo- 
matic circle,  which  has,  by-the-by,  no  particular 
cen!''e,  radii,  or  circumference,  keeps  its  mem- 
bers pretty  much  within  itself.  The  great  ])eo- 
plo  here  are  mostly  the  representatives  of  the 
South  American  powers,  who  are  on  more  inti- 
mate ridations  with  the  native  families  in  Wash- 
ington than  are  the  transatlantic  ministers. 

April  8th. — How  it  does  rain!  Last  night 
there  were  torrents  of  water  in  the  streets  liter- 
ally a  foot  deep.  It  still  runs  in  muddy  whirl- 
ing streams  through  the  channels,  and  the  rain 
is  falling  incessantly  from  a  dull  leaden  sky. 
The  air  is  warm  and  clammy.  There  are  all 
kind  of  rumours  abroad,  and  the  barbers'  shoj)s 
shook  with  "  shaves"  this  morning.  Sumter,  of 
course,  was  the  main  topic.  Some  reported  that 
the  President  had  promised  the  Southern  Com- 
missioners, through  their  friend  Mr.  Campbell, 
Judge  of  the  Supreme  Court,  not  to  use  force  in 
respect  to  Pickens  or  Sumter.  I  wrote  to  Mr. 
Seward,  to  ask  him  if  he  could  enable  me  to 
make  any  definite  statement  on  these  important 
matters.  The  Southerners  are  alarmed  at  the 
accounts- they  have  received  of  great  activity  and 
preparations  in  tlie  Brooklyn  and  Boston  navy 
yards,  and  declare  that  "  treachery"  is  meant. 
I  fincl  myself  quite  incapable  of  comprehending 
their  position.  How  can  the  United  States  Gov- 
ernment be  guilty  of  "treachery"  towards  sub- 
jects of  States  which  are  preparing  to  assert  their 
independence,  unless  that  Government  has  been 
guilty  of  falsehood  or  admitted  the  justice  of  the 
(lecision  to  which  the  States  bad  arrived  ? 
C 


As  soon  fts  I  had  finislied  mv  letters,  I  drove 
over  to  I  he  Smithsonian  Instilmc,  and  was  niosi; 
kindly  receivcul  by  Profissor  llcnrj',  who  took 
me  through  the  library  and  ni  useiim,  and  intru~ 
dnced  me  to  I'rofessor  Bainl..  who  is  great  in 
natural  history,  and  more  parTticularly  in  orui- 
thology.  1  promiseil  the  profesMi^iii  some  skins  nf 
Himalayan  ]iheasants,  as  an  addiiK/ii  so  the  col- 
lection. In  the  library  we  wore  presentt'd  tl  two 
very  fine  and  lively  rock  snakes,  or  pytboom,  I 
believe,  some  six  feet  long  ir  more,  which  moved 
about  with  much  grace  and  agilit  ,|)Utling  out 
their  forked  tongues  and  hissing  ^iiarjily  when 
seized  by  the  hand  or  menaced  \^/ili  a  stick.  I 
was  told  that  some  persons  douiii*  I  if  serpents 
hissed ;  I  can  answer  for  it  that  rock  i^nukes  do 
most  audibly.  Tliey  are  nut  venomous,  but  their 
teeth  air  sharj)  and  needle  like.  The  eye  is 
bright  iid  glifiteniii^' ;  the  red  forked  tongue, 
when  protruded,  has  a  rapid  vibratory  motion, 
as  if  it  were  moved  by  the  muscles  which  pro- 
duce the  (piivering  hissing  noise.  I  was  much 
interested  liy  Professor  Heiny's  remarks  on  the 
largo  map  of  the  continent  of  North  America  in 
his  study  :  he  jiointed  out  the  climatic  conditions 
which  determined  the  use,  profits,  and  necessity 
of  slave  labour,  and  argued  that  the  vast  increa.se 
of  population  anticipated  in  the  valley  of  the  Mis- 
sissij)pi,  and  the  prophecies  of  imperial  greatness 
attached  to  it,  were  fallacious.  He  seems  to  be 
of  opinion  that  most  of  the  ^ood  land  of  Ameri- 
ca is  already  cultivated,  and  that  the  crops  which 
it  ju'oduces  tend  to  exhaust  it,  so  as  to  compel 
the  cultivators  eventually  to  let  it  go  to  fallow  or 
to  use  manure.  The  fact  is,  that  the  influence 
of  the  great  mountain-chain  in  the  west,  which 
intercepts  all  the  rain  on  the  Pacific  side,  causes 
an  immense  extent  of  country  between  the  cast- 
ern  slope  of  the  chain  and  the  Mississippi,  as 
well  as  the  district  west  of  Minnesota,  to  be  per- 
fectly dry  and  uinnhai)itable ;  and,  as  far  as  wo 
know,  it  is  as  worthless  as  a  moor,  except  for  tho 
pasturage  of  wild  cattle  and  the  like. 

On  returning  to  my  hotel,  1  found  a  note  from 
Mr.  Seward,  asking  me  to  visit  him  at  nine 
o'clock.  On  going  to  his  house,  I  was  shown  to 
the  drawing-room,  and  found  there  only  the  Sec- 
retary of  State,  his  son,  and  Mrs.  Seward.  I 
made  n parti  c.arnf  far  a  friendly  rubber  of  whist, 
and  Mr.  Seward,  who  was  my  partner,  talked  as 
he  ])layed,  so  that  the  sco.e  of  the  game  was  not 
favourable.  But  his  talk  was  very  interesting. 
"All  the  preparations  of  which  you  bear  mean 
this  only.  The  Government,  finding  the  prop- 
erty of  the  State  and  Federal  forts  neglected  and 
left  without  protection,  are  determined  to  take 
ste))s  to  relieve  them  from  that  neglect,  and  to 
protect  them.  But  we  are  determined  in  doing 
so  to  make  no  aggression.  The  President's  in- 
augural clearly  shadows  out  our  jioli -y.  We 
will  not  go  beyond  it — we  have  no  intention  of 
doing  so — nor  will  we  withdraw  from  it."  After 
a  time  Mr.  Seward  put  down  his  cards,  and  told 
his  son  to  go  for  a  j>ortfolio  which  he  would  find 
in  a  drawer  of  his  table.  Mrs.  Seward  lighted 
the  drop  light  of  the  gas,  and  on  her  husband's 
return  with  the  paper  left  the  room.  The  Sec- 
retary then  lit  bis  cigar,  gave  one  to  me,  and  pro- 
ceeded to  read  slowly  and  with  marked  empha- 
sis, a  very  long,  strong,  and  able  dispatch,  which 
he  told  me  was  to  be  read  by  Mr.  Adams,  the 
American  minister  in  London,  to  Lord  John  Rus- 


■11".  I 


I-: 

M 

■  ■  « J 

:1 

■■■''' 

84 


MY  niAIlY  NOUTII  AND  SOUTH. 


sell.  It  Mtnirk  mo  tlmf  tlip  tone  of  tlio  |)npcr 
wuH  lioMtilc,  timt  tlicro  wiw  nn  imilcrciim-nt  of 
inenni-o  tlinmnlj  it,  nnd  tlmt  it  contained  inHinii- 
fttions  tlmt(irciit  Uritiiin  would  interfere  to  nyUt 
\\\)  the  lt('|iiil)iie,  ifsiie  could,  and  wan  jilcasctl  at 
tlio  pri>H|«et  of  the  dangers  which  threatened  if. 

At  nil  the  utronjrer  |ia>inaKeH  Mr.  Seward  rai.M'd 
hiH  voice,  and  made  a  iiause  at  their  conclusion 
as  if  to  chailen>?e  reniark  or  approvaW  At  lenKlh 
I  could  notiiclp  saying,  that  the  dispatch  would, 
no  douht,  have  an  excellent  effect  when  it  eaine 
to  linht  in  CoiiKrcss,  and  that  the  Americann 
would  think  highly  of  the  writer;  hut  I  ventured 
to  exi)res.s  nn  opinion  that  it  would  not  he  (juite 
so  acceptidile  to  the  (iovernment  and  i»eoplo  of 
Great  Britain.  This  Mr.  Seward,  as  an  Ameri- 
can statesman,  had  a  ri^,'ht  to  make  but  a  sec- 
ondary consideration.  My  nlfeetinn  to  rc^arti 
Secession  as  a  mere  political  heresy  which  can 
bo  easily  confuted,  nnd  by  forhiddinK  foreign 
countries  alludinp  to  it,  ^Ir.  SewnnI  thinks  he 
can  establish  the  supremacy  of  his  own  Govern- 
ment, and  at  the  same  time  ^r'Hify  the  vanity 
of  the  jxjoplc.  Even  war  witli  us  may  not  be  out 
of  the  list  of  those  means  which  would  Ikj  avail- 
nl)le  for  rc-fusiiis  the  broken  union  into  a  mass 
onee  more.  However,  the  Secretary  is  <iuito  con- 
fident in  what  he  calls  "ro-aetion."  "When  the 
Southern  States,"  he  says,  "se<!  that  we  mean 
them  no  wrong — that  we  intend  no  violence  to 
persons,  riRhts,  or  thinps — that  the  Federal  Gov- 
crnnient  seeks  only  to  fulfil  obligations  imjosed 
on  it  in  res|)cct  to  the  national  pro)ierty,  they  will 
sec  their  mistake,  nnd  one  after  another  they  will 
come  back  into  the  union."  Mr.  Seward  antici- 
pates this  process  will  at  once  begin,  nnd  that 
Secession  will  all  be  done  and  over  in  three 
months — nt  least,  so  he  snys.  It  was  after  mid- 
night ere  our  conversation  was  over,  much  of 
which  of  course  I  cannot  mention  in  these  pnges. 

April  9//i. — A  storm  of  rain,  thunder,  and 
lightning.  The  streets  are  converted  into  water- 
courses. From  the  country  we  hear  of  bridges 
washed  away  by  inundations,  nnd  roads  render- 
ed impassable.  Accounts  from  the  South  are 
gloomy,  but  the  turha  liemi  in  Willard's  are  as 
happy  as  ever,  at  least  as  noisy  and  as  greedy  of 
place.  By-the-by,  I  observe  that  my  prize-fight- 
ing friend  of  the  battered  nose  has  been  reward- 
ed for  bis  exertions  at  last.  He  has  been  stand- 
ing drinks  all  round  till  he  is  not  able  to  stand 
himself,  and  he  has  expressed  his  determination 
never  to  forget  nil  the  people  in  the  passage.  I 
dined  at  the  Legation  in  the  evening,  where  there 
was  a  small  party,  and  returned  to  the  hotel  in 
torrents  of  rain. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

Dinner  nt  General  Scott's— Anecdotes  of  Grneriil  Scott'c 
early  life— The  etartling  dispatcli— Intiecurity  of  the 
Capital. 

April  lOth. — To-day  I  devoted  to  packing  up 
such  things  as  I  did  not  require,  and  sending 
them  to  New  York.  I  received  a  characteristic 
note  from  General  Scott,  asking  me  to  dine  with 
him  to-morrow,  and  apologising  for  the  short- 
ness of  his  invitation,  which  arose  from  his  only 
having  just  heard  that  I  was  about  to  leave  so 
soon  for  the  South.  The  General  is  much  ad- 
mired by  his  countrymen,  though  they  do  not 
spare  some  "amiable  weaknesses;"  but,  in  my 


miiul,  he  can  cmly  be  ncrused  of  n  little  vanity, 
which  is  often  fonn«l  in  characters  of  the  high- 
est standard,  lie  likes  tu  di!*phiy  his  reading, 
nn<l  is  troubled  with  a  desire  to  indulge  in  fine 
writing.  Some  time  ago  he  wrote  u  long  letter 
to  the  "National  Intelligencer,"  in  which  he 
quoted  Shakspeare  nnd  I'uley  to  prove  that  I'fi-s- 
ident  Hiichaiuin  ought  to  have  garrisoned  the 
forts  nt  ('harh'ston  and  I'ensacola,  as  he  advised 
him  to  do;  ami  he  has  been  the  victim  of  poetic 
nspirati(ms.  The  (icneral'M  dinner  hour  was 
enrly ;  nnd  when  I  arrived  at  his  moilest  lodg- 
ings, which,  however,  were  in  the  house  of  a  fa- 
mous French  cook,  I  found  a  troop  of  nioimted 
volunteers  of  the  district  parading  up  and  down 
the  street.  They  were  not  bad  of  their  class,  nnd 
the  horses,  though  light,  were  active,  hardy,  nml 
spirited  ;  but  the  men  jtut  on  their  uniforms  bad- 
ly, wore  long  hair,  their  coats  and  buttons  and 
boots  were  nnbrushed,  and  the  horses'  coats  nnd 
accoutrements  bore  evidence  of  neglect.  The 
General,  who  wore  an  undress  blue  frock-coat, 
with  eagle-covered  brass  buttons,  and  velvet  col- 
lar an(i  cutts,  was  with  Mr.  Seward  and  Mr. 
Hates,  the  Attorncy-(ieneral,  and  received  mc 
very  courteously.  He  was  interrujited  by  cheer- 
ing from  the  soldiers  in  the  street,  nnd  by  clam- 
ours for  "General  Scott."  lie  moves  with  dif- 
ficulty, owing  to  a  fall  from  his  horse,  and  from 
the  jiressure  of  increasing  years  ;  and  he  evident- 
ly would  not  have  gone  out  if  be  coidd  have 
avoide<l  it.  But  there  is  no  privacy  for  jiublic 
men  in  America. 

Out  the  General  went  to  them,  and  add  ssed 
a  few  words  to  his  audience  in  the  usual  style 
about  "  rallying  round,"  nnd  "  dying  gloriously," 
and  "old  fiag  of  our  countrv-,"  and  all  that  kind 
of  thing ;  after  which,  the  band  struck  uj)  "  Yan- 
kee Doodle."  Mr.  Seward  called  out  "  Generol, 
make  them  play  the  'Star-Spangled  Banner,' 
and  'Hail  Coluirbia,'"  And  so  1  was  treated 
to  the  strains  of  the  old  bacchanalian  chant, 
"When  Bibo,"  &c.,  which  the  Americans  have 
impressed  to  do  duty  as  a  national  air.  Then 
came  an  attemjjt  to  i>lay  "  God  save  the  Queen," 
which  I  duly  apj)reciated  as  v  compliment;  nnd 
then  followed  dinner,  which  did  credit  to  the 
cook,  and  wine,  which  was  most  excellent,  from 
France,  Spain,  and  Madeira.  The  only  addi- 
tion to  our  party  was  Major  Cullum,  aide-de- 
camp to  General  Scott,  an  United  Stntes'  en- 
gineer, educated  nt  West  Point.  The  General 
underwent  a  little  badinage  about  the  phrase  "a 
hasty  ])late  of  soup,"  which  he  used  in  one  of  his 
desjmtches  during  the  Mexican  War,  and  he  ap- 
pealed to  me  to  decide  whether  it  was  so  erro- 
neous or  ridiculous  as  Mr.  Sewnrd  insisted.  I 
said  I  was  not  a  judge,  but  certainly  similar  lib- 
eral usage  of  a  well-known  figure  of  prosody 
might  be  found  to  justify  the  phrase.  The  only 
attendants  at  table  were  the  General's  English 
valet  nnd  a  coloured  servant ;  and  the  table  np- 
paratus  which  bore  such  good  things  was  simple 
and  unpretending.  Of  course  the  conversation 
was  of  a  general  character,  and  the  General, 
evidently  picking  out  his  words  with  great  pre- 
cision, took  the  lead  in  it,  telling  anecdotes  of 
great  length,  graced  now  and  then  with  episodes, 
and  fortified  by  such  episodes  as — "Bear  with 
me,  dear  sir,  for  a  while,  that  I  may  here  diverge 
from  the  main  current  of  my  story,  and  proceed 
to  mention  a  curious — "  &e.,  and  so  on. 


MY  DIARY  NOUTII  AND  SOUTH. 


To  mo  liiH  convprnrition  wnn  very  iiitLTPHtinn, 
j)iirti(uliirly  timt  ixnlidii  wliirli  rofcrrcd  tn  his 
jMit  ill  iIk!  lust  war,  wliciu  he  was  wnuiidcil  mid 
iiiki'n  jiiisoiicr.  Il('  ><iive  iiu  iiccoimt  of  tin-  Hut- 
t\r  of  Oliiiipowii,  wliicli  was,  Ik;  miid,  loii^'iit  on 
triio  Hciciititlc  priiiciplos ;  utid  in  tin;  igiioninco 
('ominoii  to  most  Knulislmieii  of  reverses  to  their 
arms,  I  wuh  iiijndicioiis  eiioii^di,  when  tlie  hiittle 
was  at  its  height,  and  whoK-  masses  of  men  were 
moving  in  battalions  and  eolinnns  over  tiic  tal)Ie, 
to  ask  how  many  men  were  engaged.  Tho  Gen- 
eral made  tho  most  of  hiH  side;  "Wo  Iiad,  sir, 
twenty-ono  hnndred  and  sevenfy-(ivo  men  in 
tlie  fichl.''  He  told  us  how,  when  tho  IJritisii 
men-of-war  provoked  general  indignation  in 
Virginia  by  searehing  American  vessels  for  de- 
serters in  the  Cliesajieake,  tho  State  of  Virginia 
organised  a  volunteer  force  to  guard  the  siiores, 
and,  above  all  things,  to  j)revcnt  tho  country  peo- 
ple sending  down  supplies  to  tho  vessels,  in  pur- 
suance of  the  orders  of  the  Legislature  and  (Jov- 
ernor.  Young  Scott,  then  reading  for  tho  bar, 
became  corporal  of  a  troop  of  those  patrols.  One 
nigiit,  aa  they  were  on  duty  by  tho  banks  of  the 
I'otornac,  they  heard  a  boat  with  mulHed  oars 
coming  rapidly  down  tho  river,  and  soon  saw  her 
approaching  quite  close  to  the  shore  under  cover 
of  the  trees.  When  she  was  abreast  of  tho  troop- 
ers, Scott  challenged  "What  boat  is  that?" 
"It's  His  Majesty's  ship  'Leoj)ard,'  and  what 

tho  d •  is  that  to  you  ?     Give  way,  my  lads  !" 

"I  at  once  called  on  him  to  surrender,"  said 
the  General,  "and  giving  the  word  to  charge, 
wo  dashed  into  the  water.  Fortunately,  it  was 
not  deep,  and  the  midshipman  in  charge,  taken 
by  surprise  by  a  superior  force,  did  not  attempt 
to  resist  us.  We  found  the  boat  manned  by  fcnir 
sailors,  and  filled  with  vegetables  and  other  sup- 
plies, and  took  possession  of  it ;  and  I  believe  it 
is  the  first  instance  of  a  man-of-war's  boat  being 
captured  by  cavalry.  The  Legislature  of  Vir- 
ginia, however,  did  not  approve  of  tho  capture, 
and  the  officer  was  given  up  accordingly. 

"Many  years  afterwards,  when  I  visited  Eu- 
rope, I  happened  to  be  dining  at  the  liospitable 
mansion  of  Lord  Holland,  and  observed  during 
the  banquet  that  a  gentleman  at  table  was  scru- 
tinising my  countenance  in  a  manner  indicative 
of  some  special  curiosity.  Several  times,  as  my 
eye  wandered  in  his  direction,  I  perceived  that 
ho  had  been  continuing  his  investigations,  and 
at  length  I  rebuked  him  by  a  continuous  glance. 
After  dinner,  this  gentleman  came  round  to  me 
and  said,  '  General  Scott,  I  hope  you  will  pardon 
my  rudeness  in  staring  at  you,  but  the  fact  is 
that  you  bear  a  most  remarkable  resemblance  to 
a  great  overgrown,  clumsy,  country  fellow  of  the 
same  name,  who  took  me  prisoner  in  my  boat 
when  I  was  a  midshipman  in  the  "Chesapeake," 
at  the  head  of  a  body  of  mounted  men.  He  was, 
I  remember  quite  well.  Corporal  Scot.'  'That 
Corporal  Scott,  sir,  and  the  individual  who  ad- 
dresses you,  are  identical  one  with  the  other.' 
The  officer  whose  acquaintance  I  thus  bo  auspi- 
ciously renewed,  was  Captain  Fox,  a  relation  of 
Lord  Holland,  and  a  post-captain  in  the  British 
navy." 

Whilst  he  was  speaking,  a  telegraphic  dispatch 
was  brought  in,  which  the  General  perused  wit? 
evident  uneasiness.  He  apologised  to  me  for 
reading  it  by  saying  the  dispatch  was  from  the 
President  on  Cabinet  business,  and  then  handed 


it  across  the  table  to  Mr.  Seward.  Tho  Secretary 
read  it,  and  Ix^'ame  a  little  agitated,  and  rais('<l 
his  eyes  inquiringly  to  the  Gem-nd's  face,  who 
onlv  siiook  his  head.  'I'hen  the  paper  was  given 
to  Nir.  Itates,  who  read  it,  and  gave  a  grunt,  iw 
it  were,  of  sini»riso.  The  (ieneral  took  l)aek  tho 
pa|icr,  read  it  twice  over,  and  then  folded  it  up 
and  put  it  in  his  pocket.  "You  had  better  not 
put  It  there,  (Jeiieral,"  iiiterjiosed  Mr.  Seward; 
"it  will  1)0  getting  lost,  or  into  some  other  hands." 
And  so  tho  Cieneral  seemed  to  think,  for  he  ini- 
mediateiy  threw  it  into  tho  fire,  l)eforo  which 
certain  bottles  of  claret  were  gently  mellowing. 
Tlie  communication  was  evidently  of  a  very  im. 
l)leasant  character.  In  order  to  give  tho  Minis- 
ters opj)ortutiity  for  a  conference,  I  asked  Major 
Cullum  to  accompany  me  into  tho  garden,  and 
lighted  a  cigar.  As  1  was  walking  about  in  the 
twilight,  I  ol)served  two  figures  at  tho  end  of  the 
little  enclosure,  standing  as  if  in  concealment 
close  to  tho  wall.  Major  Cullum  said  "  The  men 
you  SCO  are  sentries  I  have  thought  it  cxj)cdient 
to  place  there  for  the  protection  of  the  General. 
The  villains  might  assassinate  him,  and  would 
do  it  in  a  moment  if  they  could.  He  would  not 
hear  of  a  guard,  nor  anything  of  the  sort,  so, 
without  his  knowing  it,  I  have  sentries  posted  all 
round  tho  house  all  night."  This  was  a  curious 
state  of  things  for  the  commander  of  the  Ameri- 
can army,  in  the  midst  of  a  crowded  city,  tho 
capital  of  the  free  and  enlightened  RcpubJic,  to 
Imj  placed  in  !  On  our  return  to  the  sitting-room, 
the  ccmversation  was  continued  some  hour  or  so 
longer.  I  retired  with  Mr.  Seward  in  his  car- 
riage. As  we  were  going  up  Pennsylvania  Ave- 
nue— almost  lifeless  at  that  time — I  asked  Mr. 
Seward  whether  ho  felt  quite  secure  against  any 
irruption  from  Virginia,  as  it  was  reported  that 
one  Ben  McCuUough,  the  famous  Texan  doHjje- 
rado,  had  assembled  500  men  at  Uiehmond  for 
some  daring  enterprise:  some  said  to  carry  off 
the  President,  cabinet,  and  all.  He  replied  that, 
although  the  capital  was  almost  defenceless,  it 
must  bo  remembered  that  the  bold  bad  men  who 
were  their  enemies  were  equally  unprepared  for 
active  measures  of  aggression. 


CHAPTE.:  X. 

Preparations  for  war  at  (JharlcHton — My  own  departure 
for  tlio  .Southern  States — Arriviil  at  lialtimoro— (Jom- 
menceraent  of  IioHtilitien  at  Fort  fiumUiv— nombardnient 
of  the  l'"ort— General  feeling  as  to  North  and  South— 
Sliivory — First  impressions  of  tho  City  of  Ualtimorc — 
Departure  by  steamer. 

April  \2th. — This  morning  I  received  an  in- 
timation that  the  Government  had  resolved  on 
taking  decisive  steps  which  would  lead  to  a  de- 
velopment of  events  in  the  South  and  test  the 
sincerity  of  Secession.  The  Confederate  general 
at  Charleston,  Beauregard,  has  sent  to  the  Fed- 
eral officer  in  command  at  Sumter,  Major  Ander- 
son, to  say,  that  all  communication  between  his 
garrison  and  the  city  must  cease ;  and,  at  the 
same  time,  or  probably  before  it,  the  Government 
at  Washington  informed  the  Confederate  authori- 
ties that  they  intended  to  forward  supplies  to  Ma- 
jor Anderson,  peftceably  if  permitted,  but  at  all 
hazards  to  send  them.  The  Charleston  people  are 
manning  the  batteries  they  have  erected  against 
Sumter,  have  fired  on  a  vessel  under  the  United 


!     ( 


^:i1' 


86 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


Statesflan,  endeavoring  to  communicate  with  the  I  such  attempt  to  the  last,  and  make  it  a  casus 
fort,  and  have  cnlleJ  out  and  organized  a  hirf;c    and  causa  Mli.  ^ 


i 

ii 


force  in  tlie  ishmd'  o])posite  tiic  place  and  in  the 
city  of  Charl'ston. 

I  resolved  tlicrefore  to  start  for  the  Southern 
States  to-day,  proceeding  by  Baltimore  to  Norfolk 
instead  of  going  by  Kiclimond,  which  was  cut  off 
by  the  floods.  Before  Icavi  !_(,  I  visited  Lord 
Lyons,  Mr.  Seward,  the  French  and  Russian  Min- 
isters ;  left  cards  on  the  President,  Mrs.  Lincoln, 
General  Scott,  Mr.  Douglas,  Mr.  Sumner,  find 
others.  There  was  no  appearance  of  any  excite 
ment  in  Washington,  but  Lord  Lyons  mentioned, 
as  an  unusual  circumstance,  that  he  had  received 
no  telegraphic  communication  from  Mr.  Bunch, 
the  British  Consul  nt  Charleston.  Some  ladies 
said  to  me  that  when  I  came  back  I  would  finci 
some  nice  people  at  Washington,  and  that  the 
rail-splitter,  his  wife,  the  Sewards,  and  all  the  rest 
of  them,  would  be  driven  to  the  place  where  they 
ought  to  be:  "Variua  Davis  is  a  lady,  at  all 
events,  not  like  the  other.  We  can't  put  up  witii 
such  people  as  these!"  A  naval  officer  whom  I 
met,  told  me,  "  if  the  Government  are  really  go- 
ing to  try  force  at  Charleston,  you'll  see  they'll  be 
l)eaten,  and  we'll  have  a  war  between  the  gentle- 
men and  the  Yankee  rowdies ;  if  they  attempt 
violence,  you  know  how  that  will  end."  The  Gov- 
erniT'^nt  are  so  uneasy  that  they  have  put  soldiers 
int  ■   i:  e  Capitoi,  and  are  preparing  it  for  defence. 

i\t  t>  P.M.  I  drove  to  the  Baltimore  station  in 
a  '.orm  of  rain,  accompanied  by  Mr.  Warre,  of 
thii  British  Legation.  In  the  train  there  was  a 
crowd  of  people,  many  of  them  disappointed  jjlace- 
huiners,  and  much  discussion  took  place  respect- 
ing the  propriety  of  giving  sui)plies  to  Sumter  by 
force,  the  weight  of  opinion  being  against  the 
propriety  of  such  a  step.  The  tone  in  which  the 
Vresident  and  his  cabinet  were  spoken  of  was 
very  disrespectful.  One  big  man,  in  a  fur  coat, 
who  was  sitting  near  me,  said,  "Well,  darn  me 
if  I  wouldn't  draw  a  bciid  on  Old  Abe,  Seward 
— aye,  or  General  Scolt  liimself,  though  I've  got 
a  perty  good  thing  out  of  tiiem,  if  they  due  try  to 
use  their  soldiers  and  sailors  to  beat  down  States' 
Rights.  If  tliey  want  to  go  they've  a  right  to 
go."  To  which  many  said,  "That's  so!  That's 
true !" 

When  we  arrived  at  Baltimore,  at  8  p.m.,  the 
streets  wcic  deep  in  water.  A  coaehirian,  see- 
ing I  was  n  stranger,  asked  me  two  dollars,  or 
8».  id.,  to  drive  to  the  Kuraw  House,  a  quarter 
of  a  mile  distant ;  but  I  was  not  surprised,  as  I 
had  paid  three-and-a-half  and  four  dollars  to  go 
to  dinner  and  return  to  the  hotel  in  Washing- 
ton. On  my  arrival  Hie  landlord,  no  less  a 
];er,on  than  a  major  or  colonel,  took  me  aside, 
and  asked  me  if  I  had  hoard  the  news.  "No, 
what  is  it  ?"  "  The  President  of  the  Telegraph 
Corvr'r.ny  tells  me  he  has  received  a  message 
rri,m  his  clerk  at  Charleston  tliat  the  batteries 
have  ojjcned  fire  on  Sumter  because  the  Gov- 
ernment has  sent  down  a  fleet  to  force  in  sn]>- 
plies."'  The  news  had,  however,  spread.  Tlie 
hall  and  bar  of  the  hotel  were  full,  and  I  was 
asked  by  many  people  whom  I  had  never  seen 
in  my  life,  what  my  opinions  were  as  to  the  au- 
thenticity of  the  rumour.  There  was  nothing 
surprising  in  the  fact  that  the  Charleston  people 
had  resented  any  attempt  to  reinforce  the  forth, 
&a  I  was  aware,  from  the  language  of  the  South- 
ern Commissioners,  that  thev  woidd  resist  any 


Ajuil  14. — The  Eutaw  House  is  not  a  very 
good  specimen  of  an  American  hotel,  but  the 
landlord  does  his  best  to  make  his  guests  com- 
fortable, when  he  likes  them.  The  American 
landlord  is  a  despot  v.  j  regulates  lis  domin- 
ions by  ukases  ailixed  to  the  walls,  by  certain 
state  departments  called  "ofiices"  and  ='l)ars," 
and  who  generally  is  represented,  whilst  lie  is 
away  on  some  military,  political,  or  commercial 
undertaking,  by  a  lieutenant;  the  deputy  being, 
if  possible,  a  greater  man  than  the  chief.  It 
requires  so  much  capital  to  establish  a  large  ho- 
tel, that  there  is  little  fear  of  external  competi- 
tion in  the  towns.  And  Americans  arc  so  gie- 
garious  that  they  will  not  patronise  small  estab- 
lishments. 

I  was  the  more  complimented  by  the  land- 
lord's attenti<m  this  morning  when  he  came  to 
the  room,  and  in  much  excitement  informed  me 
the  news  of  Fort  Sumter  being  bombarded  by 
the  Charleston  batteries  was  confirmed;  "And 
now,"  said  he,  "there's  no  saying  where  it  will 
all  end." 

After  breakfast  I  was  visited  by  some  gentle- 
men of  Baltimore,  who  were  highly  delighted 
with  the  news,  and  I  learned  from  them  there 
was  a  probability  of  their  State  joining  those 
which  had  seceded.  The  whole  feeling  of  the 
landed  and  respectable  classes  is  with  the  South. 
The  dislike  to  the  Federal  Government  ai'V^/'ash- 
ington  is  largely  spiced  with  personal  ridicule 
and  contempt  of  Mr.  Lincoln.  Your  Mary- 
lander  is  very  tenacious  about  being  a  gentle- 
man, and  what  he  does  not  consider  gentleman- 
ly is  sim])ly  unfit  for  anything,  far  less  for  i^lace 
and  uuthority. 

The  young  draughtsman,  of  whom  I  spoke, 
turned  up  this  morning,  having  pursued  me 
from  Washington.  He  asked  me  whether  I 
would  still  let  him  accompany  me.  I  observed 
that  I  had  no  objection,  but  that  I  could  not 
jiermit  such  paragraphs  in  the  papers  again,  and 
suggested  there  woidd  be  no  diflSculty  in  his 
travelling  by  himself,  if  be  pleased.  He  replied 
that  his  former  connection  with  a  Black  Repub- 
lican paper  might  lead  to  his  detention  or  mo- 
lestation in  the  South,  but  that  if  he  was  allow- 
ed to  come  with  me,  no  one  would  doubt  that 
he  was  employed  by  an  Illustrated  London  pa- 
per. The  young  gentleman  will  certainly  never 
lose  anything  for  the  want  of  asking. 

At  the  black  barlier's  I  was  meekly  interro- 
gated by  my  attendant  as  to  my  belief  in  the 
story  of  the  bombardment.  He  was  astonished 
to  find  a  stranger  could  think  the  event  was 
probable.  "De  gen'lmen  of  Baltimore  will  be 
quite  glad  ov  it.  But  maybe  it'l  conivj  bad  after 
ail."  I  discovered  my  barber  had  strong  ideas 
tiuit  the  days  of  slavery  were  drawing  to  an  end. 
"  And  what  will  take  place  then,  do  you  think?" 
"Wall,  sare,  'spose  coloured  men  will  be  good 
as  white  men."  That  is  it.  They  do  not  nn- 
derftand  what  a  vast  gulf  flows  between  them 
and  the  equality  of  position  with  the  white  race 
wliich  most  of  tiiose  who  have  aspirations  im- 
a^'ine  to  be  meant  by  emancipation.  He  said 
the  towr.  slave-owners  were  very  severe  and 
harsh  in  demanding  larger  sums  than  the  slaves 
could  earn.  The  slaves  are  sent  out  to  do  jobs, 
to  stand  for  hire,  to  work  on  the  quays  and 


• 


^i' 


docks,  Tl 
punishes  th( 
Sometimes 
sum,  and  a 
can  get  mi 
poses. 

Baltimon 
than  the  to 
site  on  whic 
houses  have 
height  whic 
Philadelphi 
nified.  Wl 
"  Monumer 
stranger, 
town  of  2." 
name  from 
George  Wi 
than  200  fe 
umu  called 
memory  of 
side  tlie  cit' 
in  1814.  I 
city  worth  r 
tion,  after  a 
I  was  made 
started  for 
anna." 


Scenes  on  bom 
—  Irish  sail 
Sunday ;  nc 
and  our  JacI 

Sunday,  A 
owing  to  tlic 
beam  close 
and  the  roa 
vessels  out 
good  deal  to 
curtains.  S 
side  the  jett 
distinctly  th^ 
some  dangei 
Virginians, 
the  walls,  ar 
late.  It  has 
and  armed  1 
up  or  occuf 
guns  I  coul 
A  few  soldii 
after  we  had 
negroes,  and 
— it  does  no 
across  the  i 
River  towar 
Portsmouth 

Just  as  I A 
tall,  neatly  c 
mo  for  my  t 
collector  for 
The  latter  in 
luctance  or  1 
deck  I  obscr 
men  engagci 
tails  or  mint 
not  be  had  j 
owing  to  th( 
the  matter  r 
cans  ari  !  ] 
have  render 
my  excuse 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


87 


docks.  Their  earnings  go  to  the  master,  who 
pitiiishos  them  if  tliey  do  not  bring  liome  enough. 
Sometimes  the  master  is  content  with  a  fixed 
sum,  and  all  over  that  amount  which  the  slave 
can  get  may  bo  retained  for  his  private  pur- 
poscis.  , 

Baltimore  looks  more  ancient  and  respectable 
than  the  towns  I  have  passed  tin-ough,  and  the 
site  on  which  it  stands  is  undulating,  so  that  the 
houses  have  not  that  flatness  and  uniformity  of 
height  which  make  the  streets  of  New  York  and 
Philadelphia  resemble  those  of  a  toy  city  mag- 
nified. Why  Baltimore  should  be  called  the 
"Monumental  City"  could  not  be  divined  by  a 
stranger.  He  would  never  think  that  a  great 
town  of  2.50,000  inhabitants  could  derive  its 
name  from  an  obelisk  cased  in  white  marble  to 
George  Washington,  even  though  it  be  more 
than  200  feet  high,  nor  from  the  grotesque  col- 
umn called  "Battle  Monument,"  erected  to  the 
memory  of  those  who  fell  in  the  skirmish  out- 
side the  city  in  which  the  British  were  repulsed 
in  1814.  I  could  not  procure  any  guide  to  the 
city  worth  reading,  and  strolled  about  at  discre- 
tion, after  a  visit  to  the  Maryland  Club,  of  which 
I  was  made  an  honorary  member.  At  dark  I 
started  for  Norfolk,  in  the  steamer  "  Georgi- 
anna." 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Scenes  on  bonnl  an  Amoriciin  pteamer — The  "  Merrimac'' 
—  Irisli  sailors  in  America  —  Norfolk  —  A  telegram  on 
Sunday ;  news  from  the  seat  of  war — American  "chaff" 
and  our  Jack  Tars. 

Sunday,  April  It. — A  night  of  disturbed  sleep, 
owing  to  the  ponderous  thumping  of  the  walking 
beam  close  to  my  head,  the  whizzing  of  steam, 
and  the  roaring  of  the  steam-trumpet  to  warn 
vessels  out  of  the  way — musquitoes,  too,  had  a 
good  deal  to  say  to  me  in  spite  of  my  dirty  gauze 
curtains.  Soon  after  dawn  the  vessel  ran  along- 
side the  jetty  at  Fortress  Monroe,  and  I  saw  in- 
distinctly the  waterface  of  the  work  which  is  in 
some  danger  of  being  attacked,  it  is  said,  by  the 
Virginians.  There  was  no  flag  on  the  staff  above 
tlie  walls,  and  the  place  looked  dreary  and  deso- 
late. It  has  a  fine  bastioned  profile,  with  moat 
and  armed  lunettes — the  casemates  were  bricked 
up  or  occupied  by  glass  windows,  and  all  the 
guns  I  could  make  out  were  on  the  parapets. 
A  few  soldiers  were  lounging  on  the  jetty,  and 
after  we  had  discharged  a  tipsy  old  officer,  a  few 
negroes,  and  some  parcels,  the  steam-pipe  brayed 
— it  does  not  whistle  —  again,  and  we  proceeded 
across  the  mouth  of  the  channel  and  James' 
River  towards  Elizabeth  River,  on  which  stand 
Portsmouth  and  Gosport. 

Just  as  I  was  dressing,  the  door  opened,  and  a 
tall,  neatly  dressed  ncgress  came  in  and  asked 
mo  for  my  ticket.  She  told  me  she  was  ticket- 
collector  for  tiie  boat,  and  that  she  was  a  slave. 
The  latter  intelligence  was  given  without  any  re- 
luctance or  hesitation^  On  my  way  to  the  upper 
deck  I  observed  the  bar  was  crowded  by  gentle- 
men engaged  in  consuming,  or  waiting  for,  cock- 
tails or  mint-juleps.  The  latter,  however,  could 
not  be  had  just  now  in  such  perfection  as  usual, 
owing  to  the  inferior  condition  of  the  mint.  In 
the  matter  of  drinks,  how  hospitable  the  Ameri- 
cans ari  !  I  was  asked  to  take  as  many  as  would 
have  rendered  me  incapable  of  drinking  again ; 
my  excuse  on  the  plea  of  inability  to  grapple 


with  cocktails  and  the  like  before  breakfast,  was 
heard  with  surprise,  and  I  was  urgently  entreat- 
ed to  abandon  so  bad  a  habit. 

A  clear,  fine  sun  rose  from  the  waters  of  the 
bay  up  into  the  purest  of  pure  blue  skies.  On 
our  right  lay  a  low  coast  fringed  with  trees,  and 
wooded  densely  with  stunted  forest,  through 
which  creeks  could  be  seen  glinting  far  througl^ 
the  foliage.  Anxious-looking  little  wooden  light- 
houses, hard  set  to  preserve  their  equilibrium  iu 
the  muddy  waters,  and  bent  at  various  angles, 
marked  the  narrow  channels  to  the  towns  and 
hamlets  on  the  banks,  the  principal  trade  and 
occupation  of  which  are  oyster  selling  and  oyster 
eating.  We  are  sailing  over  wondrous  deposits 
and  submarine  crops  of  the  much-loved  bivalve. 
Wooden  houses  painted  white  appear  on  the 
shores,  and  one  large  building  with  wings  and  a 
central  portico  surmounted  by  a  belvedere,  des- 
tined for  the  reception  of  the  United  States' 
sailors  in  sickness,  is  a  striking  object  iu  the 
landscape. 

The  steamer  in  a  few  minutes  came  alongside 
a  dirty,  broken  down,  wooden  quay,  lined  with 
open  booths,  on  which  a  small  crowd,  mostly  of 
negroes,  had  gathered.  Behind  the  shed  there 
rose  tiled  and  shingled  roofs  of  mean  dingy 
houses,  and  we  could  catch  glimpses  of  the  line 
of  poor  streets,  narrow,  crooked,  ill-paved,  sur- 
mounted by  a  few  church-steeples,  and  the  large 
sprawling  advertisement-boards  of  the  tobacco- 
stores  and  oyster-sellers,  which  vv^as  all  we  could 
see  of  Portsmouth  or  Gosport.  Our  vessel  was 
in  a  narrow  creek ;  at  one  side  was  the  town — 
in  the  centre  of  the  stream  the  old  "Pennsyl- 
vania," intended  to  be  of  120  guns,  but  never 
commissioned,  and  used  as  receiving  ship,  was 
ancliored — alongside  the  wall  of  the  Navy  Yard 
below  us,  lay  the  "Merrimac,"  apparently  in  or- 
dinary. The  only  man-of-war  fit  for  sea  w.as  a 
curiosity  —  a  stumjjy  bluff-bowed,  Dutch-built- 
looking  sloop,  called  the  "Cumberland."  Two 
or  three  smaller  vessels,  dismasted,  were  below 
the  "Merrimac,"  and  we  could  just  see  the  build- 
ing-sheds in  which  were  one  or  two  others,  I  be- 
lieve, on-the  stocks.  A  fleet  of  oyster-boats  an- 
chored, or  in  saillcss  observance  of  the  Sunday, 
dotted  the  waters.  There  was  an  ancient  and 
fishlike  smell  about  the  town  worthy  of  its  ap- 
pearance and  of  its  functions  as  a  seaport.  As 
the  vessel  came  close  alongside,  there  was  the 
usual  greeting  between  friends,  and  many  a  cry, 
"Well,  you've  heard  the  news?  The  Yankees 
out  of  Sumter !  Isn't  it  fine  ?"  There  were 
few  who  did  not  participate  in  that  sentiment, 
but  there  were  some  who  looked  black  as  night 
and  said  nothing. 

Whilst  we  were  waiting  for  the  steam  ferry- 
boat, which  plies  to  Norfolk  at  the  other  side  of 
the  creek,  to  take  us  over,  a  man-of-war-boat 
pulled  alongside,  and  the  coxswain,  a  handvsome, 
fine-looking  sailor,  came  on  deck,  and,  as  I  hajv 
liened  to  be  next  him,  asked  me  if  Captain  Blank 
liad  come  down  with  us?  I  replied  that  1  did 
not  know,  but  that  the  captain  could  tell  him  no 
doubt.  "lie?"  said  the  sailor,  pointing  with 
great  disgust  to  the  skipper  of  the  steamer, 
"  Why  he  knows  nothin'  of  his  passengers,  ex- 
cept how  many  dollars  they  come  to,"  and  start- 
ed off  to  prosecute  his  inquiries  among  the  other 
passengers.  The  boat  alongside  was  clean,  and 
was  manned  by  six  as  stout  fellows  as  ever  han- 


;| 


I'  . 


88 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


died  an  oar.  Two  I  made  sure  of  were  English- 
men, and  when  the  coxswain  was  retiring  from 
his  fruitless  search,  I  aslced  him  where  he  hailed 
from.  "The  Cove  of  Cork.  I  was  in  the  navy 
nine  years,  but  when  1  got  on  the  West  Ingy 
Station,  I  hcerd  how  Uncle  Sam  treated  his  fel- 
lows, and  so  I  joined  him."  "Cut  and  run,  I 
suppose?"  "Well,  not  exactly.  I  got  away, 
sir.  Emigrated,  you  know!"  "Are  there  any 
other  Irishmen  or  Englishmen  on  board  ?"  "  I 
should  think  there  was.  That  man  in  the  bow 
there  is  a  mate  of  mine,  from  the  sweet  Cove  of 
Cork,  Driscoll  by  name ;  and  there's  a  Belfast 
man  pulls  number  two ;  and  the  stroke,  and  the 
chap  that  pulls  next  to  him  is  Englishmen,  and 
fine  sailors  they  are,  Bates  and  liookey.  They 
were  in  men-of-war  too."  "What !  five  out  of 
seven,  British  subjects !"  "  Oh,  aye,  that  is — we 
onst  was — most  of  us  now  are  'Mericans,  I  think. 
There's  plenty  more  of  us  aboard  the  ship." 

The  steam  ferry  was  a  ricketty  affair,  and 
combined  with  the  tumble-down  sheds  and  quays 
to  give  a  poor  idea  of  Norfolk.  The  infliction 
of  tobacco-juice  on  board  was  remarK  iMe.  Al- 
though it  was  but  seven  o'clock  every  one  had 
his  quid  in  working  order,  and  the  air  was  filled 
with  yellowish-brown  rainbows  and  liquid  para- 
bolas, which  tumbled  in  spray  or  in  little  flocks 
of  the  weed  on  the  foul  decks.  As  it  was  Sun- 
day, some  of  the  numerous  flagstaff's  which  adorn 
the  houses  in  both  cities  displayed  the  United 
States'  bunting ;  but  nothing  could  relieve  the 
decayed  air  of  Norfolk.  The  omnibus  which  was 
waiting  to  receive  us  must  have  been  the  earliest 
specimen  of  carriage  building  in  that  style  on  the 
Continent;  and  as  it  lunged  and  flopped  over 
the  prodigious  bad  pavement,  the  severe  nature 
of  which  was  aggravated  by  a  street  railway,  it 
opened  the  seams  as  if  it  were  going  to  fall  into 
firewood.  The  shops  were  all  closed,  of  course ; 
but  the  houses,  wooden  and  brick,  were  covered 
with  signs  and  placards  indicative  of  large  trade 
in  tobacco  and  oysters. 

Poor  G.  P.  R.  James,  who  spent  many  years 
here,  could  have  scarce  caught  a  novel  from 
such  a  place,  spite  of  great  oysters,  famous  wild 
fowl,  and  the  lauded  poultry  and  vegetables 
which  are  produced  in  the  surrounding  districts. 
There  is  not  a  hill  for  the  traveller  to  ascend  to- 
wards the  close  of  a  summer's  day,  nor  a  moated 
castle  for  a  thousand  miles  around.  An  execra- 
ble, tooth-cracking  drive  ended  at  last  in  front 
of  the  Atlantic  Hotel,  where  I  was  doomed  to 
take  up  my  quarters.  It  is  a  dilapidated,  un- 
cleanly place,  with  tobacco-stained  floor,  full  of 
flies  and  strong  odours.  The  wp  iters  were  all 
slaves :  untidy,  slip-shod,  and  careless  creatures. 
I  was  shut  up  in  a  small  room,  with  the  usual 
notice  on  the  door,  that  the  proprietor  would  not 
be  responsible  for  anything,  and  that  you  were 
to  lock  your  doors  for  fear  of  robbers,  and  that 
you  must  take  your  meals  at  certain  hours,  and 
other  matters  of  the  kind.  My  umbra  wont  over 
to  Gosport  to  take  some  sketches,  he  said ;  and 
after  a  poor  meal,  in  a  long  room  filled  with 
"citizens,"  all  of  them  discussing  Sumter,  I 
went  out  into  the  street. 

The  people,  I  observe,  are  of  a  new  and 
marked  type, — very  tall,  loosely  yet  powerfully 
made,  with  dark  complexions,  strongly-marked 
features,  prominent  noses,  large  angular  mouths 
in  square  jaws,  deep-seated  bright  eyes,  low,  nar- 


row foreheads, — and  arc  all  of  them  much  given 
10  ruminate  tobacco.  The  bells  of  the  churches 
were  tolling,  and  I  turned  into  one  ;  but  the 
heat,  great  enough  outside,  soon  became  nearly 
intolerable  ;  nor  was  it  rendered  more  bearable 
by  my  proximity  to  some  blacks,  who  were,  I 
presume,  servants  or  slaves  of  the  great  people 
in  the  forward  pews.  The  clergyman  or  minis- 
ter had  got  to  the  Psalms,  when  a  bustle  arose 
near  the  door  which  attracted  his  attention,  and 
caused  all  to  turn  round.  Several  persons  were 
standing  up  and  whispering,  whilst  others  were 
stealing  on  tiptoe  out  of  the  church.  The  influ- 
ence extended  itself  gradually,  and  all  the  men 
near  the  doors  were  leaving  ra])idly.  The  min- 
ister, obviously  interested,  continued  to  read, 
raising  his  eyes  towards  the  door.  At  Inst  the 
persons  near  him  rose  up  and  walked  boldly 
forth,  and  I  at  length  followed  the  example,  and 
getting  into  the  street,  saw  men  running  towards 
the  hotel.  "What  is  it?"  exclaimed  I  to  one. 
"Come  along,  the  telegraph's  in  at  the  Day 
Book.  The  Yankees  are  whipped  !"  and  so  con- 
tinued. I  came  at  last  to  a  crowd  of  men,  strug- 
gling, with  their  faces  toward  the  w-all  of  a  shab- 
by house,  increased  by  fresh  arrivals,  and  dimin- 
ished by  those  who,  having  satisfied  tlieir  curios- 
ity, came  elbowing  forth  in  a  state  of  much  ex- 
citement, e;  ultation,  and  perspiration.  "It's 
all  right  enough!"  "Didn't  I  tell  you  so?" 
"  Bully  for  Beauregard  and  the  Palmetto  State  ?" 
I  shoved  on,  and  read  at  last  the  programme  of 
the  cannonade  and  bombardment,  and  of  the  ef- 
fects ujjon  the  fort,  on  a  dirty  piece  of  yellowish 
paper  on  the  wall.  It  was  a  terrible  writing. 
At  all  the  street  corners  men  were  discussing  the 
news  with  every  symptom  of  joy  and  gratifica- 
tion. Now  I  confess  I  could  not  share  in  the 
excitement  at  all.  The  act  seemed  to  me  the 
prelude  to  certain  war. 

I  walked  up  the  main  street,  and  turned  up 
some  of  the  alleys  to  have  a  look  at  tiie  town, 
coming  out  on  patches  of  water  and  bridges  over 
the  creeks,  or  sandy  lanes  shaded  by  trees,  and 
lined  here  and  there  by  pretty  wooden  villas, 
painted  in  bright  colours.  Everywhere  negroes, 
male  and  female,  gaudily  dressed  or  in  rags ; 
tlie  door-steps  of  the  narrow  lanes  swarming 
with  infant  niggerdom — big-stomached,  curve- 
legged,  rugged-headed,  and  happy  —  tumbling 
about  dim-eyed  toothless  hugs,  or  thick-li[ipcd 
mothers.  Not  a  word  were  they  talking  about 
Sumter.  "Any  news  to-day?"  said  I  to  a  re- 
spectable-looking negro  in  a  blue  coat  and  brass 
buttons,  wonderful  hat,  and  vest  of  amber  silk, 
check  trowsers,  and  very  broken-down  shoes. 
"Weil,  sare,  I  tink  nothin'  much  occur.  Der 
hem  a  fire  at  Squire  Nichol's  house  last  night; 
Icastway  so  I  hear,  sare."  Squire,  let  me  say 
parenthetically,  is  used  to  designate  justices  of 
the  peace.  Was  it  a  very  stupid  poco-curante, 
or  a  very  cunning,  subtle  Sambo  ? 

In  my  walk  I  arrived  at  jv  small  pier,  covered 
with  oyster-shells,  which  projected  into  the  sea. 
Around  it,  on  both  sides,  were  hosts  of  schooners 
and  pungys,  smaller  half-decked  boats,  waiting 
for  their  load  of  the  much-loved  fish  for  Wash- 
ington, Baltimore,  and  Richmond.  Some  brigs 
and  large  vessels  lay  alongside  the  wharves  and 
large  warehouses  higher  up  the  creek.  Observ- 
ing  a  small  group  at  the  end  of  the  pier  I  walk- 
ed on,  and  found  that  they  consisted  of  fifteen  or 


I 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


39 


twenty  well-dressed  mechanical  kind  of  men, 
busily  engaged  in  "  cliiilKng,"  as  Cockneys  would 
call  it,  the  crew  of  the  man-of-war  boat  I  had 
seen  in  the  morning.  The  sailors  were  stretched 
on  the  thwarts,  some  rather  amused,  others  sul- 
len at  the  ordeal.  "You  better  just  pull  down 
that  cussed  old  rag  of  yours,  and  bring  your  old 
ship  over  to  the  Southern  Confederacy.  I  guess 
we  can  take  your  '  Cumberland'  whenever  we 
like  !  Wiiy  don't  you  go,  and  touch  off  your 
guns  at  Charleston?"  Presently  the  coxswain 
came  down  with  a  parcel  under  his  arm,  and 
stepped  into  the  boat.  "Give  way,  my  lads;" 
and  the  oars  dipped  in  the  water.  When  the 
boat  had  gone  a  few  yards  from  the  shore,  the 
crowd  cried  out :  "  Down  with  the  Yankees ! 
Hurrah  for  the  Southern  Confederacy !"  and 
some  among  them  threw  oyster-shells  at  the 
boat,  one  of  which  struck  the  coxswain  on  the 
head.  "Backwater!  Back  water  all.  Hard!" 
ho  shouted ;  and  as  the  boat's  stern  ncared  the 
land,  he  stood  up  and  made  a  leap  in  among  the 

crowd  like  a  tiger.     "  You  cowardly  d d  set. 

Who  threw  the  shells?"  No  one  answered  at 
first,  but  a  little  wizened  man  at  last  squeaked 
out:  "I  guess  you'll  have  shells  of  anotlier  kind 
if  you  remain  here  much  longer."  The  sailor 
howled  with  rage  :  "Why,  you  poor  devils,  I'd 
whip  any  half  dozen  of  you, — teeth,  knives,  and 
all — in  five  minutes  ;  and  my  boys  there  in  the 
boat  would  clear  your  whole  town.  What  do 
you  mean  by  barking  .at  the  St.ars  and  Stripes  ? 
Do  you  see  that  ship?"  he  shouted,  pointing  to- 
wards the  "Cumberland."  "Why  the  lads 
aboai'd  of  her  would  knock  every  darned  seceder 
in  your  State  into  a  cocked  hat  in  a  brace  of 
shakes  !  And  now  who's  coming  on?"  The  in- 
vitation was  not  accepted,  and  the  sailor  with- 
drew, with  his  angry  eyes  fixed  on  the  people, 
who  gave  him  a  kind  of  groan  ;  but  there  were 
no  oyster  shells  this  time.  "In  spite  of  his 
blowing,  I  tell  ycr,"  said  one  of  them,  "there's 
some  good  men  from  old  Virginny  abo'rd  o'that 
ship  that  will  never  fire  a  shot  agin  us."  "  Oh, 
we'll  fix  her  right  enough,"  remarked  another, 
"when  the  time  come"  I  returned  to  my 
room,  sat  down,  and  wrote  for  some  hours.  The 
dinner  in  the  Atlantic  Hotel  was  of  a  description 
to  make  one  wish  the  desire  for  food  had  npver 
been  invented.  My  neighbour  said  he  was  not 
"  quite  content  about  this  Sumter  business. 
There's  nary  one  killed  nor  wounded." 

Sunday  is  a  very  dull  day  in  Norfolk — no 
mailp,  no  post,  no  steamers ;  and,  at  the  best, 
Noriblk  must  be  dull  exceedingly.  The  super- 
intendent of  the  Seaboard  and  Roanoke  Railway, 
having  heard  thfit  I  was  about  proceeding  to 
Charleston,  called  upon  mo  to  offer  every  facili- 
ty in  his  power.  Sent  Moses  with  letters  to  post- 
office.  At  night  the  musquitoea  were  very  ag- 
gressive and  successful.  This  is  the  first  place 
in  which  the  bedrooms  are  unprovided  with  gas. 
A  muti;on  dip  almost  made  nio  regret  the  fact. 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Portsmouth— Railway  journey  through  the  foreflt — The 
great  Dismal  Swamp — American  newspapers — Cattle 
on  the  line— Negro  labour — On  through  the  I'ine  I'orest 
— The  Confederate  flnff — OoldHboroufth  ;  popular  excite- 
ment— Weldon — Wilmington — The  Vigilance  Commit- 
tee. 

Monday,  April  15. — Up  at  dawn.    Crossed  by 


ferry  to  Portsmouth,  and  arrived  at  railway  sta- 
tion, which  was  at  no  place  in  particular,  in  a 
street  down  which  the  rails  were  laid.  Mr.  Rob- 
inson, the  superintendent,  gave  me  permission  to 
take  a  seat  in  the  engine  car,  to  which  I  mount- 
ed accordingly,  was  duly  introduced  to,  and  shook 
hands  with  the  engineer  and  the  stoker,  and  took 
my  seat  next  the  boiler.  Can  any  solid  reason 
be  given  why  we  should  not  hjive  those  engine 
sheds  or  cars  in  England  ?  They  consist  of  a 
light  frame  placed  on  the  connection  of  the  en- 
gine with  the  tender,  and  projecting  so  as  to  in- 
clude the  end  of  the  boiler  and  the  stoke-hole. 
They  protect  the  engineer  from  rain,  storm,  sun, 
or  dust.  Windows  at  each  side  afford  a  clear 
view  in  all  directions,  and  the  engineer  can  step 
out  on  the  engine  itself  by  the  doors  on  the  front 
part  of  tlie  shed.  There  is  just  room  for  four 
persons  to  sit  uncomfortably,  the  persons  next 
the  boiler  being  continually  in  dread  of  roasting 
their  logs  at  the  furnace,  and  those  next  the  ten- 
der being  in  danger  of  getting  logs  of  wood  from 
it  shaken  down  on  their  feet.  Nevertheless  I 
rarely  enjoyed  anything  more  than  that  trip.  It 
is  true  one's  enjoyment  was  marred  by  want  of 
breakfast,  for  I  could  not  manage  the  cake  of 
dough  and  the  cup  of  bitter,  sour,  grea.sy  nasti- 
ness,  called  coffee,  which  were  presented  to  me 
in  lieu  of  that  meal  this  morning. 

But  the  novelty  of  the  scene  through  which  I 
passed  atoned  for  the  small  privation.  I  do  not 
speak  of  the  ragged  streets  and  lines  of  sheds 
through  which  the  train  passed,  with  the  great 
bell  of  the  engine  tolling  as  if  it  were  threaten- 
ing death  to  the  early  pigs,  cocks,  hens,  and  ne- 
groes and  dogs  which  walked  between  the  rails 
— the  latter,  by-the-bye,  werie  always  the  first  to 
leave — the  negroes  generally  divided  with  the 
pigs  the  honour  of  making  the  nearest  stand  to 
the  train — nor  do  I  speak  of  the  miserable  sub- 
urbs of  wooden  shanties,  nor  of  the  expanse  of 
inundated  lands  outside  the  town.  Passing  all 
those,  we  settled  down  at  last  to  onr  work :  the 
stoker  fired  up,  the  engine  rattled  along  over  the 
rugged  lane  between  the  trees  which  now  began 
to  sweep  around  us  from  the  horizon,  where  they 
rose  like  the  hank  of  a  river  or  the  shores  of  a 
sea,  and  presently  we  plunged  into  the  gloom  of 
the  primeval  forest,  struggling  as  it  were,  with 
the  last  w.ave  of  the  deluge.  |i(^- 

The  railroad,  leaving  tlie  land,  boldly  leaped 
into  the  air,  and  was  carried  on  frailest  cobweb- 
seeming  tracery  of  wood  tar  above  black  waters, 
from  which  rose  a  thick  growth  and  upshooting 
of  black  stems  of  dead  trees,  mingled  with  the 
trunks  and  branches  of  others  still  living,  throw- 
ing out  a  most  luxuriant  vegetation.  The  tres- 
tle-work over  which  the  train  was  hung,  judged 
by  the  eye,  was  of  the  slightest  possible  construc- 
tion. Sometimes  one  series  of  trestles  was  placed 
above  another,  so  that  the  cars  ran  on  a  level 
with  the  tops  of  the  trees ;  and,  looking  down, 
we  could  see  before  the  train  passed  the  inky  sur- 
face of  the  waters,  broken  into  rings  and  agitated, 
round  the  beams  of  wood.  The  trees  were  draped 
with  long  creepers  and  shrouds  of  Spanish  moss, 
which  fell  from  branch  to  branch,  smothering 
the  leaves  in  their  clammy  embrace,  or  waving 
in  pendulous  folds  in  the  air.  Cypress,  live  oak, 
the  dogwood,  and  pine  struggled  for  life  with  the 
water,  and  about  their  stems  floated  balks  of 
timber,  waifs  and  strays  carried  from  the  rafts 


y 


r 


40 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


by  flood  or  the  forgotten  spoils  of  the  hinibercr. 
On  these  lay  tortoises,  turtles,  and  enormous 
frogs,  which  lifted  their  heads  with  a  lazy  curi- 
osity when  the  train  rushed  by,  or  flopped  into 
the  water  as  if  the  sight  and  noise  were  too  much 
for  their  nerves.  Once  a  dark  body  of  greater 
size  plashed  into  the  current  which  marked  the 
course  of  a  river.  "There's  many  allygaitors 
come  np  here  at  times,'*  said  the  engineer,  in  re- 
ply to  my  question ;  "  but  I  don't  take  much  ac- 
count of  them." 

When  the  trestle-work  ceased,  the  line  was  con- 
tinued through  the  same  description  of  scenery, 
generally  in  the  midst  of  water,  on  high  embank- 
ments which  were  continually  cut  by  black  rapid 
streams,  crossed  by  bridges  on  trestles  of  great 
span.  The  strange  tract  wo  arc  passing  through 
is  the  "Dismal  Swamp,"  a  ni'me  wiiich  must 
have  but  imperfectly  cx])rossed  its  horrors  before 
the  railway  had  traversed  its  outskirts,  and  the 
canal,  wliich  is  constructed  in  its  midst,  left  tnices 
of  the  presence  of  man  in  that  remnant  of  the 
world's  exit  from  the  flood.  In  the  centre  of  this 
vast  desolation  there  is  a  large  loch,  called  "Lake 
Drnmmond,"  in  the  jungle  and  brakes  around 
which  the  runaway  slaves  of  the  plantations  long 
harboured,  and  once  or  twice  assembled  bands 
of  depredators,  which  were  hunted  down,  broken 
up,  and  desti-oyed  like  wild  beasts. 

Mr.  Robinson,  a  young  man  some  twenty-seven 
years  of  age,  was  an  excellent  rc]n-escntative  of 
the  young  American — full  of  intelligence,  well- 
read,  a  little  romantic  in  spite  of  his  practical 
habits  and  dealings  with  matters  of  fact,  much 
attached  to  the  literature,  if  not  to  the  people, 
of  the  old  country ;  and  so  far  satisfied  that  En- 
glish engineers  knew  something  of  their  business, 
as  to  be  anxious  to  siiow  that  American  engi- 
neers were  not  behind  them.  He  asked  me  about 
Washington  politics  with  as  much  interest  as  if 
he  had  never  read  a  newsp.aper.  I  made  a  re- 
mark to  that  effect.  "Oh,  sir,  we  can't  believe," 
exclaimed  he,  "a  word  we  read  in  our  pajjcrs. 
They  tell  n  story  one  day,  to  contradict  it  the 
next.  We  ne%'er  know  when  to  trust  them,  and 
that's  one  reason,  I  believe,  you  find  us  all  so 
anxious  to  ask  questions  and  get  information 
from  gentlemen  we  meet  travelling."  Of  the 
future  he  spoke  with  npprehenaion  ;  "but," said 
he,  "I  am  here  representing  the  interests  of  a 
large  number  of  Northern  shareholders,  and  I 
will  do  my  best  for  them.  If  it  comes  to  blows 
after  this,  they  will  lose  all,  and  I  must  stand  by 
my  own  friends  down  South,  though  I  don't  be- 
long to  it." 

So  we  rattle  on,  till  the  scene,  at  first  so  at- 
tractive, becomes  dreary  and  monotonous,  and  I 
tire  of  looking  out  for  larger  turtles  or  more  al- 
ligators. The  silence  of  these  woods  is  oppress- 
ive. There  is  no  sign  of  life  where  the  train 
passes  through  the  water,  except  among  the  am- 
phibious creatures.  After  a  time,  however,  when 
we  draw  out  of  the  swani])  and  get  into  a  dry 
patch,  wild,  ragged-looking  cattle  may  be  seen 
staring  at  us  through  the  trees,  or  tearing  across 
the  rail,  and  herds  of  porkers,  nearly  in  the  wild- 
boar  stage,  scuttle  over  the  open.  Then  the  en- 
gineer opens  the  valve  ;  the  sonorous  roar  of  the 
engine  echoes  through  the  woods,  and  now  and 
then  there  is  a  little  excitement  caused  by  a  race 
between  a  pig  and  the  engine,  and  a  piggy  is  oc- 
casionally whipped  oflf  his  legs  by  the  cow-lifter, 


and  hoisted  volatile  into  the  ditch  at  one  side. 
When  a  herd  of  cattle,  however,  get  on  the  line 
and  show  fight,  tlie  matter  is  seriuiis.  The  steam 
horn  is  sounded,  the  bell  rung,  and  steam  is  eased 
off,  and  every  means  used  to  escajie  collision ;  for 
the  railway  comjiany  is  obliged  to  ))ay  the  owner 
for  whatever  animals  the  trains  kill,  and  a  cow's 
body  on  one  of  these  poor  rails  is  an  impediment 
sniiieient  to  throw  the  engine  off,  and  "aend  us 
to  immortal  smash." 

It  was  long  before  we  saw  any  workmen  or 
guards  on  the  line ;  but  at  one  place  I  got  out 
to  look  at  a  shanty  of  one  of  the  road  watchmen. 
It  was  a  building  of  logs,  some  20ft.  long  by 
12ft.  broad,  made  in  the  rudest  manner,  with  an 
earthen  roof,  and  mud  stuffed  and  plastered  be- 
tween the  logs  to  keep  out  the  rain.  Although 
the  day  was  exceedingly  hot,  there  were  two 
logs  blazing  on  the  hearth,  over  which  was  sus- 
pended a  pot  of  potatoes.  The  air  inside  was 
stifling,  and  the  black  beams  of  the  roof  glisten- 
ed with  a  clammy  sweat  from  smoke  and  un- 
wholesome vapours.  There  was  not  an  article 
of  furnitnre,  except  a  big  deal  chest  and  a  small 
stool,  in  the  place ;  a  mug  and  a  teacup  stood  on 
a  rude  shelf  nailed  to  the  wall.  The  owner  of 
this  establishment,  a  stout  negro,  was  busily  en- 
gaged with  others  in  "wooding  uj)"  the  engine 
from  the  ))ile  of  cut  timber  by  the  roadside. 
The  necessity  of  sto]iping  caused  by  the  rapid 
consumption  is  one  of  the  dcsagrcmens  of  wood 
fuel.  "The  wood  is  cut  down  and  stacked  on 
platforms,  at  certain  intervals  along  the  line ; 
and  the  quantity  used  is  checked  off  against  the 
company  at  the  rate  of  so  much  jier  cord.  The 
negro  was  one  of  many  slaves  let  out  to  the  com- 
pany. White  men  would  not  do  the  work,  or 
were  too  expensive  ;  but  the  overseers  and  gangs- 
men were  whites.  "How  can  they  bear  that 
fire  in  the  hut?"  "  Well.  If  you  went  into  it 
in  the  very  hottest  day  in  summer,  you  would 
find  the  niggers  sitting  close  np  to  blazing  pine 
logs,  and  they  sleep  at  night,  or  by  day  ■\*'hen 
they've  fed  to  the  full,  in  the  same  way."  My 
friend,  nevertheless,  did  not  seem  to  understand 
that  any  country  could  get  on  without  negro  la- 
bourers. 

By  degrees  we  got  beyond  the  swamps,  and 
cam<j  upon  patches  of  cleared  land — that  is,  the 
forest  had  been  cut  down,  and  the  only  traces 
left  of  it  were  the  stumps,  some  four  or  five  feet 
high,  "snagging"'  up  above  the  ground  ;  or  the 
trees  had  been  girdled  round,  so  as  to  kill  them, 
and  the  bl.ick  trunks  and  stiff  arras  gave  an  air 
of  meagre  melancholy  and  desertion  to  the  place, 
which  was  quite  opposite  to  their  real  condition. 
Here  it  was  that  the  normal  forest  and  swamp 
had  been  subjugated  by  man.  Presently  wo 
came  in  sigiit  of  a  flag  fluttering  from  a  lofty 
pine,  which  had  been  stripped  of  its  branches, 
throwing  broad  bais  of  red  and  white  to  the  air, 
with  a  blue  square  in  the  upper  quarter  contain- 
ing seven  stars.  "That's  our  flag,"  said  the 
engineer,  who  was  a  quiet  man,  nmch  given  to 
turning  steam  cocks,  examining  gauges,  wiping 
his  hands  in  fluffy  impromptu  handkerchiefs, 
and  smoking  tobacco — "  That's  our  flag !  And 
long  may  it  wave — o'er  the  land  of  the  free  and 
the  home  of  the  ber-rave !"  As  we  passed,  a 
small  crowd  of  men,  women,  and  children,  of  all 
colours,  in  front  of  a  group  of  poor  broken-down 
shanties  or  log  huts,  cheered — to  speak  more  cor- 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


41 


rcrtly — whooped  and  yelled  vehemently.  The 
iTv  was  ictiinied  by  the  i)n.ssengers  in  tlie  train. 
"  We're  all  right  sort  liereahouts,"  said  the  engi- 
neer. "Hurrah  for  Jelf  Davis!"  The  right 
sort  were  not  particularly  flourishing  in  outward 
aspect,  at  all  events.  The  women,  pale-faced, 
were  tawdry  and  ragged ;  the  men,  yellow,  seedy 
looking.  For  the  first  time  in  the  States,  1  no- 
ticed bare-footed  people. 

Now  began  another  ])hase  of  scenery — an  in- 
terminable pine  forest,  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
shutting  out  the  light  on  each  side  by  a  wooden 
wall.  From  this  forest  came  the  strongest  odour 
of  turpentine  ;  presently  black  streaks  of  smoke 
floated  out  of  the  wood,  and  here  and  there  we 
passed  clearer  spaces,  v/herc  in  rude-looking  fur- 
naces and  factories  people  more  squalid  and  mis- 
erable looking  than  before  were  jjreparing  ])itch, 
tar,  turjientine,  resin,  and  other  naval  stores,  for 
which  this  part  of  North  Carolina  is  famous. 
Tile  stems  of  the  trees  around  arc  marked  by 
wliite  scars,  where  the  tappings  for  the  turpen- 
tine take  place,  and  many  dead  trunks  testified 
how  the  process  ended. 

Again,  over  another  log  village,  a  Confederate 
flag  floated  in  the  air;  and  the  people  ran  out, 
negroes  and  all,  and  cheered  as  before.  The 
new  flag  is  not  so  glaring  and  gaudy  as  the  Stars 
and  Stripes;  but,  at  a  distance,  when  the  folds 
liang  together,  there  is  a  considerable  resem- 
blance in  the  general  effect  of  the  two.  If  ever 
there  is  a  real  sentiment  da  drapo.au  got  up  in  the 
South,  it  will  be  difficult  indeed  for  the  North  to 
restore  the  Union.  These  pieces  of  coloured 
bunting  seem  to  twine  themselves  through  heart 
and  brain. 

The  stations  along  the  roadside  now  gradual- 
ly grew  in  proportion,  and  instead  of  a  small 
sentiy-b(  x  beside  a  wood-pile,  there  were  three 
or  four  wooden  houses,  a  platform,  a  booking  of- 
fice, an  "  exchange"  or  drinking  room,  and  gen- 
eral stores,  like  the  shops  of  assorted  articles  in 
an  Irish  town.  Around  these  still  grew  the 
eternal  forest,  or  patches  of  cleared  land  dcttted 
with  black  stumps.  These  stations  have  very 
grand  names,  and  the  stores  are  dignified  by 
high-sounding  titles;  nor  are  " billiard  saloons" 
and  "  restaurants"  wanting.  We  generally  found 
a  group  of  people  waiting  at  each  ;  and  it  really 
was  most  astonishing  to  see  well-dressed,  respect- 
able-looking men  and  women  emerge  out  of  the 
"dismal  swamp,"  and  out  of  the  depths  of  the 
forest,  with  silk  parasols  and  crinoline,  bandbox- 
es and  portmanteaux,  in  the  most  civilised  style. 
There  were  always  some  negroes,  male  and  fe- 
male, in  attendance  on  the  voyagers,  handling 
the  bagga^vi  or  the  babies,  and  looking  comfort- 
able enough,  but  not  Iiapjiy.  The  only  evidence 
of  the  good  spirits  and  happiness  of  these  people 
which  I  saw  was  on  the  part  of  a  number  of  men 
who  were  going  off  from  the  plantation  for  the 
liiliing  on  the  coast.  They  and  their  wives  and 
sisters,  anayed  in  their  best — which  means  their 
brightest,  colours  —  were  grinning  from  ear  tt, 
car  as  they  bade  good-bye.  The  negro  likes  the 
mild  ex(ritement  of  sea  fishing,  and  in  pursuit  of 
it  he  feels  for  the  moment  free. 

At  Goldsborough,  which  is  the  first  place  of 
importance  on  the  line,  the  wave  of  the  secession 
tide  struck  us  in  full  career.  The  station,  the 
hotels,  the  street  through  which  the  rail  ran  was 
filled  with  an  excited  mob,  all  carrying  arms, 


with  signs  here  and  there  of  a  desire  to  get  up 
some  kiiul  of  uniform — Hushed  faces,  wikl  eyes, 
screaming  mouths,  hurraliing  for  "Jeff  Davis" 
and  "tiie  Southern  Confederacy,"  so  that  the 
yells  overjiowered  the  discordant  bauds  whii'ii 
were  busy  with  "Dixie's  Land."  Here  was  the 
true  revolutionary  furor  in  full  sway.  The  men 
hectored,  swore,  cheered,  and  slapped  each  other 
on  the  backs ;  the  women,  in  their  best,  waved 
handkerchiefs  and  flung  down  garlands  from  the 
windows.  All  was  noise,  duSt,  and  patriotism. 
It  was  a  strange  sight  and  a  wonderful  event 
at  which  we  were  assisting.  These  men  were  a 
levy  of  the  peojilc  of  North  Carolina  called  out 
by  the  Governor  of  the  State  for  the  i)uri)ose  of 
seizing  ujjon  forts  Caswell  and  Macon,  belong- 
ing to  the  Federal  Government,  and  left  unpro- 
tected and  undefended.  The  enthusiasm  of  the 
"citizens"  was  unbounded,  nor  was  it  quite  free 
from  a  taint  of  alcohol.  Jlany  of  the  Volunteers 
had  flint  firelocks,  only  a  few  had  rifles.  All 
kinds  of  head-dress  were  visible"  and  cajjs,  bolts 
and  i)ouches  of  infinite  variety.  A  man  in  a 
large  wide-awake,  wi'Ji  a  cock's  feather  in  it,  a 
blue  frockcoat,  with  a  red  sash  and  a  j)air  of  cot- 
ton trowsers  thrust  into  his  boots,  came  out  of 
Griswold's  hotel  with  a  sword  under  his  arm, 
and  an  art'dc,  Avhich  might  have  been  a  na})kin 
of  long  SO)-,  ice,  in  one  hand.  He  waved  the  ar- 
ticle c;;tluisiastically,  swaying  to  and  fro  on  his 
legs,  and  ejaculating  "  H'ra  for  Jeff" Dav's — H'ra 
for  S'thern  E'r'rights !"  and  tottered  over  to  the 
carriage  through  the  crowd  amid  the  violent  vi- 
bration of  all  the  ladies'  handkerdiiefs  in  the 
balcony.  Just  as  he  got  into  the  train,  a  man 
in  unifon  '  ished  after  him,  and  caught  him  !)y 
the  elbow,  exclaiming,  "Them's  not  the  cars, 
General!  The  cars  this  way  General!"  The 
military  dignitary,  however,  felt  that  if  he  per-, 
mitted  sucli  liberties  in  the  hour  of  victory  he 
was  degraded  for  ever,  so,  screwing  up  his  lips 
and  looking  grave  and  grand,  he  proceeded  as 

follows  :   "  Sergeant,  yon   go  be  .     I  say 

these  are  my  cars  !     They're  all  my  cars  !     I'll 

send  them  where  I  ])lease — to if  I  like,  sir. 

They  shall  go  where  I  please  —  to  New  York, 
sir,  or  New  Orleans,  sir  !  And sir,  I'll  ar- 
rest you."  This  famous  idea  distracted  the  Gen- 
eral's attention  from  his  project  of  entering  the 
train,  and  muttering,  "I'll  arrest  you,"  he  tack- 
ed backwards  and  forwards  to  the  hotel  again. 

As  the  train  started  on  its  joiumey,  there  was 
renewed  yelling,  which  snlit  the  ear — a  savage 
cry  many  notes  higher  than  the  most  ringing 
cheer.     At  the  wayside  inn,  where  we  dined — 
piece  de  resistance  being  i)ig — the  attendants, 
comely,  well-dressed,  clean  negresses,  wisre  slaves 
— "worth  a  thousand  dollars  each."     I  am  not 
favourably  impressed  by  either  the  food  or  the 
'  mode  of  living,  or  the  manners  of  the  c()m])any. 
!  One  man  made  very  coarse  jokes  about  "Abe 
Lincoln"  and  "negro  wenches,"  which  nothing 
[  but  extreme  party  passion  and  bad  taste  could 
j  tolerate.     Several  of  the  passengers  had  been 
]  clerks  in  Government  offices  at  Washington,  and 
!  had  been  dismissed  because  they  would  not  take 
the  oath  of  allegiance.    They  were  hurrying  off 
full  of  zeal  and  patriotism  to  tender  their  serv- 
ices to  the  Montgomery  Government. 

*  *  *  *  *  * 

I  had  been  the  object  of  many  attentions  and 
civilities  from  gentlemen  in  the  train  during  my 


.1' 


) 


1; 


42 


MY  DIAUY  NOU'.'I  AND  SOUTH. 


I    f 


I 


journey.  One  of  tliem,  who  told  me  he  was  a 
municipal  dif^nitary  of  Woldon,  having  exhaust- 
ed uU  the  inducements  that  he  could  think  of  to 
induce  mo  to  sjjend  some  time  there,  at  last,  in 
desperation,  said  he  would  be  happy  to  show  me 
"  the  antiiiuities  of  the  place."  Weldon  is  a  re- 
cent uprising  in  wood  and  log  houses  from  the 
swamps,  and  it  would  puzzle  the  archajologists 
of  the  world  to  find  anything  antique  about  it. 

At  nigiitfail  the  train  stop])ed  at  Wilmington, 
and  I  was  shot  out  on  a  i)latform  under  a  shed, 
to  do  the  best  I  could.  In  a  long,  lofty,  and 
comfortless  room,  like  a  barn,  which  abutted  on 
the  platform,  there  was  n  table  covered  with  a 
dirty  ciotii,  on  which  lay  little  dishes  of  pickles, 
fish,  meat,  and  potatoes,  at  which  were  seated 
some  of  our  fellow-passengers.  The  equality  of 
all  men  is  painfully  illustrated  when  your  neigh- 
bour at  table  cats  with  his  knife,  dijjs  the  end  of 
it  into  the  salt,  and  disregards  the  object  and  end 
of  napkins.  But  it  is  carried  to  a  more  disa- 
greeable extent  when  it  is  held  to  mean  that  any 
man  who  comes  to  an  inn  has  a  right  to  share 
your  1)ed.  I  asked  for  a  room,  but  I  was  told 
tluit  there  were  so  many  people  moving  about 
just  now  that  it  was  not  possible  to  give  me  one 
to  myself;  'mt  at  last  I  made  a  bargain  for  ex- 
clusive posMjssion.  When  the  next  train  came 
in,  however,  the  woman  very  coolly  inquired 
whether  I  had  any  objection  to  allow  a  passen- 
ger to  diviae  my  bed,  and  seemed  very  much  dis- 
j)leased  at  my  refusal ;  and  1  ])erceived  three 
big-bearded  men  snoring  asleep  in  one  bed  in 
the  next  room  to  me  as  I  passed  through  the 
passage  to  the  dining-room. 

Tiie  "artist"  Moses,  who  haJ  gone  with  my 
letter  to  the  post,  returned,  after  a  long  absence, 
pale  and  agitated.  He  said  he  had  been  pounced 
upon  by  the  Vigilance  Committee,  who  were 
ratlicr  drunk,  and  ver\'  inquisitive.  They  were 
haunting  the  precincts  of  the  Post-oflSce  and 
the  railway  station,  to  detect  Lincolnites  and 
Abolitionists,  and  were  obliged  to  keep  them- 
selves wide  awake  by  frequent  visits  to  the  ad- 
jacent bars,  and  he  had  with  difficulty  dissuaded 
tiiem  from  ])aying  me  a  visit.  They  cross-ex- 
amined him  respecting  my  ojjinion  of  secession, 
and  desired  to  have  an  audience  with  me  in  or- 
der to  give  me  any  information  which  might  be 
required.  I  cannot  say  what  rejjly  was  given 
to  their  questioning  ;  but  I  certainly  refused  to 
have  any  interview  with  the  Vigilance  Commit- 
tee of  Wilmington,  and  was  glad  they  did  not 
disturb  me.  Rest,  however,  there  was  little  or 
none.  I  might  have  as  well  slept  on  the  ))lat- 
form  of  the  railway  station  outside.  Trains 
coming  in  and  going  out  shook  the  room  and 
the  bed  on  which  I  lay,  and  engines  snorted, 
))uffed,  roared,  whistled,  and  rang  bells  close  to 
•ny  keyhole. 


I 


CIIArTER  XIII. 

Skctphes  round  Wilmington— Public  opinion— Approach 
to  {;iuirl«st(m  and  Fort  Sumter— Introduction  to  Gen- 
enil  lieiiurcgnrd  —  Ex-Goveraor  Manning  —  (Jonversa- 
tion  on  the  chances  of  the  war—"  King  Cotton"  and 
England  —  Visit  to  Fort  Sumter  —  Market  -  place  a 
Charleston. 

Early  next  morning,  soon  after  dawn,  I 
crossed  the  Cape  Fear  River,  on  which  Wil- 
mington is  situated,  by  a  steam  ferry-boat.     On 


the  quay  lay  quantities  of  shot  and  shell.  "  IIcw 
came  these  here?"  I  inquired.  "They're  anti- 
abolition  pills,"  said  my  neighbour;  '  they've 
been  waiting  here  for  two  months  back,  but 
now  that  Sumter's  taken,  I  guess  they  won't  be 
wanted."  To  my  mind,  the  conclusion  was  by 
no  means  legitimate.  From  the  small  glance  I 
had  of  Wilmington,  with  its  fieet  of  schooners 
and  brigs  crowding  the  broad  and  rapid  river,  1 
should  think  it  was  a  thriving  jilace.  Confed- 
erate flags  waved  over  the  public  buildings,  and 
I  was  informed  that  the  Forts  had  been  seizi  d 
without  opposition  or  difficulty.  1  can  sec  i  o 
sign  here  of  the  "affection  to  the  Union,"  whicli, 
according  to  Mr.  Seward,  underlies  all  "seces- 
sion proclivities." 

As  we  traversed  the  flat  and  uninteresting 
country,  through  which  the  rail  passes,  Confed- 
erate flags  and  sentiments  greeted  us  cvciy- 
where;  men  and  women  repeated  the  national 
cry ;  at  every  station  militia  men  and  volun- 
teers were  waiting  for  the  train,  and  the  ever- 
lasting word  "  Sumter''  ran  through  all  the  con- 
versation in  the  cars. 

The  Carolinians  are  capable  of  turning  out  a 
fair  force  of  cavalry.  At  each  st()p))ing-i)lace  I 
observed  saddle-hcjrscs  tethered  under  the  trees, 
and  light  driving  vehicles,  drawn  by  wiry  mus- 
cular animals,  not  remarkable  for  size,  but 
strong-looking  and  active.  Some  farmers  in 
bluejackets,  and  yellow  braid  and  facings,  hand- 
ed round  their  swords  to  be  admired  by  the  com- 
pany. A  few  blades  had  flashed  in  obscure 
Mexican  skirmishes  —  one,  however,  had  bein 
borne  against  "the  Britishers.''  I  inquired  of 
a  fine,  tall,  fair-haired  young  fellow  whom  they 
expected  to  fight.  "'I'liat's  more  than  I  can 
tell,"  quoth  he.  "The  Yankees  ain't  such 
cussed  fools  as  to  think  they  can  come  here  and 
whip  us,  let  alone  the  British."  "Why,  what 
have  the  British  got  to  do  with  it?"  '"They 
are  bound  to  take  our  ])art:  if  they  don't,  we'll 
just  give  them  a  hint  ahout  cotton,  and  that  will 
set  iliatters  right."  This  was  said  very  much 
with  the  air  of  a  man  who  knows  what  he  is 
talking  about,  and  who  was  quite  satisfied  "he 
had  you  there."  I  found  it  was  still  displeasing 
to  most  people,  particularly  one  or  two  of  the 
fair  sex,  that  more  Yankees  were  not  killed  at 
Sumter.  All  the  people  who  addressed  me  pre- 
fixed my  name,  which  they  soon  found  out,  by 
"Major"  or  "Colonel" — "Captain"  is  very 
low,  almost  indicative  of  contem))t.  The  con- 
ductor who  took  our  tickets  was  called  "Cap- 
tain." 

At  the  Pecdee  river  the  rail  is  carried  over 
marsh  and  stream  on  trestle  work  for  two  miles. 
"This  is  the  kind  of  country  we'll  catch  the 
Yankees  in,  if  they  come  to  invade  us.  They'll 
have  some  pretty  tall  swimming,  and  get  knock- 
ed on  the  head,  if  ever  they  gets  to  land.  I 
wish  tliere  was  ten  thousand  of  the  cusses  in  it 
this  minute."  At  Nichol's  station  on  the  fron- 
tiers of  South  Carolina,  our  baggage  was  rcgu- 
larly  examined  at  the  Custom  House,  but  I  did 
not  see  any  one  pay  duties.  As  the  train  b])- 
proached  the  level  and  marshy  land  near  Charles- 
ton, the  square  block  of  Fort  Sumter  was  seen 
rising  above  the  water  with  the  "stars  and  bars" 
flying  over  it,  and  the  spectacle  created  great 
enthusiasm  among  the  passengers.  The  smoke 
was  still  rising  from  an  angle  of  the  walls.     Out- 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


43 


side  the  villajjc-likc  suburbs  of  the  city  a  rcpi- 
mcnt  was  inarcliinj^  for  old  Virginny  amid  the 
clicers  of  the  jicople — cavalry  were  jjickcted  in 
the  fields  and  gardens — tents  and  men  were  vis- 
ible in  the  byways. 

It  was  nearly  dark  when  wo  reached  the  sta- 
tion. I  was  recommended  to  go  to  the  Mills 
House,  and  on  arriving  there  found  Mr.  Ward, 
wliom  I  had  already  met  in  New  York  and 
Washington,  and  who  gave  me  an  account  of 
the  bombardment  and  surrender  of  the  fort. 
The  liotel  was  full  of  notabilities.  1  was  intro- 
duced to  ex-Governor  Manning,  Senator  Ches- 
nut,  Hon.  Porcher  Miles,  on  the  staft'  of  General 
Beauregard,  and  to  Colonel  Lucas,  aide-de-camp 
to  Governor  Pickens.  I  was  taken  after  dinner 
and  introduced  to  General  Beauregard,  who  was 
engaged,  late  as  it  was,  in  his  room  at  the  Head 
Quarters  writing  despatches.  The  General  is 
a  small,  compact  man,  about  thirty-six  years  of 
age,  with  a  quick  and  intelligent  eye  and  ac- 
tion, and  a  good  deal  of  the  Frenchman  in  his 
manner  and  look.  He  received  me  in  tlio  most 
cordial  manner,  and  introduced  mo  to  his  en- 
gineer officer,  Major  Whiting,  whom  he  assigned 
to  lead  mo  over  the  works  next  day. 

After  some  general  conversation  I  took  my 
leave ;  but  before  I  went,  the  General  said, 
"You  shall  go  eveiy where  an-^'  see  everything; 
we  rely  on  your  discretion,  and  knowledge  of 
what  is  fair  in  dealing  with  what  you  sec.  Of 
course  you  don't  expect  to  find  regular  soldiers 
in  our  camps  or  very  scientific  works."  I  an- 
swered the  General,  that  be  might  rely  on  my 
making  no  improper  use  of  what  I  saw  in  this 
country,  but,  "  unless  you  tell  me  to  the  contra- 
ry, I  shall  write  an  account  of  all  I  see  to  the 
other  side  of  the  water,  and  if,  when  it  comes 
back,  there  are  things  you  would  rather  not  have 
known,  you  must  not  blame  me."  He  smiled, 
and  said,  "I  dare  say  we'll  have  great  changeg 
by  that  time." 

That  night  I  sat  in  the  Charleston  club  with 
John  Manning.  Who  that  has  ever  met  him 
can  be  indifl^erent  to  the  charms  of  manner  and 
of  personal  appearance,  which  render  the  ex- 
Governor  of  the  State  so  attractive?  There 
were  others  present,  senators  or  congressmen, 
like  Mr.  Chesnut,  and  Mr.  Porcher  Miles.  We 
talked  long,  and  at  last  angrily,  as  might  be  be- 
tween friends,  of  political  aff^airs. 

I  own  it  was  a  little  irritating  to  me  to  hear 
men  indulge  in  extravagant  broad  menace  and 
rhodomontade,  such  as  came  from  their  lips. 
"They  would  welcome  the  world  in  arms  with 
hospitable  hands  lo  bloody  graves."  "They 
never  could  be  conquered."  "Creation  could 
not  do  it,"  and  so  on.  I  was  obliged  to  handle 
the  question  quietly  at  first — to  ask  them  ' '  if 
they  admitted  the  French  were  a  brave  and  war- 
like people?"  "Yes,  certainly."  "Do  you  think 
you  could  better  defend  yourselves  against  inva- 
sion than  the  people  of  France?"  "Well,  no; 
but  we'd  make  it  a  pretty  hard  business  for  the 
Yankees."  "  Suppose  the  Yankees,  as  you  call 
them,  come  with  such  preponderance  of  men  and 
materiel,  that  they  are  three  to  your  one,  will  you 
not  be  forced  to  submit?"  "Never."  "Then 
either  you  are  braver,  better  disciplined,  more 
warlike  than  the  people  and  soldiers  of  France, 
or  you  alone,  of  all  the  nations  in  the  world, 
possess  the   means  of  resisting  physical  laws 


which  prevail  in  war,  as  in  other  affairs  of  life." 
"No.  The  Yankees  are  cowardly  rascals.  Wo 
have  proved  it  by  kicking  and  cuffing  them  till 
we  are  tired  of  it ;  besides,  we  know  John  Bull 
very  well.  He  will  make  a  great  fuss  about 
non-interference  at  first,  but  when  he  begins  to 
want  cotton  he'll  come  off  his  perch."  I  found 
this  was  the  fixed  idea  everywhere.  The  doc- 
trine of  "cotton  is  king," — to  us  who  have  not 
much  considered  the  question  a  grievous  delu- 
sion or  an  unmeaning  babble — to  them  is  a  live- 
ly all-powerful  faith  without  distracting  heresies 
or  schisms.  They  have  in  it  enunciated  their 
full  belief,  and  indeed  there  is  some  truth  in  it, 
in  so  far  as  we  year  after  year,  by  the  stimulants 
of  coal,  capital,  and  machinery,  have  been  work- 
ing up  a  manufacture  on  which  four  or  five  mil- 
lions of  our  population  depend  for  bread  and  life, 
which  cannot  bo  carried  on  without  the  assist- 
ance of  a  nation,  that  may  at  any  time  refuse  us 
an  adequate  supply,  or  bo  cut  off  from  giving  it 
by  war. 

Political  economy,  we  arc  well  aware,  is  a  fine 
science,  but  its  followers  are  capable  of  tremen- 
dous absurdities  in  practice.  The  dependence 
of  such  a  large  pn.jjortion  of  the  English  jxiojile 
on  this  sole  article  of  American  cotton  is  fraught 
whh  the  utmost  danger  to  our  honour  and  to  our 
jirosperity.  Here  were  these  Southern  gentle- 
men exulting  in  their  power  to  control  the  policy 
of  Great  Britain,  and  it  was  small  consolation  to 
me  to  assure  tiiem  they  wore  mistaken ;  in  case 
we  did  not  act  as  they  anticipated,  it  could  not 
be  denied  Great  Britain  would  plunge  an  im- 
mense proportion  of  her  people — a  nation  of 
manufa'-turers  —  into  pauperism,  which  must 
leave  tiiem  dependent  on  the  national  funds,  or 
more  properly  on  the  property  and  accumulated 
capital  of  the  district. 

About  8.30  P.M.,  a  dee^  bell  began  to  toll. 
"What  is  that?"  "It's  for  all  the  coloured 
people  to  clear  out  of  the  streets  and  go  home. 
The  guards  will  arrest  any  who  are  found  out 
without  passes  in  half  an  hour."  There  was 
much  noise  in  the  streets,  drums  beating,  men 
cheering,  and  marching,  and  the  hotel  is  cram- 
med full  with  soldiers. 

April  nth. — The  streets  of  Charleston  present 
some  such  aspect  as  those  of  Paris  in  the  last  revo- 
lution. Crowds  of  armed  men  singing  and  prom- 
enading the  streets.  The  battle-blood  running 
through  their  veins — that  hot  oxygen  which  is 
called  "the  flush  of  victory"  on  the  cheek;  res- 
taurants full,  revelling  in  bar-rooms,  club-rooms 
crowded,  orgies  and  carousings  in  tavern  or  pri- 
vate house,  in  taji-room,  from  cabaret — down 
narrow  alleys,  in  the  broad  highway.  Sumter 
has  set  them  distraught;  never  was  such  a  vic- 
tory ;  never  such  brave  lads ;  never  such  a  fight. 
There  are  pamphlets  already  full  of  the  incident. 
It  is  a  bloodless  Waterloo  or  Solferino. 

After  breakfast  I  went  down  to  the  quay,  with 
a  party  of  the  General's  staff,  to  visit  Fort  Sum- 
ter. The  senators  and  governors  turned  soldiers 
wore  blue  military  caps,  with  "palmetto"  trees 
embroidered  thereon  ;  blue  frockcoats,  with  up- 
right collars,  and  shoulder-straps  edged  with  lace, 
and  marke  I  with  two  silver  bars,  to  designate 
their  rank  of  captain ;  gilt  buttons,  with  the  pal- 
metto in  relief ;  blue  trowsers,  with  a  gold-laco 
cord,  and  brass  spurs — no  straps.  The  day  was 
sweltering,  but  a  strong  breeze  blew  in  the  har- 


44 


MY  DIARY  NOllTII  AND  SOUTH. 


bour,  nnd  puflbil  tl»fi  dnsi  of  Clmrlcston,  coating 
our  I'lotlics,  and  filling  our  cyt's  with  powder. 
The  streets  were  crowded  with  lanky  hids,  clank- 
in(»  spurs,  and  sabres,  with  awkward  scjuads 
marehinj^  to  and  fro,  with  drunimcrs  beating 
colls,  nnd  ruffles,  and  p.^-nts  of  war;  around 
them  groups  of  grinning  negroes  delighted  with 
the  glare  and  glitter,  a  holiday,  nnd  a  new  idea 
for  tiieni— secession  Hags  waving  out  of  all  the 
windows— little  Irish  boys  shouting  out,  "Battle 
of  Fort  Sumter  !  New  cdishun !" — As  wc  walked 
towards  tiie  quay,  where  the  steamer  was  lying, 
numorouK  traces'  of  the  unsettled  state  of  men's 
minds  broke  out  in  the  hurried  conversations  of 
the  various  friends  wlio  stopped  to  speak  for  a 
few  monients.  "Well,  governor,  the  old  Union 
is  gone  at  last!"  "Have  you  heard  what  Abe 
is  going  to  do?"  "I  don't  think  Beauregard 
will  have  much  more  fighting  for  it.  What  do 
you  think?"  And  so  on.  Our  little  t'reole 
friend,  by  the  bye,  is  popular  beyond  description. 
Tiiere  are  all  kinds  of  doggerel  rhymes  in  his 
honour — one  with  a  refrain — 

"Witli  fjinnnn  an<l  niuskot,  witli  hIicU  nnd  pptnrcl, 
Wi!  siilute  the  North  with  our  lii;uu-n.'gard"— 

is  much  in  favour. 

Wc  passed  through  the  market,  where  the 
stalls  are  kept  by  fat  ncgresses  and  old  "  unkcys." 
There  is  a  sort  of  vulture  or  bu/zard  here,  much 
encouraged  as  scavengers,  and — but.  all  the  world 
lias  heard  of  the  Charleston  vultures — so  we  will 
leave  tiiem  to  their  garbage.  Near  the  quay, 
where  the  steamer  was  lying,  there  is  a  very  line 
building  in  white  marble,  which  attracted  our 
notice.  It  was  unfinished,  and  immense  blocks 
of  the  glistening  stone  destined  for  its  comple- 
tion lay  on  the  ground.  "  What  is  that  ?"  I  in- 
quired. "Why,  it's  a  custom-house  Uncle  Sam 
was  building  for  our  benefit,  but  I  don't  think 
he'll  ever  raise  a  cent  for  his  treasury  out  of  it." 
"AVill  you  complete  it?"  "I  should  think  not. 
We'll  lay  on  few  duties;  and  what  we  want  is 
free-trade,  and  no  duties  at  all,  except  for  public 
purposes.  The  Yankees  have  plundered  us  with 
their  custom-houses  and  duties  long  enough." 
An  old  gentleman  here  stopped  us.  "You  will 
do  me  the  greatest  favour,"  he  said  to  one  of  our 
party  who  knew  him,  "if  you  will  get  me  some- 
thing to  do  for  our  glorious  cause.  Old  as  I  am, 
I  can  carry  a  musket — not  far,  to  be  sure,  but  I 
can  kill  a  Yankee  if  he  comes  near."  When  he 
had  gone,  my  friend  told  me  the  speaker  was  a 
man  of  fortune,  two  of  whose  sons  were  in  camp 
at  Morris'  Island,  but  that  he  was  suspected  of 
Union  sentiments,  as  he  had  a  Northern  wife, 
and  hence  his  extreme  vehemence  and  devotion. 


CHAPTER  XIV. 

Southern  volunteers — rnpopnlarity  of  the  press — fjharlcs- 
to!i— Fort  Sumter— Morris'  Island— Anti-union  enthu- 
sir.fni— Anecdote  of  (Jeloncl  Wigfall — Interior  view  of 
the  fort— North  versus  i«outh. 

TiiivRK  was  a  large  croud  around  the  pier 
staring  at  the  men  in  uniform  on  the  boat, 
■which  was  filled  with  bales  of  goods,  commis- 
sariat stores,  trusses  of  hay,  and  hampers,  sup- 
plies for  the  volunteer  army  on  Morris'  Island. 
I  was  amused  bv  the  names  of  the  various  corps, 
"Tigers,"  "Lions,"  "Scorpions,"  "Palmetto 
Eaglos,"  "Guards,"  of  Pickens,  Sumter,  Marion, 


and  of  various  other  denominations,  painted  on 
the  boxes.  The  original  formation  of  these  vul- 
untecrs  is  in  companies,  and  they  know  nothing 
of  battalions  or  regiments.  The  tendency  in 
volunteer  outbursts  is  sometimes  to  gratify  the 
greatest  vanity  of  the  greatest  number.  These 
companies  do  not  muster  more  than  fifty  or  six- 
ty strong.  Some  were  "  dandies,"  nnd  "swells," 
and  nfl'ectcd  to  look  down  on  their  neighbours 
and  comrades.  Major  Whiting  told  me  there 
was  difficulty  in  getting  them  to  obey  orders  at 
first,  as  each  man  had  an  idea  that  he  was  as 
good  an  engineer  as  any  body  else,  "and  a  good 
deal  better,  if  it  came  to  that."  It  was  easy  to 
])erceivc  it  was  the  old  story  of  volunteer  atid 
regular  in  this  little  army. 

As  wo  got  on  deck,  the  major  saw  a  number 
of  rough,  long-haired-looking  fellows  in  coorso 
gray  tunics,  with  pewter  buttons  and  worsted 
braid  lying  on  the  hay-balcs  smoking  their  ci- 
gifrs.  "Gentlemen,"  quoth  he,  very  courteous- 
ly, "you'll  oblige  me  by  not  smoking  over  the 
hay.  There's  powder  below."  "I  don't  be- 
lieve we're  going  to  burn  the  hay  this  time,  ker- 
nel," was  the  reply,  "and  anyway,  we'll  put  it 
out  afore  it  reaches  the  'bustibles,"  and  they 
went  on  smoking.  The  major  grumbled,  and 
worse,  and  drew  off. 

Among  the  passengers  were  some  brethren  of 
mine  belonging  to  the  New  York  and  local  pa- 
j)crs.  I  saw  a  short  time  afterward  a  descrip- 
tion of  the  trip  by  one  of  these  gentlemen,  in 
which  he  described  it  as  an  affair  got  np  special- 
ly for  himself,  i)robably  in  order  to  avenge  him- 
self on  his  military  persecutors,  for  he  had  com- 
l)lained  to  me  the  evening  before  that  the  chief 
of  General  Beauregard's  staff  told  him  to  go  to 

,  when  he  applied  to  head-quarters  for  some 

information.  I  found,  from  the  tone  and  looks 
of  my  friends,  that  these  literary  gentlemen  were 
received  with  great  disfavour,  and  Major  Whit- 
ing, who  is  a  bibliomaniac,  and  has  a  very  great 
liking  for  the  best  English  writers,  could  not 
conceal  his  repugnance  and  antipathy  to  my  un- 
fortunate confreres.  "  If  I  had  my  way,  I  would 
fling  tl.sm  into  the  water;  but  the  General  has 
given  them  orders  to  come  on  board.  It  is  these 
fellows  who  have  brought  all  this  trouble  on  our 
country." 

The  traces  of  dislike  of  the  freedom  of  the 
press,  which  I,  to  my  astonishment,  discovered 
in  the  North,  are  broader  and  deeper  in  the 
South,  and  they  are  not  accompanied  by  the 
signs  of  dread  of  its  power  which  exist  in  New 
York,  where  men  speak  of  the  chiefs  of  the  most 
notorious  journals  very  much  as  people  in  Italian 
cities  of  past  time  might  have  talked  of  the  most 
infamous  bravo  or  the  chief  of  some  band  of 
assassins.  Whiting  comforted  himself  by  the  re- 
flection that  they  would  soon  have  their  fingers 
in  a  vice,  and  then  pulling  out  a  ragged  little 
sheet,  turned  suddenly  on  the  representative 
thereof,  and  proceeded  to  give  the  most  unquali- 
fied contradiction  to  most  of  the  statements  con- 
tained in  "the  full  and  accurate  particulars  of 
the  Bombardment  and  Fall  of  Fort  Sumter,"  in 
the  said  journal,  which  the  person  in  question 
listened  to  with  becoming  meekness  and  contri- 
tion. "  If  I  knew  who  wrote  it,"  said  the  major, 
"I'd  make  him  eat  it." 

I  was  presented  to  many  judges,  colonels,  and 
others  of  tho  mass  of  society  on  board,  and,  "aft- 


MY  DIARY  NOUTII  AND  SOUTH. 


45 


etl  on 
vol- 
•thing 
icy  in 
fy  tlic 
'I'licso 
)r  six- 
v-ells," 
ibours 

tlicro 
crs  nt 
•ns  ns 

good 
asy  to 
r  and 


er  Pomplimnnts,"  ns  tho  Orientals  say,  I  was  j^cii- 
eniliy  askcnl,  in  tlu;  lirst  ]ilaw,  wliat  I  tlKuiKiit  ul' 
tlio  capture  of  Hunitef,  and  in  tlio  second,  what 
Knulimd  would  do  \^ien  tlie  news  icaclied  tiie 
oflier  side.  Alfcadj'tho  Cai'oiinians  rej^iird  the 
NortiuMii  States  as  an  alien  and  detested  enemy, 
and  entertain,  or  profess,  an  immense  alfectiun 
for  Cirrcat  Britain. 

When  wo  had  slnppcd  all  om-  passengers,  nine- 
tenths  of  tlioin  ill  uniform,  and  a  larger  ]jn)por- 
tiun  engaKcd  in  ehewinj^,  the  whistle  blew,  and 
tho  steamer  sidled  oif  from  the  (piay  into  the  yel- 
lowisli  muddy  water  of  tho  Ashley  Hiver,  which 
is  II  creek  from  tlio  sea,  with  a  streandet  running 
into  the  head  waters  soino  distance  np. 

Tho  shore  opposite  Charleston  is  more  than  a 
milo  distant,  and  is  low  and  sandy,  covered  hore 
and  there  with  Irilliant  |)atches  of  vegetation, 
and  long  lines  o,' trees.  It  is  cut  np  with  creeks, 
which  divide  it  into  islands,  so  that  jjassages  out 
to  ioa  exist  between  soiiie  nf  them  for  light  craft, 
though  tho  navigation  is  perplexed  and  iliffieult. 
The  city  lies  on  a  fi])ur  or  jiromontory  between 
the  Ashley  and  tho  Cooper  rivers,  and  the  hvnd 
beliind  it  is  divided  in  tlio  same  manner  by  sim- 
ilar creeks,  and  is  sandy  and  light,  bearing,  ncv- 
ertheloss,  very  fino  crops,  and  trees  of  magniti- 
cent  vegetation.  Tho  steeples,  the  domes  of  pub- 
lic buildings,  the  rows  of  massive  warehouses  and 
cotton  stores  on  the  wharfs,  and  the  bright  colours 
of  tho  houses,  render  the  appearance  of  Charles- 
ton, as  scon  from  thr  river  front,  rather  impos- 
ing. From  the  mas  loads  of  the  few  large  ves- 
sels in  harbour  floated  the  Confederate  flag. 
Looking  to  our  right,  the  same  standard  was 
visible,  waving  on  the  low,  white  parapets  of  the 
earth-works  which  had  been  engaged  in  reducing 
Sumter. 

That  much-talked-of  fortress  lay  some  two 
miles  ahead  of  us  now,  rising  up  out  of  tho  water 
near  the  middle  of  the  jiassago  out  to  sea  between 
James'  Island  and  Sullivan's  Island.  It  struck 
ma  at  first  as  baing  like  one  of  tho  smaller  forts 
off  Cronstadt,  but  a  closer  inspection  very  much 
diminished  its  importance  ;  the  material  is  brick, 
not  stone,  and  the  size  of  the  place  is  exaggera- 
ted by  the  low  back  ground,  and  by  contrast  with 
the  sea-line.  The  l.-iiid  contracts  on  both  sides 
opposite  the  fort,  a  projection  of  Morris'  Island, 
called  "Cumming's  Point,"  running  out  on  the 
left.  There  is  a  similar  promontory  from  Sulli- 
van's Island,  on  wlii^h  is  erected  Fort  Moultrie, 
on  the  right  from  tho  sea  entrnnee.  Castle  Pinck- 
ney,  which  standii  on  a  small  island  at  the  exit 
of  the  Cooper  llivcr,  is  a  place  of  no  importance, 
and  it  was  too  far  from  Sumter  to  take  any  share 
in  the  bombardment :  the  same  remarks  api)ly  to 
Fort  Johnson  on  James'  Island^  on  the  right  bank 
of  tho  Ashley  llivcr  below  Charles-ion.  The  works 
which  did  tho  mischief  wore  the  batteries  of  sand 
on  Morris' Island,  at  Cumming's  Point,  and  Fort 
Moultrie.  Tho  floating  battery,  covered  with 
railroad-iron,  lay  a  long  way  off,  and  could  not 
have  contributed  much  to  the  result. 

As  we  api)roached  Morris'  Island,  which  is  an 
accumulation  of  sand  covered  with  mounds  of 
the  same  material,  on  which  there  is  a  scanty  veg- 
etation alternating  with  salt-water  marshes,  we 
could  perceive  a  few  tents  in  the  distance  among 
tho  sand-hills.  The  sand-bag  batteries,  and  an 
ugly  black  parapet,  with  guns  peering  through 
port -holes  as  if  from  a  ship's  side,  lay  before  us. 


Around  tlieni  men  were  swnriningliko  nnts,  niul 
a  t  luwd  in  iinitonn  were  gathered  on  tiie  hraeh 
to  receive  ns  as  we  landed  from  the  biiat  of  tho 
steamer,  all  eager  for  n:'ws,  and  provisimis,  and 
newspapers,  of  which  an  immense  (liglil  iiiinie- 
tliatcly  fell  ujiun  them.  A  guard  with  bjiyoiiets 
crossed  in  a  very  o<!d  sort  of  manner,  iircvciiled 
any  uiuinthorised  persons  from  landing.  'I'hey 
wore  the  nniv.  rsiil  coairc  gray  jacket  and  trou- 
sers, with  worsted  braid  and  yellow  facings,  un- 
couth caps,  lead  buttons  stai.'ped  with  the  jial- 
metto-trec.  Their  unbronzed  .irelocks  were  cov- 
ered with  rust.  'J'lie  soldiers  lounging  about  were 
mostly  tall,  well-grown  men,  young  and  old,  some 
witli  ihe  air  of  gentlemen;  others  coarse,  long- 
I. aired  fellows,  without  any  semblance  of  military 
bearing,  but  full  of  fight,  and  burning  with  enthu- 
siasm, not  unaided,  in  some  instances,  by  coarser 
stimulus. 

The  day  was  exccedin*^'-  warm  and  unpleas- 
ant, the  hot  wind  blew  tiu  le  white  sand  into 
our  faces,  and  wafted  it  in  niinnt'-  clouds  inside 
eyelids,  nostrils,  and  clothing;  but  it  was  ncces- 
sary  to  visit  the  batteries,  so  on  we  trudged  into 
one  and  out  of  another,  walked  np  jjarapets,  ex- 
amined profiles,  looked  along  guns,  and  did  ev- 
erything that  could  be  required  of  us.  The  result 
of  tho  examination  was  to  establish  in  my  mind 
the  conviction,  that  if  the  commander  of  Sumter 
had  been  allowed  to  open  his  guns  on  the  islaiul, 
the  first  time  he  saw  an  indication  of  throwing 
np  a  battery  against  him,  he  could  have  saved 
his  fort.  Moultrie,  in  its  original  state,  on  tho 
opposite  side,  could  have  been  readily  demolished 
by  Sumter.  The  design  of  the  works  was  better 
than  their  execution — the  sand-bags  were  rotten, 
the  sand  not  properly  rivetted  or  banked  np,  and 
the  traverses  imperfectly  constructed.  The  bar- 
bette guns  of  the  fort  looked  into  many  of  the 
embrasures,  and  commanded  them. 

The  wdiole  of  the  island  was  full  of  life  and  ex- 
citement. Officers  were  galloping  about  as  if  on 
a  field-day  or  in  action.  Commissariat  carts  were 
toiling  to  and  fro  between  the  beach  and  the 
camps,  and  sounds  of  laughter  and  revelling  came 
from  tho  tents.  These  were  pitched  without  or- 
der, and  were  of  all  shapes,  hues,  and  sizes,  many 
being  disfigured  by  rude  charcoal  drawings  out- 
side, and  inscriptions  such  as  "The  Live  Tigers," 
j  "  Rattlesnake 'sdiole,"  "Yankee  Smashers,"  &c. 
I  Tho  vicinity  of  the  camps  was  in  an  intolerable 
state,  and  on  calling  tho  attention  of  the  medical 
officer  who  was  with  me,  to  the  danger  arising 
from  such  a  condition  of  things,  he  said  with  a 
sigh,  "I  know  it  all.  IJut  we  can  do  nothing. 
Remember  they're  all  volunteers,  and  do  just  as 
they  please." 

In  every  tent  was  hospitality,  and  a  hearty  wel- 
come to  all  comers.  Cases  of  champagne  and 
claret,  French  piites,  and  the  like,  were  piled  out- 
side the  canvas  walls,  when  there  Avas  no  room 
for  them  inside.  In  the  middle  of  these  excited 
gatherings  I  felt  like  a  man  in  the  full  posses- 
sion of  his  senses  coming  in  late  to  a  wine  party. 
"Won't  you  drink  with  me,  sir,  to  the — (some- 
thing awful) — of  Lincoln  and  all  Yankees?" 
"  No!  if  you'll  be  good  enough  to  excuse  me." 
"  Well,  I  think  you're  the  only  Englishman  who 
won't."  Our  Carolinians  are  very  fine  fellows, 
but  a  little  given  to  the  Bobadil  style — hectoring 
after  a  cavalier  fashion,  which  they  fondly  be- 
lieve to  be  theirs  by  hereditary  right.    They  as- 


\\\^ 


irl'- 

46 


MY  DIAUY  NOIITII  AND  SOUTH. 


Kiimc  tliftt  the  British  crown  rests  on  a  cotton 
Imie,  lis  the  Lord  Cliancellor  sits  on  u  pack  of 
wool. 

Ill  one  lonR  tent  there  wns  ii  jmrty  of  roystcrinK 
yoniiK  men,  opening  claret,  nnd  uiixiu),;  "  cuj)" 
in  hirgo  buckets;  whilst  others  were  helping  the 
stMvants  to  set  out  n  talile  for  a  jjuiupiet  U>  one 
(pf  their  generals.  Such  heat,  tobaeeo-smoke, 
ilanioiir,  toasts,  drinking,  hand-shaking,  vows  of 
friendship  !  Many  were  the  excuses  made  for  the 
more  demonstrative  of  the  Edoniun  youths  hy 
their  friends.  "  Tom  is  a  little  cut,  sir ;  but  he's 
a  splendid  fellow — he's  worth  half  a  nullion  of 
dolliivs."  Tills  reference  to  a  money  standard 
of  value  was  not  unusual  or  jierhaps  unnatural, 
hut  it  wiis  made  repeatedly  ;  and  I  was  told  won- 
derful talcs  of  the  riches  of  men  who  were  loung- 
ing round,  dressed  as  j)rivates,  some  of  whom  at 
that  season,  in  years  gone  by,  were  looked  for  at 
the  watering-places  as  the  great  lions  of  Ameri- 
can fashion.  But  Secession  is  the  fashion  here. 
Young  ladies  sing  for  it ;  old  ladies  pray  for  it ; 
young  men  are  dying  to  fight  for  it ;  old  men  are 
ready  to  demonstrate  it.  The  founder  of  the 
school  was  St.  Calhoun.  Here  his  pupils  carry 
out  their  teaching  in  thunder  and  fire.  States' 
Rights  are  displayed  after  its  legitimate  teaching, 
and  the  Palmetto  flag  and  the  red  bars  of  the 
Confederacy  are  its  exposition.  The  utter  con- 
tempt and  loathing  for  the  venerated  Stars  and 
Stripes,  the  abhorrence  of  the  very  words  United 
States,  the  intense  hatred  of  the  Yankee  on  the 
part  of  these  people,  cannot  be  conceived  by  any 
one  who  has  not  seen  them.  I  am  more  satisfied 
than  ever  that  the  Union  can  never  be  restored 
as  it  was,  and  that  it  has  gone  to  pieces,  never  to 
be  ])Ut  together  again,  in  the  old  shape,  at  all 
events  by  any  power  on  earth. 

After  a  lc>ng  and  tiresome  promenade  in  the 
dust,  heat,  and  fine  sand,  through  the  tents,  our 
party  returned  to  the  beach,  where  we  took  boat, 
and  pushed  off  for  Fort  Sumter.  The  Confed- 
erate flag  rose  above  the  walls.  On  near  ap- 
]iroach  the  marks  of  the  shot  against  the />ain 
coupe,  and  the  embrasures  near  the  salient  were 
visiiilc  enough  ;  but  the  damage  done  to  the  hard 
brickwork  was  trifling,  except  at  the  angles :  the 
edges  of  the  parajiets  were  ragged  and  pock- 
marked, and  the  quay  wall  was  rifted  here  and 
there  by  shot;  but  no  injury  of  a  kind  to  render 
the  work  untenable  could  be  made  out.  The 
greatest  damage  inflicted  was,  no  doubt,  the  burn- 
ing of  the  barracks,  which  were  culpably  erected 
inside  the  fort,  close  to  the  flank  wall  facing 
Cumming's  Point. 

As  the  boat  touched  the  quay  of  the  fort,  a 
tall,  powerful -looking  man  came,  through  the 
shattered  gateway,  and  with  uneven  steps  strode 
over  the  rubbish  towards  a  skiff  which  was  wait- 
ing to  receive  him,  and  into  which  he  jumped 
and  rowed  off.  Recognising  one  of  my  compan- 
ions as  he  passed  our  boat,  he  suddenly  stood  np, 
and  with  a  leap  and  a  scramble  tumbled  in  among 
us,  to  the  imminent  danger  of  upsetting  the  par- 
ty. Our  new  friend  was  dressed  in  the  blue 
frockcoat  of  a  civilian,  round  which  he  had  tied 
a  red  silk  sash — his  waistbelt  supported  a  straight 
sword,  something  like  those  worn  with  Court 
dress.  His  muscular  neck  was  surrounded  with 
a  loosely-fastened  silk  handkerchief;  and  wild 
masses  of  black  hair,  tinged  with  grey,  fell  from 
under  a  civilian's  hat  over  his  collar;  his  un- 


strapj)ed  trousers  were  gathered  np  liigli  on  his 
legs,  ilisplaying  ample  boots,  garnisiied  witii  Inr- 
ni'dai)le  brass  spurs.  But  his  face  was  not  one 
to  be  forgotten  —  a  straidit,  broad  brow,  from 
which  the  hair  rose  up  lii^  the  vegetation  on  a 
river  bank,  l)eetling  black  eyebrows — a  mouth 
coarse  and  grim,  yet  full  of  power,  a  8(iuaru  jaw 
— a  thick  argumentative  nos<' — a  new  growth  of 
scrubl)y  beard  and  moustache — these  were  re- 
lieved by  eyes  of  wonderful  depth  and  light,  such 
as  I  never  saw  before  but  in  the  head  of  u  wild 
beast,  if  you  look  some  day  when  the  sun  is 
not  too  bright  into  the  eye  of  the  Bengal  tiger, 
in  the  Regent's  Park,  as  the  keei)cr  is  coming 
round,  you  will  form  some  notion  of  the  exjires- 
sion  I  mean.  It  was  flashing,  fierce,  yet  calm — 
with  a  well  of  fire  burning  behind  and  spouting 
through  it,  an  eye  pitiless  in  anger,  which  now 
and  then  sought  to  conceal  its  expression  beneath 
half-closed  lids,  and  then  burst  out  with  an  iiii- 
gry  glare,  as  if  disdaining  ccmcealment. 

Tliis  wns  none  other  than  Louis  T.  Wigfull, 
Colonel  (then  of  his  own  creation)  in  the  Con- 
federate army,  and  Senator  from  Texas  in  the 
United  States — a  good  type  of  the  men  whom 
the  institutions  of  the  country  produce  or  throw 
off — a  remarkable  man,  noted  for  his  ready,  nat- 
ural eloquence ;  his  exceeding  ability  as  a  quick, 
bitter  debater;  the  acerbity  of  his  taunts;  and 
his  readiness  for  personal  encounter.  To  the 
last  he  stood  in  his  \Aace  in. the  Senate  at  Wash- 
ington, when  nearly  every  other  Southern  man 
had  seceded,  lashing  with  a  venomous  and  in- 
stant tongue,  and  covering  with  insults,  ridicule, 
and  abuse,  such  men  as  Mr.  Chandler,  of  Michi- 
gan, and  other  Republicans:  never  missing  a 
sitting  of  the  House,  and  seeking  out  adversaries 
in  the  bar  rooms  or  the  gambling  tables.  The 
other  day,  when  the  fire  against  Sumter  was  at 
its  height,  and  the  fort,  in  flames,  was  reduced 
almost  to  silence,  a  small  boat  put  ofi"  from  the 
shore,  and  steered  through  the  shot  and  •  the 
splashing  waters  right  for  the  walls.  It  bore 
the  colonel  and  a  negro  oarsman.  Holding  up 
a  white  handkerchic  I'  on  the  end  of  his  sword, 
Wigfall  landed  on  the  quay,  clambered  through 
an  embrasure,  and  presented  himself  before  the 
astonished  Federals  with  a  proposal  to  surren- 
der, quite  unauthorized,  and  "on  his  own  hook," 
which  led  to  tho  final  capitulation  of  Major  An- 
derson, 

I  am  sorry  to  say,  our  distinguished  friend  had 
just  been  paying  his  respects  .sons  homes  to  Bac- 
chus or  Bourbon,  for  he  was  decidedly  unsteady 
in  his  gait  and  thick  in  speech  ;  but  his  head  was 
quite  clear,  and  he  was  determined  I  should  know 
all  about  his  exploit.  Major  Whiting  desired  to 
show  me  round  the  work,  but  he  had  no  chance. 
"Here  is  where  I  got  in,"  quoth  Colonel  Wig- 
fall.  "  I  found  a  Yankee  standing  here  by  the 
traverse,  out  of  the  way  of  our  shot.  He  was 
pretty  well  scared  when  he  saw  me,  but  I  told 
him  not  to  be  alarmed,  but  to  take  me  to  the  of- 
ficers. There  they  were,  huddled  up  in  that  cor- 
ner behind  the  brickwork,  for  our  shells  were 
tumbling  into  the  yard,  and  bursting  like — "  &c. 
(The  Colonel  used  strong  illustrations  and  strange 
expletives  in  narrative.)  Major  Whiting  shook 
his  military  head,  and  said  something  uncivil  to 
me,  in  private,  in  reference  to  volunteer  colonels 
and  the  like,  which  gave  him  relief;  whilst  the 
martial  Senator — I  forgot  to  say  that  he  has  the 


MY  DIARY  NOUTII  AND  SOUTH. 


47 


nnmc,  pnrtipiiliirly  in  the  North,  of  hnviiiR  kilh'd 
moil!  timii  liiilt'ii  (luzi'ii  men  in  (iiieis — (1  ha<l  nil 
L'snijie  iit'hcinn  iiiiuthcr) — coiuliicti'd  ino  tiiiou^li 
tho  casomiitcs  witii  uikivcu  steps,  Hti)|»|iinn  at  ev- 
cry  traverso  to  cxjiatlatc!  on  sonic  phasi;  of  liis 
IMirsonal  cxiKTiciiccs,  witli  liis  swoiil  ilutiKli'iK 
Ix'tweoii  iiis  Ic^s,  and  spurs  involved  in  rubbisii 
iMid  soldiers'  blfinkctH. 

In  my  letter  I  deserihed  the  real  extent  of  tli(> 
damajjo  intlieted,  ami  the  state  of  the  fort  as  I 
found  it.  At  first  the  batteries  tinown  nj>  by 
the  Carolinians  were  so  poor,  that  the  United 
States'  olHecrs  in  the  fort  were  miglitily  amused 
at  them,  and  aniieipatqd  cosy  work  in  enUiadinR, 
rieocheting,  and  battering  them  to  pieces,  if  they 
ever  dared  to  open  fire.  One  morning,  howev- 
er, Cn]itain  Foster,  to  whom  really  belongs  the 
credit  of  putting  Sumter  into  a  tolerable  condi- 
tion of  defence  with  the  most  limited  means,  was 
unpleasantly  surprised  by  seeing  through  his  glass 
a  new  work  in  tho  best  i)ossible  situation  for  at- 
tacking the  place,  growing  up  under  the  strenu- 
ous labours  of  a  band  of  negroes.  "  I  knew  at 
once,"  he  said,  "the  rascals  had  got  an  engineer 
at  last."  In  fact,  the  Carolinians  were  actually 
talking  of  an  escalade  when  the  officers  of  the 
regular  army,  who  had  "seceded,"  came  down 
and  took  the  direction  of  ailairs,  which  otherwise 
might  have  had  very  diflerent  results. 

There  was  a  working  party  of  Volunteers 
clearing  awny  the  rubbish  in  the  place.  It  was 
evident  tliey  were  not  accustomed  to  labour. 
And  on  my  asking  why  negroes  were  not  cm- 
ployed,  I  was  informed:  "The  niggers  would 
blow  us  all  up,  they're  so  stupid ;  and  the  State 
would  havo  to  pay  the  owners  for  any  of  them 
who  were  killed  and  injured."  "  In  one  rcsjject, 
then,  white  men  are  not  so  valuable  as  negroes  ?" 
"Yes,  sir,— that's  a  fact." 

Very  few  shell  craters  were  visible  in  the  terre- 
plein ;  the  military  mischief,  such  as  it  was, 
showed  most  conspicuously  on  the  parapet  plat- 
form, over  which  shells  had  been  burst  as  heav- 
ily as  could  be,  to  prevent  the  manning  of  the 
barbette  guns.  A  very  small  aft'air,  indeed,  that 
shelling  of  Fort  Sumter.  And  yet  who  can  tell 
what  may  arise  from  it?  "  Well,  sir,"  exclaim- 
ed one  of  my  companions,  "  I  thank  God  for  it, 
if  it's  only  because  we  arc  beginning  to  have  a 
history  for  Europe.  The  universal  Yankee  na- 
tion swallowed  us  up." 

Never  did  men  plunge  into  unknown  depth  of 
peril  and  trouble  more  recklessly  than  these  Car- 
olinians. They  fling  themselves  against  the 
grim,  black  future,  as  the  cavaliers  under  Rupert 
may  have  rushed  against  the  grim,  black  Iron- 
sides. Will  they  carry  the  image  farther  ? 
Well !  The  exploration  of  Sumter  was  finished 
at  last,  not  till  we  had  visited  the  officers  of  the 
garrison,  who  lived  in  a  windowless,  shattered 
room,  reached  by  a  crumbling  staircase,  and  who 
produced  whiskey  and  crackers,  many  pleasant 
stories  and  boundless  welcome.  One  young  fel- 
low grumbled  about  pay.  He  said:  "I  have 
not  received  a  cent  since  I  came  to  Charleston 
for  this  business."  But  Major  Whiting,  some 
days  afterwards,  told  me  he  had  not  got  a  dollar 
on  account  of  his  pay,  though  on  leaving  the 
United  States'  army  he  had  abandoned  nearly 
all  his  means  of  subsistence.  These  gentlemen 
were  quite  satisfied  it  would  all  be  right  eventu- 
ally ;  and  no  one  questioned  the  power  or  incli- 


nation of  the  Oovernmcnt,  which  had  just  been 
inaugurat(td  under  such  strange  au>pi('('s,  to  per- 
jtctnatc  its  jirinciples  and  reward  its  servants. 

After  a  time  our  i)arty  went  down  to  tiu'  boats, 
in  which  wc  were  rowed  to  the  steamer  that  lay 
waiting  for  us  at  Morris'  Island.  The  original 
intention  of  the  ofiicers  was  to  carry  us  over  to 
Fort  Moultrie,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Chan- 
nel, aiul  to  examine  it  and  the  floating  iron  bat- 
tery ;  but  it  was  too  late  to  do  so  when  wo  got 
otV,  and  the  steamer  only  ran  across  and  swept 
aroimd  homewards  by  the  other  shore.  lielow, 
in  tho  cabin,  there  was  spread  a  lunch  or  cpuisi 
dinner ;  and  the  party  of  Senators,  ])ast  and 
j)rcscnt,  aides-de-camp,  journalists,  and  flaneurs, 
were  not  indisjjosed  to  join  it.  For  me  there 
was  only  one  circumstancie  which  marred  the 
pleasure  of  tliat  agreeable  reunion.  Coloni  I  and 
Senator  Wigfall,  who  had  not  sobered  himself 
by  drinking  deejily,  in  the  jilenitude  of  his  ex- 
ultation alluded  to  the  assault  on  Senator  Sum- 
ner as  a  type  of  the  manner  in  which  the  South- 
erners would  deal  with  the  Northerners  general- 
ly, and  cited  it  as  a  good  exemplification  of  the 
fashion  in  which  they  would  bear  their  "wliiji- 
ping."  Thence,  by  a  natural  digression,  he  ad- 
verted to  the  inevitable  consequences  of  tlic  mag- 
nificent outburst  of  Southern  indignation  against 
the  Yankees  on  all  the  nations  of  the  world,  and 
to  the  immediate  action  of  England  in  the  matter 
as  soon  as  the  news  came.  Suddenly  reverting 
to  Mr.  Sumner,  whose  name  ho  loaded  with  t)i)- 
ioquy,  he  sj>okc  of  Lord  Lyons  in  terms  so  coarse, 
that,  forgetting  the  condition  of  the  speaker,  I 
resented  the  language  ajiplied  to  the  English 
Minister  in  a  very  unmistakeable  manner ;  and 
then  rose  and  left  the  cabin.  In  a  moment  I 
was  foll«\^ed  on  deck  by  Senator  Wigfall :  his 
manner  much  calmer,  his  hair  brushed  back,  his 
eye  sparkling.  There  was  nothing  left  to  be  de- 
sired in  his  apologies,  which  were  repeated  and 
energetic.  We  were  joined  by  Mr.  Manning, 
Major  Whiting,  and  Senator  Chesnut,  and  oth- 
ers, to  whom  I  expressed  my  complete  content- 
ment with  Mr.  Wigfall's  explanations.  And  so 
we  returned  to  Charleston.  The  Colonel  and 
Senator,  however,  did  not  desist  from  his  atten- 
tions to  the  good — or  bad — things  below.  It 
was  a  strange  scene — these  men,  hot  and  red- 
handed  in  rebellion,  with  their  lives  on  the  cast, 
trifling  and  jesting,  and  carousing  as  if  they  had 
no  care  on  earth  —  all  excepting  the  gentlemen 
of  the  local  press,  who  were  assiduous  in  note 
and  food  taking.  It  was  near  nightfall  before 
we  set  fo  't  on  tlie  quay  of  Charleston.  The  city 
was  indicated  by  the  blaze  of  lights,  and  by  the 
continual  roll  of  drums,  and  the  noisy  music, 
and  the  yelling  cheers  which  rose  above  its 
streets.  As  I  walked  towards  the  hotel,  the 
evening  drove  of  negroes,  male  and  female,  shuf- 
fling through  the  streets  in  all  haste,  in  order  to 
escape  the  patrol  and  the  last  peal  of  the  curfew 
bell,  swept  by  me ;  and  as  I  passed  the  guard- 
house of  the"  police,  one  of  my  friends  pointed 
out  the  armed  sentries  pacing  up  and  down  be- 
fore the  porch,  and  the  gleam  of  arms  in  the 
room  inside.  Further  on,  a  squad  of  mounted 
horsemen,  heavily  armed,  turned  up  a  bye-street, 
and  with  jingling  spurs  and  sabres  disappeared 
in  the  dust  and  darkness.  That  is  the  horse 
patrol.  They  scour  the  country  around  the  city, 
and  meet  at  cert^'.in  places  during  the  night  to 


i:, 


■•■      \ 


■■    i'll 


48 


MY  DIAHY  NOUTII  AND  SOITII. 


sec  if  tlio  nffrj^ors  nro  nil  liglit.  Ah,  Fuscus  I 
tLcbc  are  si;;iis  vi  tioiiliU'. 

"  IiittKi-r  vltin,  »fclor|i'(|ii('  iHiriin 
Nciii  cp't  MiiiiiiJunilU  iii'Miic  iiiTil, 
Nc'C  vi'UoimtlH  (,'riiVlcl:i  i-nniltU, 
l-'n^i'r,  plmiclni." 

But  FiiHCiirt  is  RoiiiK  to  his  cluh;  a  kimlly,  jilcns- 
niit,  chatty,  curd- piayiiin,  cocktail- t'onsimiinn 
|iiiicc.  He  noils  prouiUy  to  an  old  whitc-woolcd 
n(•^'ld  steward  or  head-waiter  —  i^  slave  — as  a 
jiroot'wliich  I  cannot  accept,  with  the  curfew  toll- 
iiiK  in  my  cars,  of  the  excellencies  of  the  domes- 
tic institution.  The  cluh  was  filled  wilii  olliccrs  , 
one  of  ilicm,  Mr.  Kansome  Callioun,*  asked  mo 
what  was  the  oljject  which  most  struck  me  at 
Morris'  Island  ;  i  tell  him—as  was  indeed  the 
case— that  it  was  a  letter-copying  maciiinc,  a 
case  of  ollicial  stationery,  and  a  box  of  Hcd  Tape, 
lyinp  on  the  beach,  just  landed  and  ready  to 
grow  with  the  strength  of  the  young  independ- 
ence. * 

lUit  listen!  There  is  a  great  tumult,  ns  of 
many  voices  coming  up  the  street,  heralded  by 
blasts  of  music.  It  is  a  speech-making  from  the 
front  of  tlie  hotel.  Sueii  an  agitated,  lively  mul- 
titude! How  tlioy  cheer  tiie  pale,  frantic  man, 
linii)er  and  dark-haired,  with  uplifted  arms  and 
clenched  fists,  who  is  perorating  on  the  balcony  ! 
"What  did  he  say?"  "Who  is  he?"  "Why 
it's  he  again!"  "That's  Roger  I'ryor — he  says 
that  if  them  Yankee  trash  don't  listen  to  reason, 
and  stand  from  under,  we'll  march  to  the  North 
and  dictate  the  terms  of  peace  in  Faneuil  Hall! 
Yes,  sir — and  so  we  will, ccrta-i-n  su-rc !"  "No 
matter,  for  all  tluit ;  we  have  shown  we  can  whip 
the  Yankees  whenever  we  meet  them — at  Wash- 
ington or  down  here."  How  much  I  heard  of 
all  this  to-daj — how  much  more  this  evening ! 
The  hotel  as  noisy  as  ever  —  more  men  in  uni- 
form arriving  every  few  minutes,  and  the  hall 
and  passages  crowded  with  tall,  good-looking 
Carolinians. 


CIIAPTEU  XV. 

Slnvpf",  tholr  mnstoi-s  and  niinticsees— Hotels — Attptnptcd 
bdat-joiirncy  to  I'urt  Moultrie — Kxcitoment  lit  Churlus- 
ton  iiV'"'"-"''  ^^'^f  York— Proporati'ma  for  Wnr— Geiionil 
licuureganl— >ioutliern  opinion  ft»  to  the  policy  of  the 
North,  and  nstinintc  of  the  eflfect  of  the  war  on  Knglnnd, 
tliroiigh  the  cotton  murket-  Arlntocratic  feeling  in  the 
South. 

April  18</i. — It  is  as  though  wc  woke  up  in  a 
barrack.  No  !  There  is  the  distinction,  that  in 
the  jjassages  slaves  are  moving  u))  and  down  with 
cups  of  iced  milk  or  water  for  their  mistresses  in 
the  early  morning,  cleanly  dressed,  neatly  clad, 
with  the  conceptions  of  Parisian  millinery  adum- 
brated to  their  condition,  and  transmitted  by  the 
white  race,  hovering  round  their  heads  and  bod- 
ies. They  sit  outside  the  doors,  and  chatter  in 
the  passages ;  and  as  the  Irish  waiter  brings  in 
my  hot  water  f  )r  shaving,  there  is  that  odd, 
round,  oily,  half-strangled,  chuckling,  gobble  of 
a  laugh  ])cculiar  to  the  female  Ethiop,  coming 
in  througli  the  doorway. 

Later  in  the  day,  their  mistresses  sail  out  from 
the  inner  harbours,  and  launch  all  their  sails 
along  the  passages,  down  the  stairs,  and  into  the 
long,  hot,  flutl^'y  salle-a-mungor,  where,  blackened 
with  flies  which  dispute  tin  viands,  thoy  take 
their  tremendous  meals.     Th- y  are  pnle,  i>rfttv. 

•  Since  killed  In  a  duel  by  Mr.  lili.  it. 


svelte — just  as  I  was  about  to  my  tliev  were  rath- 
er  small,  ihcro  rises  before  me  the  recdllcctioii 
of  out!  Titanic  dame — a  Carolinian  Juno,  with 
two  lovely  peacock  daughters  —  and  I  rcfiain 
fronj  generalising.  Exceedingly  proud  these  la- 
dies are  said  to  be — for  a  geiu^ration  or  two  of 
family  Hiillice  in  this  new  country,  if  jiroperly 
supporteil  by  the  possession  of  negroes  and  aiTo, 
to  give  jiride  of  birth,  and  all  the  grandeur  which 
is  derived  from  raising  raw  produce,  cereals,  and 
cotton — sua  terra.  Their  ciu'mics  say  that  the 
grandfathers  of  some  of  these  noble  people  weie 
mere  |)irates  nnd  smugglers,  who  dealt  in  a  cav- 
alier fashion  with  the  laws  and  with  the  llotsam 
and  jiitsam  of  fortune  on  the  seas  and  reel's  here- 
alxMits.  Cotton  suddenly — almost  unnaturally, 
as  far  as  the  ordiimry  laws  of  commerce  are 
concerned,  grew  up  whilst  land  was  cheaji,  and 
slaves  were  of  moderate  price — tiie  jiirates,  and 
j)irhtesse8  had  cimtrol  of  both,  and  in  a  night  the 
go\nd  swelled  and  grew  to  a  prodigious  size. 
These  are  Northern  stories.  What  the  (South- 
erners say  of  their  countrymen  aiul  women  in 
the  upjier  jiarl  of  this  "  blessed  Union"!  have 
written  for  tlie  edification  of  iieojile  at  home. 

The  tables  in  the  eating-room  are  disposed  in 
long  rows,  "or  detached  so  as  to  suit  ])rivatc  jiar- 
ties.  When  I  was  coming  down  to  Charleston, 
one  of  my  fcllow-pas.sengers  told  me  he  was 
(piitc  shot'ked  the  first  time  he  saw  white  ])eo])lo 
acting  as  servants  ;  l)nt  no  such  ncruples  existed 
in  the  Mills  House,  for  the  waiters  were  all  Irish, 
excejjt  one  or  two  Germans.  The  carte  is  much 
the  same  at  all  American  hotels,  the  variations 
dei)ending  on  local  luxuries  or  tastes.  Marvel- 
lous exceedingly  is  it  to  sec  the  (juantitics  of  but- 
ter, treacle,  and  farinaceous  matters  ])repiired  in 
the  heaviest  form  —  of  fish,  of  many  meats,  of 
eggs  scrambled  or  scarred  or  otherwise  pre])ared, 
of  iced  milk  and  water,  which  an  American  will 
consume  in  a  few  minutes  in  the  mornings. 
There  is,  positively,  no  rest  at  these  meals — no 
repose.  The  guests  are  ever  passing  in  and  out 
of  the  room,  chairs  are  for  ever  j)uslied  to  and* 
fro  with  a  liar.sh  grating  noise  that  sets  the  teeth 
on  edge,  and  there  is  a  continual  clatter  of  )ilatcs 
and  metal.  Every  man  is  reading  his  jjajier,  or 
discussing  the  news  with  his  neighbour.  I  was 
introduced  to  a  vast  number  of  pcoi)lc  and  was 
asked  many  questions  respecting  my  views  of 
Sumter,  or  what  I  thought  "  old  Abe  and  Sew- 
ard would  do  ?"  The  jiroclamation  calling  out 
70,000  men  issued  by  said  old  Abe,  they  treat 
with  the  most  profound  eontemjit  or  unsparing 
ridicule,  as  the  case  may  be.  Five  out  of  six  of 
the  men  at  table  wore  uniforms  this  morning. 

Having  made  the  acquaintance  of  several  war- 
riors, as  well  as  that  of  a  Ilussian  gentli  man, 
Baron  Sternberg,  who  was  engaged  in  looking 
about  him  in  Charleston,  and  was,  like  most  for- 
eigners, impressed  with  the  conviction  that  actum 
cste  de  liejmblira,  I  went  out  with  Major  Whit- 
ing* and  Mr.  Ward,  the  former  of  whom  was 
anxious  to  show  to  me  Fort  Moultrie  and  the 
left  side  of  the  Channel,  in  continuation  of  my 
trip  yesterday.  It  was  arranged  that  we  should 
go  off  as  quietly  as  jiossible,  "so  as  to  prevent 
the  ncwsjiafiers  knowing  anything  about  it." 
The  major  has  a  great  dislike  to  the  gentlemen 
of  the  press,  and  General  Beauregard  had  .sent 

*.  Sow  Confederate  General. 


MY  DIAKY  NOIITII  AND  rtOUTir. 


49 


onlciH  for  tlic  HfnfT-boftt  to  b(i  jircpiircd,  so  an  to 
|)u  4iii('t  1111(1  jiriviito,  l)iu  till!  tiitcH  wcru  iiKuiiist 
u».  l^i>  K"i"(<  down  to  tlio  quay,  wo  learned 
that  a  (^cnthtnum  liad  como  down  with  an  otllccr 
ftnd  jjono  oil'  in  our  skitH",  tho  l)oat-kci'|M!r»  hclittv- 
injj  liii-y  were  tho  persons  lor  wiioin  it  was  in- 
tondcul.  In  fact,  our  Uussiun  friend,  liaron 
:  'ernberK,  had  Htolen  a  mareh  upon  ns. 

After  a  time,  tho  nnijor  sncceeded  in  sccnrinf? 
the  scrviccH  of  tho  very  sniallt'st,  most  untrust- 
worthy, and  ridiculous-lookinj?  eraft  ever  seen  Ity 
mortal  eyes.  If  (Jharon  Iiad  jint  n  two-horse 
power  engine  into  his  Hkitf,  it  mii;ht  have  liorne 
Home  roscmhlaneo  to  this  eRreniouH  cymlialns, 
which  had  on(;e  been  allat-bottonied,  open  deck 
cd  cutter  or  galley,  int'>  the  midst  of  which  the 
owner  lunl  forced  a  snniU  cnt(ino  and  paddle- 
wheels,  and  at  the  ster.i  had  erected  a  roofeil 
cal)oose,  or  obionR  ])antry,  Hacred  to  oil-cans  and 
cockro(i(;hos.  The  crew  consisted  of  tho  first  cap- 
tain and  the  second  captain,  a  lad  of  tender  years, 
and  that  was  all.  Into  the  pantry  wc  seranibU'd, 
and  sat  down  knee  to  knee,  whilst  the  engine 
was  getting  up  its  steam:  a  very  obstinate  and 
nntl-caloric  little  engine  it  was  —  jiufting  and 
Bcpieaking,  leaking,  and  distilling  drops  of  water, 
and  driving  out  blasts  of  steam  in  uuexpectcd 
places. 

As  long  as  wo  lay  at  the  cpiay  all  was  right. 
Tho  major  was  supremely  happy,  for  he  could 
talk  about  Thackeray  and  his  writings — a  themo 
of  which  he  never  tired — nay,  on  which  his  en- 
thusiasm reached  the  height  of  devotional  fer- 
vour. Did  I  ever  know  any  one  like  Major  Pen- 
dennis?  Was  it  known  who  Becky  Sharp  was? 
Who  was  the  ()'  M  uliigan  ?  These  questions  were 
mere  hooks  on  which  to  hang  rhapsodies  and  de- 
lighted dissertation.  He  might  have  got  down 
as  far  as  Pendennis  himself,  w  hen  a  lively  swash 
of  water  Hying  over  tho  jjreposterous  little  gun- 
wales,  and  dashing  over  our  boots  into  the  cabin, 
announced  that  our  bark  was  under  weigh. 
There  is,  wo  wero  told,  for  several  months  in  the 
year,  a  brisk  breeze  from  the  southward  and  cast- 
ward  in  and  otf  Charleston  Harbour,  and  there 
was  to-day  a  small  joggle  in  the  water  which 
would  not  have  affected  anything  floating  except 
our  steamer ;  but  as  we  proceeded  down  the  nar- 
row channel  by  Castle  Pinckney,  the  little  boat 
rolled  as  if  she  would  capsize  every  moment,  and 
made  no  i)retenee  at  doing  more  than  a  mile  an 
hour  at  her  best ;  and  it  became  evident  that  our 
voyage  would  be  neither  pleasant,  prosjierous,  nor 
speedy.  Still  the  major  went  on  between  the 
lurches,  and  drew  his  feet  up  out  of  tho  water, 
in  order  to  havj  "a  quiet  chat,"  as  he  said, 
"about  my  favourite  author."  My  companion 
and  myself  could  not  condense  ourselves  or  fore- 
shorten our  nether  limbs  quite  so  deftly. 

Standing  out  from  tho  shelter  towards  Sumter, 
the  sea  came  rolling  on  our  beam,  making  the 
miserable  eraft  oscillate  as  if  some  great  hand 
had  caught  her  by  the  funnel — Yankeeice,  smoke- 
stack — and  was  rolling  her  backwards  and  for- 
wards, as  a  preliminary  to  a  final  keel  over.  The 
water  came  in  plentifully,  and  the  cabin  was 
flooded  with  a  small  sea:  the  latter  partook  of 
the  lively  character  of  the  external  fluid,  and 
made  violent  efforts  to  get  overboard  to  join  it, 
which  generally  were  counteracted  by  the  better 
sustained  and  directed  attempts  of  the  external 
to  get  inside.  The  captain  seemed  very  unhap- 
D 


py  i  the  rest  of  tho  crow^^nr  itecror — had  din- 
covered  that  the  steamer  would  not  steer  at  all, 
an<l  that  we  were  rolling  like  ii  log  on  the  water, 
(.Vrtainly  neither  Pinekney,  nor  Sumter,  nor 
Moultrie  altered  their  relative  bearings  atnl  dis- 
tances towards  ns  for  half  an  hour  or  so,  though 
they  bobbed  up  and  (hnvn  continuously.  "  Hut 
it  is,"  said  tht!  nnijor,  "in  the  eiiarai'ter  of  ('ol- 
onel  Newcoine  that  Thackeray  has,  in  my  opin- 
ion, cxhiiiited  the  greatest  amount  of  power  ;  tho 

ti'ndtMiiess,  simplicity,  love,  manliness,  and " 

Here  a  wallojiing  muddy  green  wave  cami-  "all 
aboard,"  and  the  eymiialiis  gave  decided  indica- 
tions of  turning  turtle.  We  were  wet  and  niis- 
eraiile,  and  two  hours  or  more  had  now  passed 
in  making  a  cou|)le  of  miles.  Tiic  tide  was  set- 
ting more  strongly  against  ns,  and  just  off  Moul- 
trie, in  tho  tideway  between  its  walls  and  .Sum- 
ter, could  1)0  seen  the  heads  of  the  sea-horses  un- 
])leasantly  crested.  I  know  not  what  of  eloipient 
disquisition  I  lost,  for  the  major  was  evidently  in 
his  finest  moment  and  on  his  best  subject,  lait  I 
ventured  to  suggest  that  we  should  bout  ship  and 
return — and  thus  aroused  him  to  a  sense  of  his 
situation.  And  so  we  wore  round — a  very  deli- 
cate  operation,  which,  by  judicious  monagement 
in  getting  side  bumps  of  the  sea  at  favourable 
moments,  we  were  enabled  to  effect  in  some  fif- 
teen or  twenty  minutes ;  and  then  wo  became  so 
parboiled  by  the  heat  from  the  engine,  that  con- 
versation was  impossible. 

How  glad  we  were  to  land  once  more  I  need 
not  say.  As  1  gave  tho  captain  a  small  votive 
tablet  of  metal,  he  said,  "I'm  thinkin'  it's  very 

ell  yes  turned  back.  Av  we'd  gone  any  fur- 
ther, devil  aback  ew.r  we'd  have  come,"  "Why 
didn't  you  say  so  before?"  "Sure  I  didn't  like 
to  sjioil  the  trip."     My  gifted  countryman  and  I 

parted  to  meet  no  more, 

n  *  *  *  *  * 

Second  and  third  editions  and  extras !  News 
of  Secession  meetings  and  of  Union  meetings ! 
Every  one  is  filled  with  indignation  against  tho 
city  of  New  York,  on  account  of  the  way  in  which 
the  news  of  the  reduction  of  Fort  Sumter  has 
been  received  there.  New  England  has  acted 
just  as  was  expected,  but  better  things  were  an- 
ticipated on  the  part  of  the  Empire  city.  There 
is  no  sign  of  shrinking  from  a  contest :  on  the 
contrary,  the  Carolinians  are  full  of  eagerness  to 
tost  their  force  in  tho  field,  "Let  them  come  !" 
is  their  boastful  inot  cVordre, 

The  anger  which  is  reported  to  exist  in  the 
North  only  adds  to  the  fury  and  animosity  of  llie 
Carolinians,  They  are  determined  now  to  act 
on  their  sovereign  rights  as  a  state,  cost  what  it 
may,  and  uphold  the  ordinance  of  secession. 
The  answers  of  several  State  Governors  to  Pres- 
ident Lincoln's  demand  for  troops  have  delight- 
ed our  friends,  Beriah  Magoffin,  of  Kentucky, 
declares  he  won't  give  any  men  for  such  a  wick- 
ed purpose;  and  another  gubernatorial  digni- 
tary laconically  replied  to  the  demand  for  so 
many  thousand  soldiers,  "  Nary  one,"  Letcher, 
Governor  of  Virginia,  has  also  sent  a  refusal. 
From  the  North  comes  news  of  mass-meetings, 
of  hauling  down  Secession  colours,  mobbing  Se- 
cession papers,  of  military  bodies  turning  out, 
banks  subscribing  and  lending. 

Jefferson  Davis  has  met  President  Lincoln's 
proclamation  by  a  counter  manifesto,  issuing  let- 
ters of  marque  and  reprisal — on  all  sides  prep- 


I  \ 


50 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


arations  for  war.  The  Southern  agents  are  buy-  | 
inp  steamers,  but  they  feiir  the  Northern  states 
will  use  their  navy  to  enforce  a  blockade,  which 
is  much  dreaded,  as  it  will  cut  off  suppliej  and 
injure  tlie  commerce,  on  which  they  so  much  de- 
pend.  Assuredly  Mr.  Seward  cannot  know  any- 
thing of  the  feeling  of  the  South,  or  he  would  not 
be  so  confident  as  he  was  that  all  would  blow 
over,  and  that  the  states,  deprived  of  the  care  and 
fostering  influences  of  the  general  Government, 
would  get  tired  of  their  Secession  ordinances, 
and  of  their  exjjeriment  to  maintain  a  national 
life,  so  that  the  United  States  will  be  re-estab- 
lished before  long. 

I  went  over  and  saw  General  Beauregard  at 
his  quarters.  He  was  busy  with  papers,  orde'-- 
lies,  and  despatches,  and  the  outer  room  was 
crowded  with  officers.  His  present  task,  he  told 
me,  was  to  put  Sumter  in  a  state  of  defence,  and 
to  disarm  the  works  bearing  on  it,  so  as  to  get 
their  fire  directed  on  the  harbour  approaches, 
as  "the  North  in  its  madness"  might  attempt  a 
naval  attack  on  Charleston.  His  manner  of 
transacting  business  is  clear  and  rapid.  Two 
vases  filled  witii  flowers  on  his  table,  flanking 
his  maps  and  plans ;  and  a  little  hand  bouquet 
of  roses,  geraniums,  and  scented  flowers  lay  on 
a  letter  which  he  was  writing  as  I  came  in,  by 
way  of  paper  weight.  He  offered  me  every  as- 
sistance and  facility,  relying  of  course,  on  my 
strict  observance  of  a  neutral's  duty.  I  remind- 
ed him  once  more,  that  as-  the  representative  of 
an  English  journal,  it  would  be  my  duty  to  write 
freely  to  England  respecting  what  I  saw ;  and 
that,  I  must  not  be  held  accountable  if,  on  the  re- 
turn of  my  letters  to  America,  a  month  after  they 
were  written,  it  was  found  they  contained  in- 
formation to  which  circumstances  might  attach 
an  objectionable  character.  The  General  said, 
"  I  quite  understand  you.  We  must  take  our 
chan  ,e  of  that,  and  leave  you  to  exercise  your 
discretion." 

In  the  evening  I  dined  with  our  excellent  Con- 
sul, Mr.  Bunch,  who  had  a  small  and  very  agree- 
able party  to  meet  me.  One  very  venerable  old 
gentleman,  named  Huger  (pronounced  as  IIu- 
gee),  was  particularly  interesting  in  apjjcarance 
and  conversation.  He  formerly  held  some  offi- 
cial appointment  under  the  Federal  Government, 
but  had  gone  out  with  his  state,  and  had  been 
confirmed  in  his  appointment  by  the  Confederate 
Government.  Still  he  was  not  happy  at  tl»e 
prospect  before  him  or  his  countrj'.  "I  have 
lived  too  long,"  he  exclaimed ;  "  I  should  have 
died  'ere  these  evil  days  arrived."  What  thoughts, 
indeed,  must  have  troubled  his  mind  when  he  re- 
flected that  his  country  was  but  little  older  than 
himself;  for,  he  was  one  who  had  shaken  hands 
with  the  framers  of  the  Declaration  of  Indepentl- 
ence.  But  though  the  tears  rolled  down  his 
cheeks  when  he  spoke  of  the  prospect  of  civil 
wai^  there  was  no  symptom  of  apprehension  for 
the  result,  or  indeed  of  any  regret  for  the  con- 
test, which  he  regarded  as  the  natural  conse- 
quence of  the  insults,  injustice,  and  aggression 
of  the  North  against  Southern  rights. 

Only  one  of  the  company,  a  most  lively,  quaint, 
witty  old  lawyer  named  V  tigrn,  dissented  from 
the  doctrines  of  Secession ;  but  he  seems  to  bo 
treated  as  an  amiable,  harmless  person,  who  has 
a  weakn'  «s  of  intellect  or  a  "bee  in  his  bonnet" 
on  this  particular  matter. 


It  was  scarcely  very  agreeable  to  my  host  or 
myself  to  find  that  no  considerations  were  be- 
lieved to  be  of  consequence  in  reference  to  En- 
gland except  her  material  interests,  and  that 
tliese  worthy  gentlemen  regarded  her  as  a  sort  of 
appanage  of  their  cotton  kingdom.  "Why,  sir, 
we  have  only  to  shut  off  your  supply  of  cotton 
for  n  few  weeks,  and  we  can  create  a  revolution 
in  Great  Britain.  There  are  four  millions  of 
your  people  depending  on  us  for  their  bread,  not 
to  speak  of  the  many  millions  of  dollars.  No,  sir, 
we  know  that  Englan  ^  must  recognise  us,"  &c. 

Liverpool  and  Manchester  have  obscured  all 
Great  Britain  to  the  Southern  eye.  I  confess 
the  tone  of  my  friends  irritated  me.  I  said  so  to 
Mr. E 1  nch, who  laughed,  and  remarked, "You'll 
not  mind  it  when  you  get  as  much  accustomed 
to  this  sort  of  thing  as  \  am."  I  could  not  help 
saying,  that  if  Great  Britain  were  such  a  sham 
as  they  supposed,  the  sooner  a  hole  was  drilled 
in  her,  and  the  whole  empire  sunk  under  water, 
the  better  for  the  woild,  the  cause  of  truth,  and 
of  liberty. 

These  tall,  thin,  fine -faced  Carolinians  are 
great  materialists.  Slavery  perhaps  has  aggra- 
va,  >1  the  tendency  to  look  at  all  the  world 
th-.iuph  parapets  of  cotton  bales  and  rice  bags, 
and  though  more  stately  and  less  vulgar,  the 
•,vorshipi)ers  here  are  not  less  prostrate  before  the 
"  almighty  dollar"  than  the  Northerners.  Again 
cropping  out  of  the  dead  level  of  hate  to  the 
Yankee,  grows  its  climax  in  the  profession  from 
nearly  every  one  of  the  guests,  that  he  would 
prefer  a  return  to  the  British  rule  to  any  reunion 
with  New  England.  "The  names  in  South 
Carolina  show  our  origin — Charleston,  and  Ash- 
ley, and  Cooper,  &c.  Our  Gadsden,  Sumter,  and 
Pinckney  were  true  cavaliers,"  &c.  They  did 
not  say  anything  about  Pedee,  or  Tombigbec,  or 
Sullivan's  Island,  or  the  like.  We  all  have  our 
little  or  big  weakni?sse8. 

I  seo!  no  trace  of  cavalier  descent  in  the  names 
of  Hnger,  Rose,  Manning,  Chesnut,  Pickens;  but 
there  is  a  profession  of  faith  in  the  cavaliers  and 
their  cause  among  them  because  it  is  fashionable 
in  Carolina.  They  aftcet  the  agricultural  faith 
and  the  belief  of  a  landed  gentry.  It  is  not 
only  over  the  wine-glass — why  call  it  cup  ? — that 
they  ask  for  a  Prince  to  reign  over  them  ;  I  have 
heard  the  wish  repeatedly  expressed  within  the 
last  two  days  that  we  could  spare  them  one  of 
our  young  Princes,  but  never  in  jest  or  in  any 
frivolous  manner. 

On  my  way  home  again  I  saw  the  sentries  on 
their  march,  the  mounted  patrols  starting  on 
their  ride,  and  other  evidences  that  though  the 
slaves  are  "  the  ha^ipiest  and  most  contented  race 
in  tlie  world,"  they  require  to  be  taken  caro  of 
like  less  favoured  mortals.  The  city  watch- 
house  is  filled  every  night  with  slaves,  who  are 
confined  there  until  reclaimed  by  their  owners, 
whenever  they  are  found  out  after  nine  o'clock, 
P.M.,  without  siKJcial  passes  or  permits.  Guns 
are  firing  for  tlie  Ordinance  of  Sijcession  in  Vir- 
ginia. 


> 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Charleston ;  the  Market-place — Irishmen  nt  Charleston — 
Governor  Pickens  :  his  political  economy  and  thporics 
— NewHpaper  offices  and  counting-houses — Rumour.-^  aa 
to  the  war  policy  of  the  South. 

yipril  Idth. — An  exceeding  hot  day.    The  8un 


pours  on  th 
with  immen: 
down  the  tl 
masses  of  h( 
detached,  sui 
vided  with  v( 
the  glare,  ar 
shrubs  and  i 
humming-bi 
the  streets  ai 
ing,  and  as 
pleasant  to  \ 

I  paid  a 
presided  ove 
coloured  pec 
are  well  cla 
tempting  to 
stalls  well  fi 
the  boats  ar 
lest  they  she 
Yankee  crui 
municate  wi 
market  ther 
turkcy-buzzt 
and  are  prot 
work  very  i 
thrown  out  i 
puffy,  soft  so 
their  tribe,  a 
against  the  i 
the  harpies, 
sion  of  their 
peer  down  ft 
the  stalls  a; 
butchers  bel 
agreeable  od 
nor  are  they 
rats. 

Much  dri 
streets  to-da 
had  been  so 
the  shade  n 
they  consist 
men.  The  j 
largely  to  th 
principal  str 
stone  buildit 
posite  porti 
crown  less  hi 
to  a  St.  Patr 
lie  churches 

I  again 
had  a  few  n 
told  me  tha 
ginia,  and  t 
that  State  h 
been  hoped, 
a  declaratio 
all  would  h 
toMontgom 
I  have  no  c 
made  in  Vi 
repair  there 
no  common 
is  to  visit  tl 
coast  of  No 
a  look  at  P 
Federal  aul 
cure  this  pi 

Later  I  > 
Pickens,  to 
Lucas,  his  i 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


51 


The  sun 


pours  on  the  broad  sandy  street  of  Charleston 
with  immense  power,  and  when  tho  wind  blows 
down  the  thoroughfare  it  sends  before  it  vast 
masses  of  hot  dust.  The  houses  are  generally 
detached,  sun'ounded  by  small  gardens,  well  pro- 
vided with  verandahs  to  protect  the  windows  from 
the  glare,  and  are  sheltered  with  ceepers  and 
shrubs  and  flowering  plants,  through  which  flit 
humming-birds  and  fly-catchers.  In  some  places 
the  streets  and  roadways  are  covered  with  jilank- 
ing,  and  as  long  as  the  wood  is  sound  they  are 
pleasant  to  walk  or  drive  upon. 

I  paid  a  visit  to  the  markets ;  the  stalls  are 
presided  over  by  negroes,  male  and  female ;  the 
coloured  people  engaged  in  selling  and  buying 
are  well  clacl ;  the  butchers'  meat  by  no  means 
tempting  to  the  eye,  but  the  fruit  and  vegetable 
stalls  well  filled.  Fish  is  scarce  at  present,  as 
the  boats  arc  not  permitted  to  proceed  to  sea 
lest  they  should  be  whipped  up  by  the  expected 
Yankee  cruisers,  or  carry  malcontents  to  com- 
municate with  the  enemy.  Around  the  flesh- 
market  there  is  a  skirling  crowd  of  a  kind  of 
turkey-buzzard ;  these  are  useful  as  scavengers 
and  are  protected  by  law,  Tliey  do  their  nasty 
work  very  zealously,  descending  on  the  offal 
thrown  out  to  them  with  the  peculiar  crawling, 
puffy,  soft  sort  of  flight  which  is  the  badge  of  all 
their  tribe,  and  contending  with  wing  and  beak 
against  the  dogs  whi'jh  dispute  the  viands  with 
the  harpies.  It  is  curious  to  watch  the  expres- 
sion of  their  eyes  as  with  outstretched  necks  they 
peer  down  from  the  ledge  of  the  market  roof  on 
the  stalls  and  scrutinise  the  operations  of  the 
butchers  below.  They  do  not  prevent  a  dis- 
agreeable odour  in  the  vicinity  of  the  markets, 
nor  are  they  deadly  to  a  fine  and  active  breed  of 
rats. 

Much  drumming  and  marching  through  the 
streets  to-day.  One  very  ragged  regiment  which 
had  been  some  time  at  Morris'  Island  halted  in 
the  shade  near  me,  and  I  was  soon  made  aware 
they  consisted,  for  the  great  majority,  of  Irish- 
men. The  Emerald  Isle,  indeed,  has  contributed 
largely  to  the  population  of  Charleston.  In  the 
principal  street  there  is  a  large  and  fine  red  sand- 
stone building  with  the  usual  Greek-Yankee-eom- 
posite  portico,  over  which  is  emblazoned  the 
crownless  harp  and  the  shamrock  wreath  projjer 
to  a  St.  Patrick's  Hall,  and  several  Roman  Catho- 
lic churches  also  attest  the  Hibernian  presence. 

I  again  called  on  General  Beauregard,  and 
had  a  few  moments'  conversation  with  him.  He 
told  me  that  an  immense  deal  depended  on  Vir- 
ginia, and  that  as  yet  the  action  of  the  people  in 
that  State  had  not  been  as  prompt  as  miglit  have 
been  hoped,  for  the  President's  proclamation  was 
a  declaration  of  war  against  tho  Soutli,  in  which 
all  would  be  ultimately  involved.  He  is  going 
to  Montgomery  to  confer  with  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis. 
I  have  no  doubt  there  is  to  be  some  movement 
made  in  Virginia.  Whiting  is  under  orders  to 
repair  there,  and  he  hinted  that  he  had  a  task  of 
no  common  nicety  and  difficulty  to  perform.  He 
is  to  visit  the  forts  which  had  been  seized  on  the 
coast  of  North  Carolina,  and  probably  will  have 
a  look  at  Portsmouth.  It  is  incredible  that  the 
Federal  authorities  should  have  neglected  to  se- 
cure this  place. 

Later  I  visited  the  Governor  of  the  State,  Mr. 
Pickens,  to  whom  I  was  conducted  by  Colonel 
Lucas,  his  aide-de-camp.    lUs  palace  was  a  very 


humble  shed-like  edifice  with  large  rooms,  on  the 
doors  of  which  were  pasted  pieces  of  pajKjr  with 
sundry  high-reading  inscriptions,  such  as  "Ad- 
jutant General's  Dept.,  Quartermaster-General's 
Dept.,  Attorney  General  of  State,"  &c.,  and 
through  the  doorways  could  be  seen  men  in  uni- 
form, and  grave,  earnest  people  busy  at  their 
desks  with  pen,  ink,  paper,  tobacco,  and  spit- 
toons. The  governor,  a  stout  man,  of  a  big 
head,  and  a  large  important  looking  face,  with 
watery  eyes  and  flabby  features,  was  seated  in  a 
barrack-like  room,  furnished  in  the  plainest  way 
and  decorated  by  the  inevitable  portrait  of  George 
Washington,  close  to  which  was  the  "  Ordinance 
of  Secession  of  the  State  of  South  Carolina"  of 
last  year. 

Governor  Pickens  is  considerably  laughed  at 
by  his  subjects,  and  I  was  amused  by  a  little 
middy,  who  described  with  much  unction  the 
governor's  alarm  on  his  visit  to  Fort  Pickens, 
when  he  was  told  that  there  were  a  number  of 
live  shells  and  a  quantity  of  powder  still  in  the 
place.  He  is  said  to  have  commenced  one  of 
his  speeches  with  "Born  insensible  to  fcar,"&c. 
To  me  the  governor  was  very  courteous,  but  I 
confess  the  heat  of  the  day  did  not  dispose  me  to 
listen  with  due  attention  to  a  lecture  on  political 
economy  with  which  he  favoured  me.  I  was  told, 
however,  that  he  had  practised  with  success  on 
the  late  Czar  when  he  was  United  States  Minis- 
ter to  St.  Petersburg,  and  that  he  does  not  suffer 
his  immediate  staff  to  escape  from  having  their 
minds  improved  on  the  relations  of  capital  to  la- 
bour, and  on  the  vicious  condition  of  capital  and 
labour  in  the  North. 

"  In  the  North,  then,  you  will  perceive,  Mr. 
Russell,  they  have  maximised  the  hostile  condi- 
tion of  opposed  interests  in  the  accumulation  of 
capital  and  in  the  employment  of  labour,  whilst 
we  in  the  South,  by  the  peculiar  excellence  of 
our  domestic  institution,  have  minimised  their 
opposition  and  ma.ximised  the  identity  of  inter- 
est by  the  investment  of  cajntal  in  the  labourer 
himself,"  and  so  on,  or  something  like  it.  I  could 
not  help  remarking  it  struck  me  there  was  "an- 
other difference  betwixt  the  North  and  South 
which  he  had  overlooked  —  the  capital  of  the 
North  is  represented  by  gold,  silver,  notes,  and 
other  exponents,  which  are  good  all  the  world 
over  and  are  recognised  as  such ;  your  capital 
has  power  of  loc6motion,  and  ceases  to  exist  the 
moment  it  ci'osscs  a  geographical  line."  "That 
remark,  sir,"  said  the  Governor,  "requires  that 
I  should  call  your  attention  to  the  fundamental 
principles  on  which  the  abstract  idea  of  capital 
should  be  formed.  In  order  to  clear  the  ground, 
let  us  first  inquire  into  the  soundness  of  the  ideas 
put  forward  by  your  Adam  Smith" — I  had  to 
look  at  my  watch  and  to  promise  I  would  come 
back  to  be  illuminated  on  some  other  occasion, 
and  hurried  off  to  keep  an  engagement  with  my- 
self to  write  letters  by  the  next  mail. 

The  Governor  writes  very  good  proclamations, 
nevertheless,  and  his  confidence  in  South  Caro- 
lina is  unbounded.  "  If  we  stand  alone,  sir,  we 
must  win.  They  can't  whip  us."  A  gentleman 
named  Pringlc,  for  whom  I  had  letters  of  intro- 
duction, has  come  to  Charleston  to  ask  me  to 
his  plantation,  but  there  will  be  no  boat  from  the 
port  till  Monday,  and  it  is  uncertain  then  wheth- 
er the  blockading  vessels,  of  which  we  hear  so 
much,  may  not  bo  down  by  that  time. 


ii 


52 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


April  20th.  —  I  visited  the  editors  of  the 
Charleston  Mercury  and  the  Charleston  Courier 
to-day  at  their  offices.  The  Khett  family  have 
been  active  agitators  for  secession,  and  it  is  said 
they  are  not  over  well  pleased  with  Jeiferson 
Davis  for  neglecting  their  claims  to  office.  The 
elder,  a  pompous,  hard,  ambitious  man,  ])ossesses 
ability.  He  is  fond  of  alluding  to  his  English 
connections  and  predilections,  and  is  intolerant 
of  New  England  to  the  last  degree.  I  received 
from  him,  ere  I  left,  a  pamphlet  on  his  life,  ca- 
reer, and  services.  In  the  newspaper  offices 
there  was  nothing  worthy  of  remark ;  they  were 
possessed  of  that  obscurity  which  is  such  a  char- 
acteristic of  the  haunts  of  journalism — the  clouds 
in  which  the  lightning  is  hiding.  Thence  to 
haunts  more  dingy  still  where  Tlutus  lives— to 
the  counting  houses  of  the  cotton  brokers,  up 
many  pairs  of  stairs  into  large  rooms  furnished 
with'  hard  seats,  engravings  of  celebrated  clip- 
pers, advertisements  of  emigrant  agencies  and  of 
lines  of  steamers,  little  flocks  of  cotton,  specimens 
of  rice,  grain,  and  seed  in  wooden  bov.ls,  and 
clerks  living  inside  railings,  with  secluded  spit- 
toons, and  ledgers,  and  tumblers  of  water. 

I  called  on  several  of  the  leading  merchants 
and  bankers,  such  as  Mr.  Rose,  Mr.  Muir,  Mr. 
Trenholm,  and  others.  With  all  it  was  the  same 
story.  Their  young  men  were  oft'  to  the  wars — 
no  business  doing.  In  one  office  I  saw  on  an- 
nouncement of  a  company  for  a  direct  communi- 
cation by  steamers  between  a  southern  port  and 
Europe.  "When  do  you  expect  that  line  to  be 
opened?"  I  asked.  "The  United  States' cruis- 
ers will  surely  interfere  with  it."  "Why,  I  e.:- 
pect,  sir,"  replied  the  merchant,  "that  if  those 
miserable  Yankees  try  to  blockade  us,  and  keep 
you  from  our  cotton,  you'll  just  send  their  shij)s 
to  the  bottom  and  acknowledge  us.  That  will 
be  before  autumn,  I  think."  It  was  in  vain  I 
assured  him  he  would  be  disappointed.  "Look 
out  there,"  he  said,  pointing  to  the  wharf,  on 
which  were  piled  some  cotton  bales;  "there's 
the  key  will  open  all  our  ports,  and  put  us  into 
John  Bull's  strong  box  as  well." 

I  dined  to-day  at  the  hotel,  notwithstanding 
many  hospitable  invitations,  with  Messrs.  Man- 
ning, Porcher  Miles,  Reed,  and  Pringle.  Mr. 
Trescot,  who  was  Under- Secretary-of-State  in 
Mr.  Buchanan's  Cabinet,  joined  us,  and  I  i>rom- 
ised  to  visit  his  plantation  as  soon  as  I  nave  re- 
turned from  Mr.  Pringle's.  We  heard  much  the 
same  conversation  as  ustial,  relieved  by  Mr.  Tres- 
cot's  sound  sense  and  ))hiloso])hy.  He  sees  clear- 
ly the  evils  of  slavery,  but  is,  like  all  of  us,  un- 
able to  discover  the  solution  and  means  of  avert- 
ing them. 

The  Secessionists  are  in  great  delight  with 
Governor  Letcher's  proclamation,  calling  out 
trno])s  and  volunteers,  and  it  is  hinted  that 
Washington  will  be  attacked,  and  the  nest  of 
Black  Republican  vermin  which  haunt  the  capi- 
tal driven  out.  Agents  are  to  be  at  once  de- 
spatched to  get  uj)  a  naty,  and  every  effort  made 
to  carry  out  the  jiolicy  indicated  in  Jeff"  Davis's 
issue  of  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal.  Norfolk 
harbour  is  blocked  up  to  prevent  the  United 
States  ships  getting  away ;  and  at  the  same  time 
we  hear  that  the  UnitedStates  officer  command- 
ing at  the  arsenal  of  Harper's  Ferry  has  retired 
into  Pennsylvania,  after  destroying  the  place  by 
fire.     How  "oH  John  Brown"  would  have  won- 


dered and  rejoiced  had  he  lived  a  few  mouths 
longer ! 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Visit  to  a  plantation  ;  iiospitable  reception — By  atoiimcv  to 
Georgetown — DeKcription  of  tlio  town — A  ccnintry  nmn- 
Bicn — Masters  and  slave.s — Slave  diet — lluniminf^-birds 
— Land  irrigation  —  Negro  quarters  —  lia'ck  to  Ueorge- 
town. 

Apnl  2\st. — In  the  afternoon  I  went  with  Rlr. 
Porcher  Miles  to  visit  a  small  farm  and  jjlanta- 
tion,  some  miles  from  the  city,  belonging  to  Mr. 
Crafts.  Our  arrival  was  unexpected,  but  the 
planter's  welcome  was  wann.  Mrs.  Crafts  show- 
ed us  round  the  place,  of  which  the  beauties 
were  due  to  nature  rather  than  to  art,  and  so  far 
the  lady  was  the  fitting  mistress  of  the  farm. 

We  wandered  through  tangled  brakes  and 
thick  Indian-like  jungle,  filled  with  disagreeable 
insects,  down  to  the  edge  of  a  small  lagoon. 
The  beech  was  perforated  with  small  holes,  in 
which  Mrs.  Crafts  said  little  crabs,  called  "fid- 
dlers" from  their  resemblance  in  ])Ctto  to  a  per- 
former on  the  fiddle,  make  their  abode  ;  but  nei- 
ther them  nor  "spotted  snakes"  did  wc  see. 
And  so  to  dinner,  for  which  our  hostess  made 
needless  excuses.  "I  am  afraid  I  shall  have  to 
ask  you  to  eke  out  your  dinner  with  potted 
meats,  but  I  can  answer  for  Mr.  Crafis  giving 
you  a  bottle  of  good  old  wine."  "And  what 
better,  madam,"  quoth  Mr.  Miles,  "what  better 
can  you  offer  a  soldier  ?  What  do  we  expect 
but  grajje  and  canister?" 

Mr.  Miles,  who  was  formerly  member  of  the 
United  States  Congress,  and  who  has  now  mi- 
grated to  the  Confederate  States  of  America, 
rendered  himself  conspicuous  a  few  years  ago 
when  a  dreadful  visitation  of  yellow  fever  came 
upon  Norfolk  and  destroyed  one-half  of  the  in- 
habitants. At  that  terrible  time,  when  all  who 
could  move  wei'e  flying  from  the  i)lague-stricken 
spot,  Mr.  Porcher  Miles  flew  to  it,  visited  ihe 
hospitals,  tended  ♦he  s'ck ;  and  although  a  weak- 
ly, delicate  man,  gave  an  exanijjle  of  such  energy 
and  courage  as  "'atcrially  tended  to  save  those 
who  were  left.  I  never  heard  him  say  a  word 
to  indicate  that  he  had  been  at  Norfolk  at  all. 

At  the  rear  of  the  cottage-like  residence  (to 
the  best  of  my  belief  built  of  wood),  in  which  the 
planter's  family  lived,  was  a  small  enclosure, 
surrounded  by  a  palisade,  containing  a  number 
of  wooden  sheds,  which  were  the  negro  (juarters ; 
and  after  dinner,  as  we  sat  on  the  stej)s,  the 
children  were  sent  for  to  sing  for  us.  They 
came  very  shyly,  and  by  degrees ;  first  peeping 
round  the  corners  and  from  behind  trees,  often- 
times running  away  in  spite  of  the  orders  of  their 
haggard  mammies,  till  they  were  chased,  cap- 
tured, and  brought  back  by  their  elder  brethren. 
They  were  ragged,  dirty,  shoeless  urchins  of  both 
sexes ;  the  younger  ones  abdominous  as  infant 
Hindoos,  and  wild  as  if  just  caught.  With  much 
difficulty  the  elder  children  were  dressed  into 
line ;  then  they  began  to  shuffle  their  flat  feet, 
to  clap  their  hands,  and  to  drawl  out  in  a  monot- 
onous sort  of  ^hant  something  about  the  "River 
Jawdam,"  after  which  Mrs.  Crafts  rewarded  them 
with  1"  Tips  of  sugar,  which  were  as  fruitful  of 
disputes  as  the  apple  of  discord.  A  few  fathers 
and  mothers  gazed  at  the  scene  from  a  distance. 

As  we  sat  listening  to  the  wonderful  song  of 


* 


the  mockin 
had  retired, 
man,  as  lik( 
tion  as  any 
rode  up  to 
mony  of  inl 
and  the  ouj 
us,  sir!"  in' 
fete  champi 
lawn  famou 
tlement  of  i 
tlcman's  an 
Trees  are 
ica  if  they  i 
two  reasons 
digenous  fo 
magnitude, 
to  America! 
ty ;  and  a 
and  venerat 
I  must  rec 
Carolinian, 
dubitably  tli 
"have  a  di 
table  were  f 
white  curacj 
half  full  of 
tie,  Crafts?' 
planter  taste 
lips  and  exc 
to  tvater  his 
brimmer  of 
ulterior  resu 
I  doubt  if  ea 
potent  bump 
April  22n 
to  Mr.  Prir 
Georgetown 
which   consi 
lawyer  of  C 
bouring  pla 
host,  and  m\ 
steamer  at 
a  quantity  c 
and  the  like 
along  the  cc 
supply  of  nc 
invitations 
wliero  the 
grave,  salLn 
joking  abo 
ade,"  and 
ordered  thei 
federate  pri 
risive  and  r 
pulses  of  na 
whole  of  thi 
over  Sumtei 
ing  on  all  t 
guard  the  a 

A  civil 
commenced 
treated  in  tl 
ists"  are  mo 
news  of  the 
the  Pennsyl 
more,  hash 
some  long- 
expose  Bait 
of  the  Nortl 
the  anniveri 
The  "Ni 


n 


-1 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


63 


the  irocking-birds,  when  those  yoiinp  Sybarites 
had  retired,  a  great,  big,  burly  red-faced  gentle- 
man, as  like  a  Yorkshire  farmer  in  high  perfec- 
tion as  any  man  I  ever  saw  in  the  old  country, 
rode  up  to  the  door,  and,  after  the  usual  cere- 
mony of  introduction  and  the  collating  of  news, 
and  the  customary  assurance  "They  can't  whip 
us,  sir!"  invited  me  then  and  there  to  attend  a 
fete  champetre  at  his  residence,  where  there  is  a 
lawn  famous  for  trees  dating  from  the  first  set- 
tlement of  the  colony,  and  ])lantcd  by  this  gen- 
tleman's ancestor. 

Trees  are  objects  of  great  veneration  in  Amer- 
ica if  they  are  of  any  size.  There  are  i^erhaps 
two  reasons  for  this.  In  the  first  place,  the  in- 
digenous forest  trees  are  rarely  of  any  great 
magnitude.  In  the  second  place,  it  is  natural 
to  Americans  to  admire  dimension  and  antiqui- 
ty; and  a  big  tree  gratifies  both  organs — size 
and  veneration. 

I  must  record  an  astonishing  feat  of  this  noble 
Carolinian.  The  heat  of  the  evening  was  in- 
dubitably thirst-compelling,  and  we  went  in  to 
"have  a  drink."  Among  other  things  on  the 
table  were  a  decanter  of  cognac  and  a  flask  of 
white  cura^oa.  The  ))lanter  filled  a  tumbler 
half  full  of  brandy.  "What's  in  that  flat  bot- 
tle, Crafts?"  "That's  white  cura9oa."  The 
planter  tasted  a  little,  and  having  smacked  his 
lips  and  exclaimed  "first-rate  stuff,"  proceeded 
to  tvatei-  his  brandy  with  it,  and  tossed  off  a  full 
brimmer  of  the  mixture  without  any  remarkable 
ulterior  results.  They  are  a  hard-headed  race. 
I  doubt  if  cavalier  or  puritan  ever  drank  a  more 
potent  bumper  than  our  friend  the  big  planter. 

April  22nd. — To-day  was  fixed  for  the  visit 
to  Mr.  Pringle's  plantation,  which  lies  above 
Georgetown  near  the  Peedce  River.  Our  party, 
which  consisted  of  Mr.  Mitchell,  an  eminent 
lawyer  of  Charleston,  Colonel  Reed,  a  neigh- 
bouring planter,  Mr.  Ward  of  New  York,  our 
host,  and  myself,  were  on  board  the  Georgetown 
steamer  at  seven  o'clock,  a.m.,  and  started  with 
a  quantity  of  commissariat  stores,  ammunition, 
and  the  like,  for  the  use  of  the  troops  quartered 
along  the  coast.  There  was,  of  course,  a  large 
supf)ly  of  newspapers  also.  At  that  early  hour 
invitations  to  the  "bar"  were  not  uncommon, 
wlicro  the  news  was  discussed  by  long-legged, 
grave,  sallow  men.  There  was  a  good  deal  of 
joking  about  "old  Abe  Lincoln's  paper  block- 
ade," and  the  report  that  the  Government  had 
ordered  their  cruisers  to  treat  the  crew  of  Con- 
federate privateers  as  "pirates"  provoked  de- 
risive and  menacing  comments.  The  full  im- 
pulses of  national  life  are  breathing  through  tlie 
wiiole  of  this  people.  There  is  their  flag  flying 
over  Sumter,  and  the  Confede-ate  banner  is  wav- 
ing on  all  the  sand-forts  and  headlands  which 
guard  the  approaches  to  Charleston. 

A  civil  war  and  persecution  have  already 
commenced.  "Suspected  Abolitionists"  are  ill- 
treated  in  the  South,  and  "  Suspected  Secession- 
ists" are  mobbed  and  beaten  in  the  North.  The 
news  of  the  attack  on  the  6th  Massachusetts,  and 
the  Pennsylvania  regiment,  by  the  mob  in  Balti- 
more, has  been  received  with  great  delight;  but 
some  long-headed  ])eoplo  say  that  it  will  only 
expose  Baltimore  and  Maryland  to  the  full  force 
of  the  Northern  States.  'I'he  riot  took  place  on 
the  anniversary  of  Lexington. 

The  "Nina"  was  soon  in  open  sea,  steering 


northwards  and  keeping  four  miles  froi  shore 
in  order  to  clear  the  shoals  and  banks  vhich 
fringe  the  low  sandy  coasts,  and  etfectuali .  i)re- 
vent  even  light  gunboats  covering  a  descent  l)y 
their  ordnance.  This  was  one  of  the  reasons 
why  the  Federal  fleet  did  not  make  any  attempt 
to  relieve  Fort  Sumter  during  the  engagement. 
On  our  way  out  we  could  see  the  holes  made  in 
the  large  hotel  and  other  buildings  on  Sullivan's 
Island  behind  Fort  Moultrie,  Ijy  the  shot  from 
the  fort,  which  caused  terror  among  the  negroes 
"miles  away."  There  was  no  sign  of  any  block- 
ading vessel,  but  look-out  parties  were  ])osted 
along  the  beach,  and  as  the  skipper  said  we 
might  have  to  make  our  return-journey  by  land, 
every  sail  on  the  horizon  was  anxiously  scanned 
through  our  glasses. 

Having  passed  the  broad  mouth  of  the  Santee, 
the  steamer  in  three  hours  and  a  half  ran  up  an 
estuaiy,  into  which  the  Maccamaw  River  and 
the  Peedee  River  pour  their  united  waters. 

Our  vessel  proceeded  along  shore  to  a  small 
jetty,  at  the  end  of  which  was  a  group  of  armed 
men,  some  of  them  being  part  of  a  military  ])ost, 
to  defend  the  coast  and  river,  established  under 
cover  of  an  earthwork  and  palisades  constructed 
with  trunks  of  trees,  and  mounting  three  32- 
pounders.  Several  posts  of  a  similar  character 
lay  on  the  river  banks,  and  from  some  of  these 
we  were  boarded  by  men  in  boats  hungry  for 
news  and  newspapers.  Most  of  the  men  at  the 
pier  were  cavalfv  troopei"s,  belonging  to  a  volun- 
teer association  of  the  gentry  for  coast  defence, 
and  they  had  been  out  night  and  day  patrolling 
the  shores,  and  doing  the  work  of  common  sol- 
diers— very  precious  material  for  such  work. 
They  wore  grey  tunics,  slashed  and  faced  with 
yellow,  buff  belts,  slouched  felt  hats,  ornamented 
with  drooping  cocks'  plumes,  and  long  jack- 
boots, which  well  became  their  fine  persons  and 
bold  bearing,  and  were  evidently  due  to  "Cava- 
lier" associations.  They  were  all  equals.  Our 
friends  on  board  the  boat  hailed  them  by  their 
Christian  names,  and  gave  and  heard  the  news. 
Among  the  cases  landed  at  the  pier  were  cer- 
tain of  champagne  and  jiate's,  on  which  Captain 
Blank  was  wont  to  regale  his  company  daily  at 
his  own  expense,  or  that  of  his  cotton  broker. 
The?"  horses  picketed  in  the  shade  of  trees  close 
to  the  beach,  the  parties  of  women  riding  up  and 
down  the  sands,  or  driving  in  light  tax-carts, 
suggested  images  of  a  large  pic-nic,  and  a  state 
of  so^'iety  quite  indifferent  to  Uncle  Abe's  cruis- 
ers and  "Hessians."  After  a  short  delay  here, 
the  steamer  proceeded  on  her  way  to  George- 
town, an  ancient  and  once  important  settlement 
and  port,  which  was  marked  in  the  distance  by 
the  little  forest  of  masts  rising  above  the  level 
land,  and  the  tops  of  the  trees  i3eyond,  and  by  a 
solitary  ohurch-sjjire. 

As  the  "Nina"  approaches  the  tumble-down 
wharf  of  the  old  town,  two  or  three  citizens  ad- 
vance froifi  the  shade  of  shaky  sheds  to  welcome 
us,  and  a  few  country  vehicles  and  light  phaetons 
are  drawn  forth  from  the  same  shelter  to  re- 
ceive the  passengers,  while  the  negro  boys  and 
girls  who  have  been  playing  upon  the  bales  of 
cotton  and  barrels  of  rice,  which  represent  the 
trade  of  the  place  on  the  wharf,  take  up  com- 
manding positions  for  the  better  observation  of 
our  proceedings. 

There  is  about  Georgetown  an  air  of  quaint 


i  i 


:  i  I 


!       I 
1   '   i 


54 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


Ik 


n 


im 


simplicity  and  old-fashioned  quiet,  which  con- 
trasts refreshingly  with  the  bustle  and  tumult  of 
American  cities.  While  waiting  for  our  vehicle 
we  enjoyed  the  hospitality  of  Colonel  Reed,  who 
took  us  into  an  olU-fashioncd,  angular,  wooden 
mansion,  more  than  a  century  old,  still  sound  in 
every  timber,  and  testifying,  in  its  quaint  wain- 
Bcotings,  and  the  rigid  framework  of  door  and 
window,  to  tlie  durability  of  its  cypress  timbers 
and  the  preservative  character  of  the  atmosphere. 
In  early  days  it  was  the  grand  house  of  the  old  set- 
tlement, and  the  residence  of  the  founder  of  tjio 
female  brancii  of  the  family  of  our  host,  who  now 
only  makes  it  his  halting-place  when  passing  to 
and  fro  between  Charleston  and  his  plantation, 
leaving  it  the  year  round  in  cliarge  of  an  old 
servant  and  her  grandchild.  Rose-trees  and 
flowering  shrubs  clustered  before  the  porch  and 
filled  the  garden  in  front,  and  the  establishment 
gave  one  a  good  idea  of  a  London  merchant's 
retreat  about  Chelsea  a  hundred  and  fifty  years 
ago. 

At  length  we  were  ready  for  our  journey,  and, 
in  two  light  covered  gigs,  proceeded  along  the 
sandy  tra<':k  which,  after  a  while,  led  us  to  a 
road  cut  deep  in  the  bosom  of  ihe  woods,  where 
silence  was  only  broken  by  the  cry  of  a  wood- 
pecker, the  screams  of  a  crane,  or  the  sharp  chal- 
lenge of  the  jay.  For  miles  we  passed  tlirough 
the  shades  of  this  forest,  meeting  only  two  or 
three  vehicles  cv  ntaining  female  jilaiitcrdom  on 
little  excursions  of  pleasure  or  business,  who 
smiled  their  welcome  as  we  passed.  Arrived  at 
a  deep  chocolate-coloured  stream,  called  Black 
River,  full  of  fish  and  alligators,  we  find  a  flat 
large  enough  to  accommodate  vehicles  and  ))as- 
sengers,  and  propelled  by  two  negroes  pulling 
upon  a  stretched  rope,  in  the  manner  usual  in  the 
ferry-boats  of  Switzerland. 

Another  drive  through  a  more  open  country, 
and  we  reach  a  fine  grove  of  pine  and  live-oak, 
which  melts  away  into  a  shrubbery  guarded  by  a 
rustic  gateway :  passing  through  this,  we  are 
brought  by  a  sudden  turn  to  the  i)lantcr's  house, 
buried  in  trees,  which  dispute  with  the  green 
sward  and  with  wild  flower-beds  the  sp«ce  be- 
tween the  hall-door  and  the  waters  of  tlie  Pec- 
dee  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes,  as  we  gaze  over  the 
expanse  of  fields  marked  by  the  deep  water-cuts, 
and  bounded  by  a  fringe  of  unceasing  forest,  just 
tinged  with  green  by  the  first  life  of  the  early 
rice  crops,  the  chimneys  of  the  steamer  we  had 
left  at  Georgetown,  gliding  as  it  were  through 
the  fields,  indicate  the  existence  of  another  navi- 
gable river  still  beyond. 

Leaving  the  verandah  which  commanded  this 
agreeable  foreground,  we  enter  the  mansion,  and 
are  reminded  by  its  low-browed,  old-fashioned 
rooms,  of  the  country  houses  yet  to  be  found  in 
parts  of  Ireland  or  on  the  Scottish  border,  with 
additions,  made  by  the  luxury  and  love  of  foreign 
travel,  of  more  than  one  generation  of  educated 
Southern  planters.  Paintings  from  Italy  illus- 
trate the  wa"  in  juxta-position  with  interesting 
portraits  of  e«rly  colonial  governors  and  their 
womankind,  limned  with  no  uncertain  Iiand,  .and 
full  of  the  vigour  of  touch  and  naturalness  of 
drapery,  of  which  Co])ley  has  left  us  too  few  ex- 
emplars ;  and  one  portrait  of  Benjamin  West 
claims  for  itself  such  honour  as  his  own  pencil 
can  give.  An  excellent  library — filled  with  col- 
lections of  French  and  English  classics,  and  with 


those  ponderous  editions  of  Voltaire,  Rousseau, 
the  "  Ale'moires  pour  Servi'*,"  books  of  travel  and 
history  which  delighted  our  forefathers  in  the 
last  century,  and  many  wo'ks  of  American  and 
general  history — aifords  ai  jlo  occupation  for  a 
rainy  day. 

It  was  five  o'clock  before  we  reached  our  plant- 
er's house — White  House  Plantation.  My  small 
luggage  was  carried  into  my  room  by  an  Ad  ne- 
gro in  livery,  who  took  great  ))ains  to  assure  me 
of  my  perfect  welcome,  and  who  turned  out  to  be 
a  most  excellent  valet.  A  low  room  hung  with 
coloured  mezzotints,  windows  covered  with  creep- 
ers, and  an  old-fashioned  bedstead  and  quaint 
chairs,  lodged  me  sumptuously ;  and  after  such 
toilette  as  was  considered  necessary  by  our  host 
for  a  bachelor's  party,  we  sat  down  to  an  excel- 
lent dinner,  cooked  by  negroes  and  served  by  ne- 
groes, and  aidedby  claret  mellowed  in  Carolin"  n 
suns,  and  by  Madeira  brought  down  stairs  nu  - 
tiously,  as  in  the  days  of  Horace  and  Majcenus, 
from  the  cellar  between  the  attic  and  the  thatched 
roof. 

Our  party  was  incre.iscd  by  a  neighboring 
planter,  and  after  dinner  the  conversation  re- 
turned to  the  0  channel — all  the  frogs  praying 
for  a  king — anj  t  '  a  prince — to  rule  over  them. 
Our  good  host  is  auxious  to  get  away  to  Eurojie. 
where  his  wife  and  children  are,  and  all  he  fears 
is  being  mobbed  at  New  York,  where  Southerners 
arc  exposed  to  insult,  though  they  may  get  oft' 
better  in  that  respect  than  Black  Republicans 
would  down  South.  Some  of  our  guests  talked 
of  the  duello,  and  of  famous  hands  with  the  pistol 
in  these  parts.  The  conversation  had  altogether 
very  much  the  tOne  which  would  have  probably 
characterized  the  talk  of  a  group  of  Tory  Irish 
gentlemen  over  their  wine  some  sixty  years  ago, 
and  very  pleasant  it  was.  Not  a  man — no,  not 
one — will  ever  join  the  Union  again  !  "Thank 
God !"  they  say,  "we  are  freed  from  that  tyranny 
at  last."  And  yet  Mr.  Seward  calls  it  the  most 
beneficent  government  in  the  world,  which  never 
hurt  a  human  being  yet ! 

But  alas !  all  the  good  things  which  the  house 
affords,  can  be  enjoyed  but  for  a  brief  season. 
Just  as  nature  has  expanded  every  charm,  devel- 
oped every  grace,  and  clothed  the  scene  with  all 
the  beauty  of  opened  flower,  of  ripening  grain, 
and  of  mature  vegetation,  on  the  wings  of  the 
wind  tlie  poisoned  breath  comes  borne  to  the 
home  of  the  white  man,  and  he  must  fly  before 
it  or  perish.  The  books  lie  unopened  on  the 
shelves,  the  flower  blooms  and  dies  unheeded, 
and,  pity  'tis,  'tis  true,  the  old  Madeira  garnered 
'neath  the  roof,  settles  down  for  a  fresh  lease  of 
life,  and  sets  about  its  solitary  task  of  acquiring 
a  finer  flavour  for  the  infrequent  lips  of  its  ban- 
ished master  and  his  welcome  visitors.  This  is 
tl  story,  at  least,  that  we  hear  on  all  sides,  and 
such  is  the  tale  repeated  to  us  beneath  the  porch, 
when  the  moon,  while  softening,  enhances  the 
loveliness  of  the  scene,  and  the  rich  melody  of 
mocking-birds  fills  the  grove. 

Within  these  hospitable  doors  Horace  might 
banquet  better  than  he  did  with  Nasidienus,  and 
drink  such  wine  as  can  be  only  found  among  the 
descendants  of  the  ancestry  who,  improvident 
enough  in  all  else,  leanit  the  wisdom  of  bottling 
up  choice  old  Bual  and  Sercial,  ere  the  demon 
of  oidium  had  dried  up  their  generous  sources 
for  ever.     To  these  must  be  added  excellent 


bread,  ingot 
j)ounded  no 
delicious  bui 
And  is  then 
bottom  of  t 
who  attend 
Khitmutgan 
wear  white  c 
when  we  rei 
ness  in  the 
wiiich  is  sep 
jtalisade.  'J 
house  broatl 
and  window 
gun,  a  fowlin 
er  hereabout 
I  have  seen, 
in  this  part 
counts  of  mi: 
suffered  at  t 
something  si 
ing  staiemei 
slaves."  Til 
streets,  the 
police  regula 
at  all  events, 
is  a  kind  ma 
happy  anywj 

'''iiese  peo 
hiivo  half  a  f 
in  abiindanc( 
chickens  an 
clothed  by  th 
ness  as  in  he 
of  tobacco  an 
was  little  lal 
rice  has  beer 
above  water, 
waters  of  tii 
whenever  th 
floodgates  ai 
flats  can  car 
for  loading 

April  2;5/-, 
hot  day. 
watching  the 
terrapins,  in 
trying  to  fol 
ming-birds. 
purple  head 
into  a  small 
at  hand,  ant 
wall,  ho  or 
genders  of  h 
his  woiiderl 
Latin  termi 
dashed  up  a 
to  perforate 
and  destruci 
cobweb  cast 

The  hum 
a  bad  time 
ecssant,  am. 
moustaches, 
it!"  as  if  ho 
ony  by  the 
webs  and 
friend  top]) 
and  lay  pa 
Again  he,  s 
mad  career 
bright  head 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


6S 


bread,  ingenious  varieties  of  the  (/alette,  com- 
j)t)iindcd  now  of  rice  and  now  of  Indian  meal, 
delicious  butter  and  fruits,  all  good  of  tiieir  kind. 
And  ia  there  anything  better  rising  up  from  tlie 
bottom  of  the  soeial  bowl  ?  My  black  friends 
who  attend  on  mo  arc  grave  as  Mussulman 
Khitmutgars.  They  are  attired  in  liveries  and 
wear  white  cravats  and  Berlin  gloves.  At  night 
wiien  we  retire,  off  they  go  to  their  outer  dark- 
ness in  the  small  i?ettlcment  of  negro -hood, 
which  is  separated  from  our  house  by  a  wooden 
])allsade.  Tlieir  fidelity  is  undoubted.  The 
house  breathes  an  air  of  secur  ^y.  The  doors 
and  windows  are  unlocked.  Tiere  is  but  one 
gun,  a  fowling-piece,  on  the  premises.  No  plant- 
er hereabouts  has  any  dread  of  his  slaves.  But 
I  have  seen,  within  the  short  time  I  have  been 
in  this  part  of  the  world,  several  dreadful  ac- 
counts of  murder  and  violence,  in  which  masters 
suffered  at  the  hands  of  their  slaves.  There  is 
something  suspicious  in  the  constant  never-end- 
ing staiement  that  '*  we  are  not  afraid  of  our 
slaves."  The  curfew  and  the  night  pitrol  in  the 
streets,  the  prisons  and  watch-houses,  and  the 
jiolice  regulations,  prove  that  strict  supervision, 
at  all  events,  is  needed  and  necessa^  y.  My  host 
is  a  kind  man  and  a  good  master.  If  slaves  are 
happy  anywhere,  they  should  be  so  witii  him. 

'''Iiese  people  are  fed  by  tlicir  master.  They 
li.ive  half  a  j)ound  per  diom  of  fivt  pork,  and  corn 
in  abundance.  The  rear  poultry  and  sell  their 
chickens  and  eggs  j  the  house.  They  are 
clothed  by  their  master.  He  keeps  them  in  sick- 
ness as  in  health.  Now  and  then  there  are  gifts 
of  tobacco  and  molasses  for  the  deserving.  There 
was  little  labour  going  on  in  the  fields,  for  the 
rice  has  been  just  exerting  itself  to  get  its  head 
above  water.  Tliese  fields  yield  i)lentifully ;  the 
waters  of  the  river  are  fat,  and  thrv  are  let  in 
•rhenever  the  planter  requires  it  hj  means  of 
floodgates  and  small  canals  through  which  the 
flats  can  carry  their  loads  of  grain  to  the  river 
for  loading  tiie  steamers. 

April  2l3/-t/. — A  lovely  morning  grew  into  a 
hot  day.  After  breakfast,  I  sat  in  the  shade 
watching  the  vagaries  of  some  little  tortoises,  or 
terrapins,  in  a  vessel  of  water  close  at  hand,  or 
trying  to  follow  the  bee-like  flight  of  the  hum- 
ming-birds. Ah  me !  one  wee  brownie,  with  a 
purple  head  and  red  facings,  managed  to  dash 
into  a  small  grape  or  flower  conservatory  close 
at  hand,  and,  innocent  of  the  ways  of  the  glassy 
wall,  ho  or  she — I  am  much  puzzled  as  to  tlie 
genders  of  humming-birds,  and  Mr.  Gould,  with 
his  wonderful  mastery  of  Greek  prefixes  und 
Latin  terminations,  has  not  aided  me  much — 
dashed  up  and  down  from  pane  to  pane,  seeking 
to  perforate  each  witii  its  bill,  and  carrying  death 
and  destruction  among  the  big  sjjiders  and  their 
cobweb  castles  which  for  the  time  barred  the  way. 

The  humming-bird  had,  as  the  Yankees  say, 
a  bad  time  of  it,  for  its  efforts  to  escape  were  in- 
cessant, and  our  host  said  tenderly,  tin-ough  his 
moustaclies,  "  Pooty  little  tiling,  don't  frigliten 
it !"  as  if  he  was  quite  sure  of  getting  off  to  Sax- 
ony by  the  next  steamer.  Encumbered  by  cob- 
webs and  exhausted,  now  and  then  our  little 
friend  toppled  down  among  the  green  shrubs, 
and  lay  panting  like  a  living  nugget  of  ore. 
Again  he,  she,  or  it  took  wing  and  resumed  that 
mad  career ;  but  at  last  on  some  happy  turn  the 
bright  head  saw  an  opening  through  th  :  door, 


and  out  wings,  body,  and  legs  dashed,  and  sought 
shelter  in  a  creeper,  where  the  little  ttutterer  lay, 
all  but  dead,  so  inanimate  indeed,  that  I  could 
have  taken  the  lovuly.tliing  and  put  it  in  the  hol- 
low of  my  hand.  What  would  poets  of  Grcjce 
and  Home  Imve  said  of  the  humming-bird  ?  What 
would  Ilafiz,  or  Waller,  or  Spenser  have  sung, 
had  they  but  seen  that  offspring  of  the  sun  aud 
flowers  ? 

Later  in  the  day,  when  the  sun  was  a  little  less 
fierce,  we  walked  out  from  the  belt  of  trees  round 
tiic  house  on  the  plantation  itself.  At  this  time 
of  the  year  there  is  notliing  to  recommend  to  the 
eye  the  great  breadth  of  flat  fields,  surrounded 
by  small  canals,  wiiich  look  like  the  bottoms  of 
dried-up  jjonds,  for  the  (;reen  rice  has  barely  suc- 
ceeded in  forcing  its  way  above  the  level  of  tlie 
rich  dark  earth.  Tiie  river  bounds  the  estate, 
and  when  it  rises  after  the  rains,  its  waters,  load- 
ed with  loam  and  fertilising  mud,  are  let  in  ujinn 
the  lands  through  the  small  canals,  wiiich  are 
provided  with  sluices  and  banks  and  floodgates 
to  control  and  regulate  tlie  supply. 

The  negroes  had  but  little  to  occupy  them 
now.  The  children  of  both  sexes,  scantily  clad, 
were  fishing  in  the  canals  and  stagnant  waters, 
jiuliing  out  horrible-looking  little  catfish,  Tiiey 
were  so  shy  that  they  generally  fled  at  our  ap- 
proach, Tiie  men  and  women  were  apatuetic, 
neither  seeking  nor  shunning  us,  and  I  found 
that  their  master  knew  nothing  about  tiiem.  It 
is  only  the  servants  engaged  in  household  duties 
who  are  at  all  on  familiar  terms  with  their  mas- 
ters. 

The  bailiff  or  steward  was  not  to  be  seen. 
One  big  slouching  negro,  who  seemed  to  be  a 
gangsman  or  something  of  the  kind,  followed  us 
in  our  walk,  and  answered  any  questions  we  put 
to  him  very  readily.  It  was  a  picture  to  see  his 
face  when  one  of  our  party,  on  I'eturning  to  the 
house,  gave  him  a  larger  sum  of  money  than  ho 
had  ever  probably  possessed  before  in  a  luni]>. 
"  What  will  he  do  with  it  ?"  Buy  sweet  tliiiig?;, 
— sugar,  tobacco,  a  penknife,  and  such  things. 
"They  have  few  luxuries,  and  all  their  wants 
are  provided  for."  Took  a  cursory  glance  at  the 
negro  quarters,  which  arc  not  very  enticing  or 
cleanly.  They  are  surrounded  by  high  jialings, 
and  tiie  entourage  is  alive  with  their  poultry. 

Very  much  I  doubt  whether  Mr.  Mitchell  is 
satisfied  the  Southerners  are  right  in  their  pres- 
ent course,  but  he  and  Mr,  Petigru  are  lawyers, 
and  do  not  take  a  popular  view  of  the  question. 
After  dinner  the  conversation  again  turned  on 
the  resources  and  power  of  tlie  South,  and  on 
the  determination  of  the  people  never  to  go  back 
into  the  Union,  Then  cropped  out  again  the 
expression  of  regret  for  the  rebellion  of  1 776,  and 
the  desire  that  if  it  came  to  the  worst,  England 
would  receive  back  her  erring  children,  or  give 
them  a  prince  under  whom  they  could  secure  a 
monarchical  form  of  government.  There  is  no 
doubt  about  the  earnestness  with  which  tiiese 
things  are  said. 

As  the  "Nina"  starts  down  the  river  on  her 
return  voyage  from  Georgetown  to-night,  and 
Charleston  Harbour  may  be  blockaded  at  any 
time,  thus  compelling  us  to  make  a  long  detour 
by  land,  I  resolve  to  leave  by  her,  in  spite  of 
many  invitations  and  jiressurc  from  neighbour- 
ing planters.  At  midnight  our  carriage  came 
round,  and  we  started  in  a  lovely  moonlight  to 


I: 


r.6 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


1^1 


n 


Georgetown,  crossing  the  ferry  after  some  de- 
lay, in  conscciuence  of  the  profound  sleep  of  the 
boatmen  in  their  cabins.  One  of  tliem  said  to 
me,  "Musn't  go  too  near  Je  edge  ob  do  boat, 
massa."  "Why  not?"  "Becas  if  massa  fall 
ober,  he  not  como  up  agin  likely,- a  bad  ribber 
for  drowned,  massa."  He  informed  me  it  was 
full  of  alligators,  which  are  always  on  the  look- 
out for  the  jjlantcrs'  and  negroes'  dogs,  and  are 
hated  and  hunted  accordingly. 

The  "Nina"  was  blowing  the  signal  for  de- 
parture, the  only  sound  we  heard  all  through  the 
night,  as  we  drove  through  the  deserted  streets 
of  Georgetown,  and  soon  after  three  o'clock,  a.m., 
we  were  on  board  and  in  our  berths. 


CHAPTER  XVIII. 

Climate  of  the  Soutlipvii  Statca— Genernl  Beanrogard— 
Ki?ks  of  the  podt-olfite— Hiimil  of  New  ICnglnud— By 
railway  to  Sea  Icluiid  plantation— Sporting  in  South 
C'avolina— An  hour  ou  board  a  canoe  in  the  dark. 

April  2Wi. — In  the  morning  we  found  our- 
selves in  cliopping  little  sea-way  for  which  the 
"Nina"  was  particularly  unsuited,  laden  as  she 
was  with  provisions  and  })roduce.  Eyes  and 
glasses  anxiously  straining  seawards  for  any  trace 
of  the  blockading  vessels.  Every  sail  scrutinised, 
but  no  '  stars  and  stripes'  visible. 

Our  captain — a  good  specimen  of  one  of  the 
inland-water  navigators,  shrewd,  intelligent,  and 
active — told  me  a  good  deal  about  the  country. 
He  laughed  at  the  fears  of  the  whites  as  regards 
the  climate.  "Why,  hero  am  I," said  he,  "go- 
ing up  the  river,  and  down  the  river  all  times 
of  the  year,  and  at  times  of  day  and  night  when 
they  reckon  the  air  is  most  deadly,  and  I've  done 
so  for  years  without  any  bad  ettects.  The  plant- 
ers whose  houses  I  pass  all  run  away  in  May, 
and  go  off  to  Europe,  or  to  the  piney  wood,  or  to 
the  springs,  or  they'd  all  die.  There's  Captain 
Buck,  who  lives  above  here, — he  comes  from  the 
State  of  Maine.  He  had  only  a  thousand  dol- 
lars to  begin  with,  but  he  sets  to  work  and  gets 
land  on  the  Maccamaw  River  at  twenty  cents  an 
acre.  It  was  death  to  go  nigh  it,  but  it  was 
first-rate  rice  land,  and  Captain  Buck  is  now 
worth  a  million  of  dollars.  He  lives  on  his 
estate  all  the  year  round,  and  is  as  healthy  a 
man  as  ever  you  seen." 

To  such  historiettes  mj'  planting  friends  turn 
a  deaf  ear.  "I  tell  yuu  what,"  said  Pringle, 
"just  to  show  you  what  kind  our  climate  is.  I 
had  an  excellent  overseer  once,  who  would  in- 
sist on  staying  near  the  river,  and  wouldn't  go 
away.  He  fought  against  it  for  more  than  five- 
and-twenty  years,  but  he  went  down  with  fever 
at  last."  As  the  overseer  was  more  than  thirty 
years  of  age  when  he  came  to  the  estate,  he  had 
not  been  cut  otF  so  very  suddenly.  I  thought  of 
the  quack's  advertisement  of  the  "bad  leg  of 
sixty  years  standing."  The  captain  'says  the 
negroes  on  the  river  plantations  are  very  well 
off.  He  can  buy  enough  of  pork  from  the  slaves 
on  one  plantation  to  last  his  ship's  crew  for  the 
whole  winter.  The  money  goes  to  them,  as  the 
hogs  are  their  own.  One  of  the  stewards  on 
board  had  bought  himself  and  his  family  out  of 
bondage  with  his  earnings.  The  State  in  gen-, 
eral,  however,  does  not  approve  of  such  practices. 

At  three  o'clock,  p.m.,  ran  into  Charleston 
harbour,  and  landed  soon  afterwards. 


I  saw  General  Beauregard  in  the  evening  ;  lie 
was  very  lively  and  in  good  spirits,  though  he 
admitted  he  was  rather  surprised  by  the  sjiirit 
displayed  in  the  North.  "A  good  deal  of  it  is 
got  up,  however,"  he  said,  "and  belongs  to  that 
washy  sort  of  enthusiasm  which  is  promoted  by 
their  lecturing  and  spouting."  Beauregard  is 
very  proud  of  his  personal  strength,  which  for  his 
slight  frame  is  said  to  be  very  extraordinary,  and 
he  seemed  to  insist  on  it  that  the  Southern  men 
had  more  physical  strength,  owing  to  their  mode 
of  life  and  their  education,  than  their  Northern 
"  brethren."  In  the  evening  held  a  sort  of  tahnks 
consilium  in  the  hotel,  where  a  number  of  officers 
— Manning,  Lucas,  Chesnut,  Calhoun,  &c. — dis- 
coursed of  the  nflairs  of  the  nation.  All  my 
friends,  except  Trescot,  I  think  were  elated  at 
the  prospect  of  hostilities  with  the  North,  and 
overjoyed  that  a  South  Carolina  regiment  had 
already  set  out  for  the  frontiers  of  Virginia. 

April '>r>th. — Sent  oft"  my  letters  by  an  English 
gentleman,  who  was  taking  despatches  from  Mr. 
Bunch  to  Lord  Lyons,  as  the  post-othce  is  be- 
coming a  dangerous  institution.  We  hear  of  let- 
ters being  tampered  with  on  both  sides.  Adams's 
Express  Coniitany,  which  acts  as  a  sort  of  ex- 
press post  under  certain  conditions,  is  more  trust- 
worthy ;  but  it  is  doubtful  how  long  communica- 
tions will  be  i)ermitted  to  exist  between  the  two 
hostile  nations,  as  they  may  now  be  considered. 

Dined  with  Mr.  I'etigru,  who  had  most  kindly 
postponed  his  dinner  party  till  my  return  from 
the  plantations,  and  met  there  General  Beaure- 
gard, Judge  King,  and  others,  among  whom,  dis- 
tinguished for  their  cf}>rit  and  accomi)lishments, 
were  Mrs.  King  and  Mrs.  Carson,  daughters  of 
my  host.  The  dislike,  which  seems  innate,  to 
New  England  is  universal,  and  varies  only  in 
the  form  of  its  expression.  It  is  quite  true  Mr. 
Petigru  is  a  decided  Unionist,  but  he  is  the  sol* 
specimen  of  the  genus  in  Charleston,  and  he  is 
tolerated  on  account  of  his  rarity.  As  the  wit- 
ty, pleasant  old  man  trots  down  the  street,  utter- 
ly unconscious  of  the  world  around  him,  he  is 
jjointed  out  proudly  by  the  Carolinians  as  an  in- 
stance of  forbearance  on  their  ])art,  and  as  a 
proof  at  the  same  time  of  popular  unanimity  of 
sentiment. 

There  are  also  people  who  regret  the  dissolu- 
tion of  the  Union — such  as  Mr.  linger,  who  shed 
tears  in  talking  of  it  the  other  night ;  but  they 
regard  the  fact  very  much  as  they  would  the 
demolition  of  some  article  which  can  never  bo 
restored  and  reunited,  which  was  valued  for  the 
uses  it  rendered  and  its  antiquity. 

General  Beauregard  is  apprehensive  of  an  at- 
tack by  the  Northern  "  fanatics"  before  the  South 
is  prepared,  and  he  considers  they  will  carry  out 
coercive  measures  most  rigorously.  He  dreads 
the  cutting  of  the  levees,  or  high  artificial  works, 
raised  along  the  whole  course  of  the  Mississippi, 
for  many  hundreds  of  miles  above  New  Oilcans, 
which  the  Federals  may  resort  to  in  order  to 
drown  the  plantations  and  ruin  the  planters. 

We  had  a  good-humourel  argument  in  the 
evening  about  the  ethics  of  burning  the  Norfolk 
navy  yard.  The  Southerners  consider  the  ap- 
]>i'opriation  of  the  arms,  moneys,  and  stores  of 
the  United  States  as  rightful  acts,  inasmuch  as 
they  represent,  according  to  them,  their  contribu- 
tion, or  a  portion  of  it,  to  the  national  stock  in 
trade.     When  a  State  goes  out  of  the  Union  she 


MY  DIARY  ^^OUTH  AND  SOUTH. 


57 


should  br>  portnittcti  to  carry  her  forts,  nrmsi- 
mcnts,  iiisciinls,  &c.,  iiloiiK  witli  her,  aiul  it  was 
a  burning  simnie  for  the  Yani<ces  to  destroy  the 
{)roperty  of  Virginia  at  Norfolk.  Tliesc  ideas, 
and  inimy  like  them,  liavo  the  merit  of  novelty  to 
English  people,  who  were  accustomed  to  think 
there  were  such  things  as  the  Union  and  the 
people  of  the  United  States. 

April  2C>th. — Hade  good-by  to  Charleston  at 
9.4;")  a.m.  this  day,  and  proceeded  by  railway,  in 
company  with  Mr.  Ward,  to  visit  Mr.  Trcscot^s 
Sea  Island  Plantation.  Crossed  the  river  to  the 
terminus  in  a  ferry  steamer.  No  blockading 
vessels  in  sight  yet.  The  water  alive  with  small 
silvery  iish,  like  mullet,  which  sj)rang  up  and 
leaped  along  the  surface  incessantly.  An  old 
gentleman,  who  was  fishing  on  the  jiier,  com- 
bined the  pursuit  of  sport  with  instruction  very 
ingeniously  by  means  of  a  fork  of  bamboo  in  his 
rod,  just  above  the  reel,  into  which  he  stuck  his 
inevitable  newspaper,  and  read  gravely  in  his 
cane-bottomed  chair  till  he  had  a  bite,  when  the 
fork  was  unhitched  and  the  fish  was  landed. 
Tiie  negroes  are  very  much  addicted  to  the  con- 
templative man's  recreation,  and  they  were  fish- 
ing in  all  directions. 

On  the  move  again.  Took  our  places  in  the 
Charleston  and  Savannah  Railway  for  Pocotali- 
go,  which  is  the  station  for  Barnwell  Island. 
Our  fellow-passengers  were  all  full  of  politics — 
the  pretty  women  being  the  fiercest  of  all — no  ! 
the  least  good-looking  were  the  most  bitterly 
patriotic,  as  if  they  hoped  to  talk  themselves  into 
husbands  by  the  ipost  unfcminine  expressions 
towards  the  Yankees. 

The  country  is  a  dead  flat,  perforated  by  riv- 
ers and  watercourses,  over  which  the  rail  is  car- 
ried on  long  and  lofty  trestle-work.  But  for  the 
fine  trees,  the  magnolias  and  live  oak,  the  land- 
scape Avould  be  unbearably  hideous,  for  there  are 
none  of  the  quaint,  cleanly,  delightful  villages  of 
Holland  to  relieve  the  monotonous  level  of  rice 
swamps  and  wastes  of  land  and  water  and  mud. 
At  the  humble  little  stations  there  were  invari- 
ably groups  of  horsemen  waiting  under  the  trees, 
ami  ladies  with  their  black  nurses  and  servants 
who  had  driven  over  in  the  odd-looking  old- 
fashioned  vehicles  which  were  drawn  up  in  the 
shade.  Those  who  were  going  on  a  long  jour- 
ney, aware  of  the  utter  barrenness  of  the  land, 
took  with  them  a  viaticum  and  bottles  of  milk. 
The  nurses  and  slaves  squatted  down  by  their 
side  in  the  train,  on  perfectly  well-understood 
lerms.  No  one  objected  to  their  presence — on 
the  contrary,  the  passengers  treated  them  with  a 
certain  sort  of  special  consideration,  and  they 
were  on  the  hap])iest  terms  with  their  cliarges, 
some  of  which  were  in  the  absorbent  condition 
of  life,  and  dived  their  little  white  faces  against 
the  tawny  bosom  of  their  nurses  with  anything 
but  reluctance. 

The  train  stopped,  at  12.20,  at  Pocotaligo; 
and  there  we  found  Mr.  Trescot  and  a  coui)le 
of  neighbouring  planters,  famous  as  fishers  for 
"drum,"  of  which  more  by-and-byc.  I  had  met 
old  Mr.  Elliot  in  Charleston,  and  his  account  of 
tliis  sport,  and  of  the  pursuit  of  an  enormous  sea 
monster  called  the  devil-fish,  which  he  wa-i  one 
of  the  first  to  kill  in  these  waters,  excited  my 
curiosity  very  much.  Mr.  Elliot  has  written  a 
most  agreeable  account  of  the  sports  of  South 
Carolina,  and  I  had  hoped  he  would  have  been 


well  enough  to  have  been  my  guide,  philoso])lier, 
and  friend  in  drum  fishing  in  Port  Royal ;  but 
he  sent  over  his  son  to  say  that  he  was  too  un- 
well to  come,  and  had  therefore  dispatched  most 
excellent  representatives  in  two  members  of  his 
family.  It  was  arranged  that  they  should  row 
down  from  their  place  and  meet  \is  to-UKunow 
morning  at  Trescot's  Island,  winch  lies  above 
Beaufort,  in  Port  Royal  Sound  and  river. 

Got  into  Trescot's  gig,  and  plunged  into  a 
shady  lane  with  wood  on  each  side,  through 
which  we  drove  for  some  distance.  The  coun- 
try, on  each  side  and  bcyoml,  perfectly  flat — all 
rice  lands — few  houses  visible — scarcely  a  human 
being  on  the  road  —  drove  six  or  seven  nules 
without  meeting  a  soid.  After  a  couple  of  hours 
or  so,  I  should  think,  the  gig  turned  up  by  an 
open  gateway  on  a  ])ath  or  road  nuide  through  n 
waste  of  rich  black  mud,  "glorious  for  rice," 
and  landed  us  at  the  door  of  a  planter,  Mr  Hey- 
ward,  who  came  out  and  gave  us  a  most  hearty 
welcome,  in  the  true  Southern  style.  Ilis  house 
is  charming,  surrounded  with  trees,  and  covered 
with  roses  and  creepers,  through  which  bn-ds  and 
butterflies  arc  flying.  Mr.  Ilayward  took  it  as 
a  matter  of  course  that  we  stopjicd  to  dnuier, 
which  we  were  by  no  means  disinclined  to  do,  as 
the  day  was  hot,  the  road  was  dusty,  and  his  re- 
ception frank  and  kindly.  A  fine  specimen  of 
the  i)lanter  man  ;  and,  minus  his  broad-brimmed 
straw  hat  and  loose  clothing,  not  a  bud  repre- 
sentative of  an  English  scjuire  at  home. 

Whilst  we  were  sitting  in  the  porch,  a  strange 
sort  of  booming  noise  attracted  my  attention  in 
one  of  the  trees.  "  It  is  a  rain-crow,"  said  Mr. 
Hey  ward ;  "a  bird  which  we  believe  to  foretell 
rain.  I'll  shoot  it  for  you."  And,  going  into 
the  hall,  he  took  down  a  double-barreled  fowl- 
ing-piecc,  walked  out,  and  fired  into  the  tree  j 
whence  the  rain-crow,  poor  creature,  fell  flutter- 
ing to  the  ground  and  died.  It  seemed  to  me  a 
kind  of  cuckoo  —  the  same  size,  but  of  darker 
jilumage.  I  could  gather  no  facts  to  account 
for  the  impression  that  it's  call  is  a  token  of  rain. 

Jly  attention  was  also  called  to  a  curious  kind 
of  snake-killing  hawk,  or  falcon,  which  makes  an 
extraordinary  noise  by  ])uttiug  its  wings  ])oint 
upwards,  close  together,  above  its  back,  so  as  to 
offer  no  resistance  to  the  air,  and  then,  beginning 
to  descend  from  a  great  height,  with  fast-increas- 
ing rapidity,  makes,  by  its  rushing  through  the 
air,  a  strange  loud  hum,  till  it  is  near  the  ground, 
when  the  bird  stops  its  downward  swoop  and  flies 
in  a  curve  over  the  meadow.  This  I  saw  two 
of  these  birds  doing  repeatedly  to-night. 

After  dinner,  at  which  Mr.  Ilcyward  express- 
ed some  alarm  lest  Secession  would  deprive  the 
Southern  States  of  "ice,"  we  continued  our  jour- 
ney towards  the  river.  There  is  still  a  remark- 
able absence  of  pojjulation  or  life  along  the  road, 
and  even  the  houses  are  cither  hiilden  or  lie  too 
far  off"  to  be  seen.  The  trees  are  much  admired 
by  the  peo])le,  though  they  would  not  be  thought 
much  of  in  England. 

At  length,  towards  sundown,  having  taken  to 
a  track  by  a  forest,  jjart  of  which  was  burning, 
we  came  to  a  broad  muddy  river,  with  steep  clay 
hanks.  A  canoe  was  lying  in  a  little  harbour 
formed  by  a  slope  in  the  bank,  and  four  stout 
negroes,  who  were  seated  round  a  burning  log, 
engaged  in  smoking  and  eating  oysters,  rose  ns 
we  approached,  and  helped  the  party  into  the 


i  ; ' 
{■ 


!:: 


1> 


58 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


"dug-out,"  or  cfinoc,  a  narrow,  long,  nnd  heavy 
bout,  with  wull  sides  and  a  flat  floor.  A  row  of 
one  hour,  the  latter  part  of  it  in  darkness,  took 
us  to  the  verge  of  Mr.  Trescot's  estate,  Barnwell 
Island ;  and  the  oarsmen,  as  they  hent  to  their 
task,  beguiled  the  way  by  singing  in  unison  a 
real  negro  melody,  which  was  as  unlike  the  works 
of  the  Ethiopian  Serenaders  as  anything  in  SDUg 
could  be  unlike  another.  It  was  a  barbaric  sort 
of  madrigal,  in  which  one  singer  beginning  was 
followed  by  the  otiicrs  in  unison,  rejieating  the 
refrain  in  chorus,  and  full  of  quaint  expression 
and  melancholy: — 

"  Oh,  yoiir  soul  1  oil,  my  houI  !  I'm  going  to  tlio  church- 
yard to  hiy  tliii*  body  down  ; 
Oh,  my  soul !  oli,  your  soul !  we're  going  to  tlie  cliurch- 
yurd  to  lay  thia  nigger  down." 

And  then  some  appeal  to  the  difficulty  of  passing 
"the  Jawdam,"  constituted  the  whole  of  the 
song,  which  continued  with  unobated  energy 
during  the  whole  of  the  little  voyage.  To  me 
it  was  a  strange  scene.  The  stream,  dark  as 
Lethe,  flawing  between  the  silent,  houseless,  rug- 
ged banks,  lighted  up  near  the  Inntling  by  the 
tire  in  the  woods,  which  reddened  the  sky— the 
wild  strain,  and  the  unearthly  adjurations  to  the 
singers'  souls,  jis  though  they  were  pali)ablc,  put 
me  in  mind  of  the  fancied  voyage  across  the 
Styx. 

'"  Here  wc  are  at  last."  All  I  could  see  was 
n  dark  shadow  of  trees  and  the  tops  of  rushes 
by  the  river  side.  "  Mind  where  you  step,  and 
follow  me  close,"  And  so,  groping  along  through 
a  thick  shrubbery  for  a  short  space,  I  came  out 
on  a  garden  and  enclosure,  in  the  midst  of  which 
the  white  outlines  of  a  house  were  visible.  Lights 
in  the  drawing-room — a  lady  to  receive  and  wel- 
come us — a  snug  library — tea,  and  to  bed:  but 
not  without  more  talk  about  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy, in  which  Mrs.  Trescot  explained  how 
easily  she  could  feed  an  army,  from  her  experi- 
ence in  feeding  her  negroes. 


CHAPTER  XIX. 

Domcatio  negroes  —  Negro  oarsmen  —  Off  to  the  fisliing- 
grounda  —  The  devil-fish  —  Bnd  Bport  —  The  drum-lish 
— Ncgro-qiiartera— Want  of  drainage  —  Thievish  pro- 
pensities of  the  blaclu— A  Southern  estimate  of  8outli- 
ernors. 

April  21th. — Mrs.  Trescot,  it  seems,  spent  part 
of  her  night  in  attendance  on  a  young  gentleman 
of  colour,  who  was  introduced  i.ito  the  world  in 
a  state  of  servitude  by  his  poor  chattel  of  a  moth- 
er. Such  kindly  acts  as  these  are  more  common 
than  we  may  suppose ;  and  it  would  be  unfair  to 
put  a  strict  or  unfair  construction  on  the  motives 
of  slave  owners  in  paying  such  attention  to  their 
property.  Indeed,  as  Mrs.  Trescot  says,  "When 
people  talk  of  my  having  so  many  slaves,  I  al- 
ways tell  them  it  is  the  slaves  who  own  me. 
Morning,  noon,  and  night,  I'm  obliged  to  look 
after  them,  to  doctor  them,  and  attend  to  them 
in  every  way."  Property  has  its  duties,  you  see, 
madam,  as  well  as  its  rights. 

The  planter's  house  is  quite  new,  and  was  built 
by  himself;  the  principal  material  being  wood, 
and  most  of  the  work  being  done  by  his  own  ne- 
groes. Such  work  as  window-sashes  and  panel- 
lings, however,  was  executed  in  Charleston.  A 
pretty  garden  runs  at  the  back,  and  from  the 
windows  there  are  wide  stretches  of  cotton-fields 
visible,  and  glimpses  of  the  river  to  be  seen. 


After  breakfast  our  little  party  repaired  to  the 
river-side,  and  sat  under  the  shade  of  some  noble 
trees  waiting  for  the  boat  which  was  to  bear  us  to 
the  fishing-grounds,^  The  wind  blew  uj)  stream, 
running  with  the  tide,  and  we  strained  our  eyes 
in  vain  for  the  boat.  The  river  is  here  nearly  a 
mile  across, — a  noblo  estuary  rather, — with  low 
banks  lined  with  forests,  into  which  the  axe  has 
made  deep  forays  and  clearings  for  cotton-fields. 
It  would  have  astonished  a  stray  English  trav- 
eler, if,  ]ienetrating  the  shade,  he  heard  in  such 
an  out-of-the-way  place  familiar  names  and 
things  spoken  of  by  the  three  lazy  persons  who 
were  stretched  out — cigar  in  mouth — on  the  ant- 
haunted  trunks  which  lay  prostrate  by  the  sea- 
shore. Mr.  Trescot  spent  some  time  in  London 
as  atlachi!  to  the  United  States  Legation,  was  a 
clubman,  and  had  a  large  circle  of  acquaintance 
among  the  young  men  about  town,  of  whom  ho 
remembered  many  anecdotes  and  peculiarities, 
and  little  adventures.  Since  that  time  he  was 
Under-Secretary  of  State  in  Mr.  Buchanan's  ad- 
ministration, and  went  out  with  Secession.  Ho 
is  the  author  of  a  very  agreeable  book  on  a  dry 
subject,  "The  History  of  American  Diplomacy," 
which  is  curious  enough  as  an  unconscious  ex- 
position of  the  anti-British  jealousies,  and  even 
antipathies,  which  have  animated  American 
statesmen  since  they  were  created.  In  fact, 
much  of  American  diplomacy  means  hostility  tc 
England,  and  the  skilful  employment  of  the  anti- 
British  sentiment  at  their  disposal  in  their  own 
country  and  elsewhere.  Now  he  was  talking 
jileasantly  of  people  he  had  met — many  of  thera 
mutual  friends. 

"Here  is  the  boat  at  last  i"  I  had  been  sweep- 
ing the  broad  river  with  my  glass  occasionally, 
and  at  length  detected  a  speck  on  its  broad  sur- 
face moving  down  towards  us,  with  a  w'hite  dot 
marking  the  foam  at  its  bows.  Spite  of  wind 
and  tideway,  it  came  rapidly,  and  soon  approach- 
ed us,  pulled  by  six  powerful  negroes,  attired  in 
red  flannel  jackets  and  white  straw  hats  with 
broad  ribands.  The  craft  itself — a  kind  of  mon- 
ster canoe,  some  forty-five  feet  long,  narrow, 
wall-sided,  with  high  bow  and  raised  stern — lay 
deep  in  the  water,  for  there  were  extra  negroes 
for  the  fishing,  servants,  baskets  of  jjrovisions, 
water  buckets,  stone  jars  of  less  innocent  drink- 
ing, and  abaft  there  was  a  knot  of  great  strong 
planters — Elliots  all — cousins,  uncles,  and  broth- 
ers. A  friendly  hail  as  they  swept  up  alongside, 
— an  exchange  of  salutations. 

"  Well, Trescot,  have  you  got  plenty  of  crabs?" 
A  groan  burst  forth  at  his  insouciant  reply, 
lie  had  been  charged  to  find  bait,  and  he  had 
told  the  negroes  to  do  so,  and  the  negroes  had 
not  done  so.  The  fishermen  looked  grievously 
at  eacli  other,  and  fiercely  at  Trescot,  who  as- 
sumed an  air  of  recklessness,  and  threw  doubts 
on  the  existence  of  fish  in  the  river,  and  resorted 
to  similar  miserable  subterfuges;, indeed,  it  was 
subsequently  discovered  that  lie'  ms  an  utter  in- 
fidel in  regard  to  the  delights  of  piscicapture. 

"Now,  all  aboard!  Over,  you  fellows,  and 
take  these  gentlemen  in !"  The  negroes  were 
over  in  a  moment,  waist  deep,  and,  each  taking 
one  on  his  back,  deposited  us  dry  in  the  boat.  I 
only  mention  this  to  record  the  fact,  that  I  was 
much  impressed  by  a  practical  demonstration 
from  my  bearer  respecting  the  strong  odour  of 
the  skin  of  a  heated  African.    I  have  been 


■itk- 

I 


wedged  up  i 
an<l  have  n 
India,  but  t 
negro  excec 
unfortunate 

The  vcs8( 
ri))ple,  cau! 
against  us ; 
stowed  on  t 
tlu!  labour  ( 
through  tl:. 
who  had  air 
Novertheles 
gan  accord! 
about  the  ,. 
destitute  of 
ed  an  Ethic 

The  banli 
on  the  left 
here  and  t 
planter's  or 
this  great  ( 
sometimes 
away  and  p 
is  much  val 
fineness  of  I 
"Cotton  at 
the  world." 

As  the  be 
which  lay  t( 
ton  Head,  c 
ing  combim 
the  second  ( 

I  heard  r 
frequents  tli 
Elliot,  sen., 
with  a  mel 
famous  har 
hair-breadti 
is  described 
monster  raj 
naj-like  hor 
pers,  one  of 
creature  m( 
ers,  as  they 
three  or  foi 
sharp  harpo 
they  percei 
lead,  and  n 
lowing,  eac 
bow.     The 
dives,  when 
spell  below 
times,  how( 
so  near  as 
or  it  dives 
tlie  boats  a 
fixed,  the  1 
creature,  w 
and  all  the 
after  anoth 
the  lucky  s 
the  line  is 
much  as  cs 
their  oars  a 
swims  so  f 
taught,  an( 
It  depends 
ine  how  so( 
the  line  is 
boats  are  b 
up  it  is  att 


MY  DIARY  NOUTH  AND  SOUTH. 


S9 


wc  Jged  up  in  a  column  of  infantry  on  a  hot  day, 
and  have  niarciicd  to  lecwiinl  of  (iliooiklias  in 
Inilia,  Imt  tiie  ovcrpoworinK  i)iingcMU  smell  of  the 
nej^ro  exceeds  every thint»  of  the  kind  I  liavc  been 
unfortunate  enough  to  experience. 

The  vessel  was  soon  movin(»  again,  against  a 
ripple,  caused  by  the  wind,  which  blew  dead 
against  us ;  and  notwithstanding  the  pniises  be- 
stowed on  the  boat,  it  was  easy  to  perceive  tluit 
th(!  labour  of  pulling  such  a  dead-Iog-liko  thing 
through  tl:.3  water  told  severely  on  the  rowers, 
who  had  already  come  some  twelve  miles,  I  think. 
Nevertheless,  they  were  told  to  sing,  and  they  be- 
gan accordingly  one  of  those  wild  Baptist  chants 
about  the  Jordan  in  which  they  delight, — not 
destitute  of  music,  but  utterly  unlike  what  is  call- 
ed an  Ethioj)ian  melody. 

The  banks  of  the  river  on  both  sides  are  low ; 
on  the  left  covered  with  rvood,  through  which, 
here  and  there,  at  intervals,  one  could  see  a 
pliinter's  or  overseer's  cottage.  The  course  of 
this  great  combination  of  salt  and  fresh  water 
sometimes  changes,  so  that  houses  arc  swept 
away  and  plantations  submerged  ;  but  the  land 
is  much  valued  nevertheless,  on  account  of  the 
lineness  of  the  cotton  grown  among  the  islands. 
*'  Cotton  at  12  cents  a  pound,  and  we  don't  fear 
the  world." 

As  the  boat  was  going  to  the  fishing-ground, 
which  lay  towards  the  mouth  of  the  rive  at  Hil- 
ton Head,  our  friends  talked  politics  and  sport- 
ing combined, — the  first  of  the  usual  character, 
the  second  quite  new. 

I  heard  much  of  the  mi^jhty  devil-fish  which 
frequents  these  waters.  One  of  our  party,  Mr. 
Elliot,  sen.,  a  tall,  knotty,  gnarled  sort  of  man, 
with  a  mellow  eye  and  a  hearty  voice,  was  a 
famous  hand  at  the  sport,  and  had  had  some 
hair-breadth  escaj)es  in  pursuit  of  it.  The  fish 
is  described  as  of  enormous  size  and  strength,  a 
monster  ray,  which  possesses  formidable  anten- 
naj-like  horns,  .and  a  pair  of  huge  fins,  or  flap- 
pers, one  of  which  rises  above  the  water  as  the 
creature  moves  below  the  surface.  The  hunt- 
ers, as  they  may  be  called,  go  out  in  parties — 
three  or  four  boats,  or  more,  with  good  store  of 
sharp  harpoons  and  tow-lines,  and  lances.  When 
they  perceive  the  creature,  one  boat  takes  the 
lead,  and  moves  down  towards  it,  the  others  fol- 
lowing, each  with  a  harpooner  standing  in  the 
bow.  The  devil-fish  sometimes  is  wary,  and 
dives,  when  it  sees  a  boat,  taking  such  a  long 
spell  below  that  it  is  never  seen  again.  At  other 
times,  however,  it  backs,  and  lets  the  boat  come 
so  near  as  to  allow  of  the  harpooner  striking  it, 
or  it  dives  for  a  short  way  and  comes  up  near 
the  boats  again.  The  moment  the  harpoon  is 
fixed,  the  lino  is  paid  out  by  the  rush  of  the 
creature,  which  is  made  with  trdfhiendous  force, 
and  all  the  boats  at  once  hurry  up,  so  that  one 
after  another  they  are  made  fast  to  that  in  which 
the  lucky  sportsman  is  seated.  At  length,  when 
the  line  is  run  out,  checked  from  time  to  time  as 
much  as  can  be  done  with  safety,  the  crew  take 
their  oars  and  follow  the  course  of  the  ray,  which 
swims  so  fast,  however,  that  it  keeps  the  line 
taught,  and  drags  the  whole  flotilla  seawards. 
It  depends  on  its  size  and  strength  to  determ- 
ine how  soon  it  rises  to  the  surface ;  by  degrees 
the  line  is  warped  in  and  hove  short  till  the 
boats  are  brought  near,  and  when  the  ray  comes 
up  it  is  attacked  with  a  shower  of  lances  and 


harpoons,  and  dragged  off  into  shoal  water  to 
die. 

On  one  occasion,  our  Nimrod  told  us,  lu;  was 
standing  in  the  bows  of  the  boat,  harpoon  in 
hand,  when  a  devil-fish  came  up  close  to  him  ; 
he  threw  tho  harpoon,  struck  it,  but  at  the  same 
time  the  boat  ran  against  the  creature  with  a 
shock  which  tiu'cw  liim  right  forward  on  its 
back,  and  in  an  instant  it  caught  him  in  its  hor- 
rid arms  and  plunged  down  with  him  to  the 
depths.  Imagine  the  horror  of  the  moment ! 
Imagine  tho  joy  of  the  terrified  drowning,  dying 
man,  when,  for  some  inscrutable  reason,  tho 
devil-fish  relaxed  its  grip,  and  enabled  him  to 
strike  for  the  surface,  where  he  was  dragged 
into  the  boat  more  dead  than  alive  by  his  terror- 
smitten  companions, — the  only  man  who  ever 
got  out  of  the  embraces  of  the  thing  alive. 
"Tom  is  so  tough  that  even  the  devil-fish  could 
make  nothing  out  of  him." 

At  last  we  came  to  our  fishing-ground.  There 
was  a  .substitute  found  for  the  favourite  crab,  and 
it  was  fondly  hoped  our  toils  might  be  rewarded 
with  success.  And  these  were  toils,  for  the  wa- 
ter is  deej)  and  the  lines  heavy.  But  to  alleviate 
them,  some  hampers  were  produced  from  the 
stern,  and  wonilerful  pies  from  Mrs.  Treseot's 
hands,  and  from  those  of  fair  ladies  up  the  river 
whom  we  shall  never  sec,  were  spread  out,  and 
bottles  which  represented  distant  cellars  in  friend- 
ly nooks  far  away.  "No  drum  here!  Up  an- 
chor, and  pull  away  a  few  miles  lower  down." 
Trescot  shook  his  head,  and  again  asserted  his 
disbelief  in  fishmg,  or  rather  in  catching,  and  in- 
deed made  a  sort  of  pretence  at  arguinp  that  it 
was  wiser  to  remain  quiet  and  talk  philosophical 
politics ;  but,  as  judge  of  appeal,  I  gave  it  against 
iiim,  and  the  negroes  bent  to  their  oars,  and  we 
went  thumping  through  the  spray,  till,  rounding 
a  point  of  land,  we  saw  pitched  on  the  sandy 
shore  ahead  of  us,  on  tlie  right  bank,  a  tent,  and 
close  by  two  boats.  "There  is  a  party  at  itl" 
A  fire  was  burning  on  the  beach,  and  as  we  came 
near,  Tom  and  Jack  and  Harry  were  successive- 
ly identified.  "There's  no  take  on,  or  they 
would  not  be  on  shore.  This  is  very  unfor- 
tunate." 

All  the  regret  of  my  friends  was  on  my  ac- 
count, so  to  ease  their  minds  I  assured  them  I 
did  not  mind  the  disappointment  much.  "  Hallo, 
Dick!  Caught  any  drum  ?"  "  A  few  this  morn- 
ing ;  bad  sport  now,  and  will  be  till  tide  turns 
again."  I  was  introduced  to  all  the  party  from 
a  distance,  and  presently  I  saw  one  of  them  rais- 
ing  from  a  boat  something  in  look  and  shape  and 
colour  like  a  sack  of  flour,  which  he  gave  to  a 
negro,  who  proceeded  to  carry  it  towards  us  in 
a  little  skiff.  "Thank  you,  Charley.  I  just 
want  to  let  Mr.  Russell  see  a  drum-fish."  And  a 
very  odd  fish  it  was, — a  tliick  lumpish  form,  al)Out 
4.2  feet  long,  with  enormous  head  and  scales,  and 
teeth  like  the  grinders  of  a  ruminant  animal,  /.ct- 
ing  on  a  great  pad  of  bone  in  the  roof  of  the 
mouth, — a  very  unlovely  thing,  swollen  with  roe, 
which  is  the  great  delicacy. 

"No  chance  till  the  tide  turned," — but  that 
would  be  too  late  for  our  return,  and  so  unwill- 
ingly we  were  compelled  to  steer  towards  home, 
hearing  now  and  then  the  singular  noise  like  the 
tap  on  a  large  unbraced  drum,  from  which  the 
fish  takes  its  name.  At  first,  when  I  heard  it, 
I  was  inclined  to  think  it  was  made  by  some  one 


i.    < 


i 


i;:,,'! 


fiO 


MY  DIAllY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


,  1 


in  tlio  1)0ivt,  so  tinnr  nnd  Hose  did  it  sound ;  bnt 
soon  it  came  from  all  sidos  of  ns,  ami  evidently 
from  tlio  depths  of  the  water  heneatli  ns,— not  a 
shari)  rat-tat-tap,  but  a  full  mutHed  blow  with  a 
heavy  thud  on  the  sheepskin.  Mr.  Treseot  told 
mo  that  on  a  still  evening  by  the  river-side  the 
effeet  sometimes  is  most  curious, — the  rollinj,' 
and  patterint;  is  audible  at  a  great  distanee.  Our 
friemls  were  in  exeellent  humour  with  every- 
thiii);  and  everybody,  except  the  Yankees,  though 
they  had  caught  no  iish,  ami  kept  the  negroes  at 
singing  and  rowing  till  at  niglitfall  we  landed  at 
the  island,  and  so  to  bed  after  sujiper  and  a  little 
conversation,  in  which  Mrs.  Treseot  again  ex- 
jihiined  how  easily  she  could  maintain  a  battal- 
ion on  the  island  by  her  simple  commissariat, 
alrea<ly  adapted  to  the  niggers,  atid  that  it  would 
thercfo'c  be  very  easy  for  the  Soutli  to  feed  an 
army  if  the  people  were  friendly. 

Ajiril  2Sth. — The  church  is  a  long  way  off, 
only  available  by  a  boat  and  then  a  drive  in  a 
carriage.  In  the  morning  a  child  brings  in  my 
water  nnd  boots  —  an  intelligent,  curly-headed 
creature,  dressed  in  a  sort  of  sack,  without  any 
particular  waist,  barefooted.  1  imagined  it  was 
a  hoy  till  it  told  me  it  was  a  girl.  I  asked  if  she 
was  going  to  church,  which  seemed  to  puzzle 
her  exceedingly;  but  she  told  me  finally  she 
would  hear  jn-aycrs  from  "uncle"  in  one  of  the 
cottages.  The  use  of  the  words  "uncle"  and 
"aunt"  for  old  people  is  very  general.  Is  it  be- 
cause they  have  no  fathers  and  mothers?  In  the 
course  of  the  day,  the  child,  wl;p  was  fourteen 
or  fifteen  years  of  age,  asked  me  "^vhether  I 
would  not  buy  her.  Slie  conld  wash  nnd  sew 
very  well,  and  she  thought  missus  wouldn't  want 
much  for  her."  The  object  she  had  in  view 
leaked  out  at  last.  It  was  a  desire  to  see  the 
glories  of  Beaufort,  of  which  she  had  heard  from 
the  fishermen ;  nnd  she  seemed  quite  wonder- 
struck  when  she  was  informed  I  did  not  live 
there,  and  had  never  seen  it.  She  had  never 
been  outside  the  plantation  in  her  life. 

After  breakfast  we  loitered  about  the  grounds, 
strolling  through  the  cotton-fields,  which  had  as 
yet  j)ut  forth  no  bloom  or  flower,  and  coming 
down  others  to  the  thick  fringes  of  wood  and 
sedge  bordering  the  marshy  banks  of  the  island. 
The  silence  was  ])rofound,  broken  only  by  the 
husky  mid-day  crowing  of  the  cocks  in  the  negro 
quarters. 

In  the  afternoon  I  took  a  short  drive  "  to  see 
a  tree,"  which  was  not  very  remarkable,  and 
looked  in  at  the  negro  quarters  and  the  cotton 
mill.  The  old  negroes  were  mostly  indoors,  and 
came  shambling  out  to  the  doors  of  their  wooden 
cottages,  making  clumsy  bows  at  our  approach, 
but  not  cxjircssing  any  interest  or  pleasure  at 
the  sight  of  their  master  and  the  strangers.  They 
were  shabbily  clad  ;  in  tattered  clothes,  bad  straw 
hats  and  felt  bonnets,  and  broken  shoes.  The 
latter  are  ?xpensivc  articles,  and  negroes  cannot 
dig  withoi.t  them.  Treseot  sighed  as  he  spoko 
of  the  increase  of  price  since  the  troubles  broke 
out. 

The  huts  stand  in  a  row,  like  a  street,  each  de- 
tached, with  a  poultry-house  of  i  ude  planks  be- 
hind it.  The  mutilations  which  the  poultry  un- 
dergo for  the  sake  of  distinction  are  striking. 
Some  are  deprived  of  a  claw,  others  have  the  wat- 
tles cut,  and  tails  and  wings  suffer  in  all  ways. 
No  attempt  at  any  drainage  or  any  convenience 


existc'l  near  them,  and  the  same  remark  apjilies 
to  very  good  Iioum's  of  white  jicoph?  in  the  south. 
Heaps  of  oyster-shells,  broken  crockery,  old  shoes, 
!  rags,  and  feathers  were  found  near  each  hut. 
j  The  huts  were  all  alike  windowless,  and  the  aper- 
j  tares,  intended  lo  be  glazed  some  fine  day,  w  ere 
]  generally  filled  np  with  a  deal  hoard.    The  roofs 
were  shingle,  and  the  whitewasl.  ,i  i'"  -h  had  once 
I  given  the  settlement  an  air  of  tie  tidiness,  was 
I  now  only  to  be  traced  by  patches  'vei'h  had  es- 
cajjecl  the  action  of  the  rain.     1  observed  that 
many  of  the  doors  were  fastened  by  a  ])a(ll()ek 
'and  chain  outside.     "Why  is  that?"      "Tho 
j  owners  have  gone  out,  and  honesty  is  not  a  vir- 
tue they  have  towards  each  other.     They  woidd 
find  their  things  stolen  if  they  did  not  lock  their 
doors."      Mrs.  Treseot,  however,  insisted  on  it 
that  nothing  could  exceed   the  probity  of  the 
slaves  in  the  house,  except  in  regard  to  sweet 
things,  sugar  and  the  like;  but  money  and  jew- 
els were  quite  safe.    It  is  obvious  that  some  rea- 
son must  exist  for  this  regard  to  the  distinctions 
twixt  menm  nnd  tu\im  in  the  case  of  nwisters 
and  mistresses,  when  it  docs  not  guide  their  con- 
duct  towards  each  other,  and  I  think  it  might 
easily  be  fonnd  in  the  fact  that  the  negroes  could 
scarcely  take  money  without  detecticm.     iJewels 
and  iewellery  would  be  of  little  value  to  them  ; 
they  could  not  wear  them,  could  not  jiart  with 
them.     The  system  has  made  the  white  ])(.]  illa- 
tion a  ])olice  against  the  black  race,  and  tlie  ])un- 
ishment  is  not  only  sure  bnt  grievous.      Such 
things  as  they  can  steal  from  each  other  are  not 
to  be  so  readily  traced. 

One  particularly  dirty-looking  little  hut  was 
described  to  me  as  "  the  church."  It  was  about 
fifteen  feet  square,  begrimed  with  dirt  and  smoke, 
and  windowless.  A  few  benches  were  i)laced 
across  it,  and  "the  i)reaeher,"a  slave  from  an- 
other plantation,  was  expected  next  week.  These 
preachings  are  not  encouraged  in  many  ])lanta- 
tions.  They  "do  the  niggers  no  good" — "they 
talk  about  things  that  are  going  on  elsewhere, 
and  get  their  minds  nnsettled,"  and  so  on. 

On  our  return  to  th6  honse,  I  found  that  Mr. 
Edmund  Rhett,  one  of  the  active  and  influential 
political  family  of  that  name,  had  called — a  very 
intelligent  and  agreeable  gentleman,  but  one  of 
the  most  ultra  and  violent  speakers  against  the 
Yankees  I  have  yet  heard.  He  declared  there 
were  few  persons  in  Sontii  Carolina  who  would 
not  sooner  ask  great  Britain  to  take  back  tho 
State  than  submit  to  the  triumph  of  the  Yan- 
kees. "We  arc  an  agricultural  people,  pursuing 
our  own  system,  and  working  out  our  own  des- 
tiny, breeding  up  women  nnd  men  with  some 
other  purpose  than  to  make  them  vulgar,  fanati- 
cal, cheating  Yankees — hyj)Ocritical,  if  as  women 
they  pretend  to^cal  virtue  ;  and  lying,  if  as  men 
they  pretend  to  be  honest.  We  have  gentlemen 
and  gentlewomen  in  your  sense  of  it.  We  have 
a  system  which  enables  ns  to  reap  the  fruits  of 
the  earth  by  a  race  which  we  save  from  barbar- 
ism in  restoring  them  to  their  real  place  in  the 
world  as  laborers,  whilst  we  are  enabled  to  cul- 
tivate the  arts,  the  graces,  and  accomplishments 
of  life,  to  develop  science,  to  apply  ourselves  to 
the  duties  of  government,  anu  to  understand  the 
affairs  of  the  coimtry." 

This  is  a  very  common  line  of  remark  here. 
The  Southerners  also  take  pride  to  themselves, 
and  not  unjustly,  for  their  wisdom  in  keeping  in 


MY  DIARY  NOUTII  AND  SOUTH. 


ei 


Congress  those  men  who  linvc  provinl  th(•nls^■lv(•8 
useful  and  cii|jublc.  "We  ilo  not,'"  tlioy  say, 
'•cast  able  men  aside  at  the  caprices  of  a  mob, 
or  in  obedience  to  H(jmc  low  jiarty  iutri^^iie,  and 
hence  wo  are  sure  of  the  best  men,  and  are  served 
by  gentlemen  conversant  with  imblic  atl'airs,  far 
superior  in  every  way  to  the  i^rnorant  clowns  who 
are  sent  to  Congress  by  tiie  North.  Look  at  the 
fellows  who  are  sent  out  by  Lincoln  to  insult 
foreign  courts  by  their  presence."  I  said  that  1 
un<lerstood  Mr.  Adams  and  Mr.  Drayton  were 
very  respectable  gentlemen,  but  I  did  not  receive 
any  sympathy ;  in  iact,  a  ntuUral  who  attempts 
to  moderate  the  violence  of  either  side,  is  very 
like  an  ice  between  two  hot  plates.  Mr.  iihett  is 
also  persuaded  that  the  Lord  Chancellor  sits  on 
a  cotton-i)ale.  "You  must  recognise  us,  sir,  be- 
fore the  end  of  October."  In  the  evening  a  dis- 
tant thunder-storm  attracted  mo  to  the  garden, 
and  I  remained  out  watching  the  broad  flashes 
and  slieets  of  tire  worthy  of  the  tropics  till  it  was 
bed-time. 

CHAPTER  XX. 

By  rnilway  to  .'=<avanniih— Doncriptiim  of  tlio  city — T!u- 
numrM  of  tlio  liiKt  fow  ddyH — Stiitu  of  alTiiirs  iit  WiiHliing- 
tou— l'1'epiiriitionn  for  war — (.JcnK^cry  of  Itonavontiire — 
Koiul  mado  of  oyHtor-BhuIlH — Approprintu  fiiaturoH  of  tlio 
(Jomutory — The  Tatnall  family — Hinuor-piirly  at  Mr. 
Green's — Keoling  in  Georgia  againi't  the  North. 

April 2Qth. — This  morning  up  at  G  a.m.,  bade 
farewell  to  our  hostess  and  IJarnwell  Island,  and 
proceeded  with  Trcscot  back  to  the  Tocotaligo 
station,  wiiich  svo  reached  at  1 2.20.  On  our  way 
Mr.  Ileyward  and  his  son  rode  out  of  a  field, 
looking  very  like  a  couple  of  English  country 
sipiires  in  all  but  hats  and  saddles.  The  young 
gentleman  was  good  enough  to  bring  over  a  snake 
hawk  he  had  shot  for  me.  At  the  station,  to 
which  the  Heywards  accompanied  us,  were  the 
Elliots  and  others,  who  had  come  over  with  in- 
vitations and  adieux ;  and  I  beguiled  the  time 
to  Savannah  reading  the  very  interesting  book 
by  Mr.  Elliot,  senior,  on  the  Wild  Sports  of  Caro- 
lina, which  was  taken  up  by  some  one  when  I  left 
the  car-carriage  for  a  moment  and  not  returneil 
to  me.  The  country  through  which  we  passed 
was  flat  and  flooded  as  usual,  and  the  rail  passed 
over  dark  deep  rivers  on  lofty  trestle-work,  by 
pine  wood  and  dogwood  tree,  by  tlie  green  ))hinta- 
tion  clearing,  with  mud  bank,  dyke,  and  tiny 
canal  mile  by  mile,  the  train  stopping  for  the 
usual  freight  of  ladies,  and  negro  nurses,  and 
young  planters,  all  very  much  of  the  same  class, 
till  at  3  o'clock  p.sr.,  the  cars  rattled  up  along- 
side a  large  shed,  and  we  were  told  we  had  ar- 
rived at  Savannah. 

Here  was  waiting  for  me  Mr.  Charles  Green, 
who  had  already  claimed  me  and  my  friend  as 
his  guests,  and  I  found  in  his  carriage  the  young 
American  designer,  who  had  preceded  me  from 
Charleston,  and  had  informed  Mr.  Green  of  my 
coming. 

The  drive  through  such  portion  of  Savannah 
as  lay  between  the  terminus  and  Mr.  Green's 
house,  soon  satisfied  my  eyes  that  it  had  two  pe- 
culiarities. In  the  first  place,  it  had  the  deepest 
sand  in  the  streets  I  have  ever  seen ;  and  next, 
the  streets  were  composed  of  the  most  odd, 
quaint,  green -windowed,  many- coloured  little 
houses  I  ever  beheld,  with  an  odd  population  of 
lean,  sallow,  ill  -  dressed  unwholesome  -  looking 


whites,  lounging  about  the  exchanges  and  cor- 
ners, and  a  l)usy,  well-dad,  gaily-attind  race  of 
negroes,  working  their  way  tlirough  piles  of  ciiil- 
dren,  under  the  shade;  of  tlie  trees  which  border- 
ed all  the  streets.  The  fringe  of  green,  and  tlio 
height  attained  by  the  live  oak,  I'ride  of  India, 
and  magnolia,  give  a  delicious  freshness  and 
novelty  to  the  streets  of  Savannah,  which  is  in- 
creased by  the  great  number  of  scjuarcs  and  o])en- 
ings  covered  with  something  like  sward,  fenced 
round  by  white  rail,  and  emlKjllished  with  noble 
trees  to  be  .seen  at  every  few  hundred  yards.  It 
is  difficult  to  believe  you  are  in  the  midst  of  a 
city,  and  I  was  re])eatedly  reminded  of  the  en- 
virons (if  a  large  Indian  cantonment — the  same 
kind  of  churches  and  detached  houses,  with  their 
piantations  and  p-i.dens not  unlike.  The  wealth- 
ie.r  classes,  however,  have  houses  of  the  New  York 
rifth  Avenue  character  :  one  of  the  best  of  these, 
a  handsome  mansion  of  rich  red  sandstone,  be- 
longed to  my  host,  who  coming  out  from  En- 
gland many  years  ago,  raised  himself  by  inilusiry 
and  intelligence  to  the  position  of  one  of  the  fir.  t 
merchants  in  Savannah.  Italian  statuary  graced 
the  hall;  finely  carved  tables  and  furirtture, 
stained  glass,  and  i)icturcs  from  Europe  set  forth 
the  sitting-rooms  ;  and  the  luxury  (;f  bath-rooms 
and  a  supply  of  cold  fresh  water,  rendered  it  an 
cxcejition  to  the  general  run  of  Southern  edifices. 
Mr.  Green  drove  me  through  the  town,  which  im- 
pressed mo  more  than  ever  with  its  peculiar  char- 
acter. Wo  visited  Brigadier-General  Lawton, 
who  is  clarged  with  the  defences  of  the  place 
against  tiie  expected  Yankees,  and  found  him 
just  setting  out  to  inspect  a  band  of  volunteers, 
whose  drums  we  heard  in  the  distance,  Mid  whose 
bayonets  were  gleaming  through  the  clouds  of 
Savannah  dust,  close  to  the  statue  erected  to  the 
memory  of  one  Pulaski,  a  Pole,  who  was  mortal- 
ly  wounded  in  the  unsuccessful  defence  of  the 
city  against  the  British  in  the  war  of  Independ- 
ence. He  turned  back  and  led  us  into  his  house. 
The  hall  was  filled  with  little  round  rolls  of 
flannel.  "These,"  said  he,  "are  cartridges  for 
cannon  of  various  calibres,  made  by  the  ladies 
of  Mrs.  Lawton's  '  cartridge  class.'  "  There  were 
more  cartridges  in  the  back  parlour,  so  that  the 
house  was  not  quite  a  safe  place  to  smoke  a  ci- 
gar in.  The  General  has  l)ecn  in  the  United 
States'  army,  and  has  now  come  forward  to  head 
the  people  of  this  State  in  their  resistance  to  the 
Yankees. 

We  took  a  stroll  in  the  park,  and  I  learned  the 
news  of  the  last  few  days.  The  j)eople  of  the 
South,  I  find,  are  delighted  at  a  snubbing  wliich 
Mr.  Seward  has  given  to  Governor  Hicks  of 
Maryland,  for  recommending  the  arbitration  of 
Lord  Lyons,  and  ho  is  stated  to  have  informed 
Governor  Hicks  that  "our  troubles  could  not  be 
referred  to  foreign  arbitration,  least  of  all  to  that 
of  the  representatives  of  a  European  monarchy." 
The  most  terrible  accounts  are  given  of  the  state 
of  things  in  Washington.  Mr.  Lincoln  consoles 
himself  for  his  miseries  by  drinking.  Mr.  Seward 
follow;-'  suit.  The  White  House  and  capital  arc 
full  of  drunken  border  ruffians,  headed  by  one 
Jim  Lane  of  K.-iasas.  But,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  Yankees,  under  one  Butler,  a  Massachusetts 
lawyer,  have  arrived  at  Annapolis,  in  Maryland, 
secured  the  "Constitution"  man-of-war,  and  are 
raising  masses  of  nien  for  the  invasion  of  the 
South  all  over  the  States.     The  most  important 


fvW 


MY  DIAIIY  NOUTH  AND  SOUTH. 


ill 


,' 


i<: 


ill 


tiling,  as  it  Htrikcs  mo,  iii  the  poclanuilion  of  tho 
(jtivcnior  of  (iforniii,  forhiililinj,'  fiti/.('iis  t<»  pay 
Hiiy  iiiuiu-y  on  m-couiit  of  ilt'bls  iliio  to  Nortli- 
crncrH,  till  the  tiid  of  tho  wur.  (ii'in'ral  liobfit 
K.  Lc'c  has  U'cii  named  ConiniandiT-in-Cliirf  of 
the  Forces  of  the  Ooniinonweakh  of  ViiKinia, 
and  troojm  are  lloekin>?  to  tliat  iStatc  from  Ahi- 
hama  and  other  States.  (Jovernor  KIlis  has 
ealletl  ont  .'JO.OOO  vohintccrs  in  North  Carolina, 
und  (lovcrnor  Keetor  of  Arkansas  lias  seized  tlio 
United  States'  mihtary  stores  at  Napok'on. 
There  is  a  rumour  that  Fort  I'iekens  has  Ixien 
taken  also,  hut  it  is  very  prohahly  untrue.  In 
Texas  and  Arkansas  tiie  United  States  repihirs 
have  not  made  an  attempt  to  defend  any  of  tiio 
forts. 

In  the  midst  of  nil  this  warlike  work,  volun- 
teers drilling,  hands  ))layinK,  it  was  [ileasant  to 
walk  in  tiio  siiady  park,  with  its  eool  fountains, 
and  to  see  the  children  ]>layinf?  ahont — many  of 
them,  alas !  "  j)layiuK  at  soldiers" — in  ehargo  of 
their  nurses,  lieturning,  sat  itJ  the  verandah 
and  smoked  a  eigar;  hut  the  musquitoes  were 
very  keen  and  numerous.  My  host  did  not  mind 
them',  hut  my  eutiele  will  never  be  sting-proof. 

April 'Mlh. — At  1.30  r.M.,  n  small  jiarty  start- 
ed from  Mr.  Green's  to  visit  the  cemetery  of  lion- 
aventurc,  to  whieh  every  visitor  to  Savannah 
must  pay  his  jiilgrimage  ;  diffidles  adiiwt  jiriimis 
luihtt — a  deep  saiuly  road  whieh  strains  the  horses 
and  the  carriages;  but  at  last  "the  shell  road" 
is  readied — a  highway  several  miles  long,  con- 
sisting of  oyster-shells — the  pride  of  Savannah, 
whieh  cats  as  many  oysters  as  it  can  to  add  to 
the  Ipngth  of  this  wonderfid  road.  There  is  no 
stone  in  the  whole  of  the  vast  alluvial  ranges 
of  South  Carolina  and  Maritime  Georgia,  and 
the  only  sidistance  available  for  making  u  road 
is  the  oyster-shell.  There  is  a  toll-gate  at  each 
end  to  aid  the  oyster-shells.  Eemembcr  they 
arc  three  times  the  size  of  any  European  crus- 
tacean of  the  sort. 

A  pleasant  drive  through  the  shady  hedgerows 
and  bordering  trees  lead  to  a  dilaj)idated  porter's 
lodge  and  gateway,  within  which  rose  in  a  tower- 
ing mass  of  green  one  of  the  finest  pictures  of 
forest  architceturo  jwssible  ;  nothing  to  be  sure 
like  Burnham  Heeches,  or  some  of  the  forest 
glades  of  Windsor,  but  possessed,  nevertheless, 
of  a  character  quite  its  own.  What  we  gazed 
upon  was,  in  fact,  the  ruin  of  grand  avenues  of 
live  oak,  so  well-disposed  that  their  peculiar 
mode  of  growth  afforded  an  unusual  develop- 
ment of  the  "  Gothic  idea, "  worked  out  and  elab- 
orated by  a  superabundant  fall  from  the  over- 
lacing  arms  and  intertwined  branches  of  the  til- 
landsia,  or  Spanish  moss,  a  weeping,  drooping, 
plumaceous  i)arasite,  which  does  to  tlie  tree  what 
its  animal  type,  the  yellow  fever — vomito  prieto — 
docs  to  man — clings  to  it  everlastingly,  drying 
up  sap,  poisoning  blood,  killing  the  principle  of 
life  till  it  dies.  The  only  differ,  as  they  say  in 
Ireland,  is,  that  the  tillandsia  all  the  time  looks 
very  pretty,  and  that  the  process  lasts  very  long. 
Some  there  arc  who  praise  this  tillandsia,  hang- 
ing like  the  tresses  of  a  wiccn's  hair  over  an  in- 
visible face,  but  to  me  it  is  a  paltry  parasite, 
destroying  the  grace  and  beauty  of  that  it  preys 
upon,  and  letting  fall  its  dull  tendrils  over  the 
fresh  lovely  green,  as  clouds  drop  over  the  face 
of  some  beautiful  landscape.  Despite  all  this, 
Bonaventure  is  a  scene  of  remarkable  interest ; 


it  seems  to  have  been  intended  for  a  place  of 
tombs.  The  Turks  wonld  have  filled  it  uiih 
turlianed  white  pillars,  and  \Mtii  warm  glioMs  at 
night.  The  French  would  have  deeuiated  it 
with  interlaced  hands  of  stone,  with  tears  of  red 
and  black  on  white  ground,  with  wreaths  of  im- 
mortelles. I  am  not  sure  that  wc  would  have 
done  much  more  than  have  got  up  a  cemetery 
company,  interested  Shillibecr,  hired  a  beadle, 
and  erected  an  iron  paling.  The  Savannah  peo- 
ple not  following  any  of  these  fashions,  all  of 
whieh  are  adopted  in  Northern  eiiics,  have  U  ft 
everything  to  nature  and  the  gatekeeper,  and  to 
the  owner  of  one  of  the  hotels,  who  has  got  up  a 
grave-vard  in  the  ground.  And  there,  scattered 
up  and  down  under  the  grand  tild  trees,  whieh 
drop  tears  of  Sjianish  mo^s,  and  weave  wreaths 
of  Spanish  moss,  and  shake  plumes  of  Spanish 
moss  over  them,  are  a  few  monumental  stones  to 
certain  citizens  of  Savannah.  There  is  a  mel- 
ancholy air  about  the  plaie  independently  of 
these  emblems  of  our  mortality,  which  might  rec- 
ommend it  specially  for  picnics.  There  never 
was  before  a  cemetery  where  niiture  teemed  to 
aid  the  effi'ct  inteiuled  by  mati  so  thoroughly. 
Every  one  knows  a  weejiing  willow  will  cry  over 
a  wedding  party  if  they  sit  \iniier  it,  as  well  as 
over  ft  grave.  Hut  hero  the  Spanish  moss  looks 
like  weepers  wreathed  by  sonie  fantastic  hand 
out  of  the  crape  of  Dreamland.  Eucian's  Ghost- 
lander,  the  son  of  Skeleton  of  the  Tribe  of  the 
Juiceless,  could  tell  us  something  of  such  weird 
trappings.  They  are  known  indeed  as  the  best 
bunting  for  yellow  fever  to  fight  under.  Wher- 
ever their  flickering  horsehair  tresses  wave  in  the 
breeze,  tajier  ends  downwards.  Squire  Black  Jack 
is  bearing  lance  and  sword.  One  great  green 
oak  says  to  the  other,  "This  fellow  is  killing  me. 
Take  his  deadly  robes  off  my  limbs!"  "Alas! 
See  how  he  is  ruining  me !  I  have  no  life  to 
help  you."  It  is,  indeed,  a  strange  and  very 
ghastly  place.  Here  are  so  many  qverci  virentf.t, 
old  enough  to  be  strong,  and  big,  and  great,  sap- 
full,  lusty,  wide-armed,  green-honoured — nil  dy- 
ing ont  slowly  beneath  tillandsia,  as  if  they  were 
so  many  monarchies  perishing  of  decay — or  so 
many  youthful  republics  dying  of  buncombe  brag, 
richness  of  blood,  and  other  diseases  fatal  to  over- 
grown bodies  politic.    , 

The  void  left  in  the  midst  of  all.  these  designed 
walks  and  stPtcly  avenues,  by  the  absence  of  any 
suitable  centre,  increases  the  seclusion  and  soli- 
tude. A  house  ought  to  be  there  somewheie 
you  feel — in  fact  there  was  once  the  mansion  of 
the  Tatnalls,  a  good  old  English  family,  whose 
ancestors  came  from  the  old  country,  ere  the 
rights  of  man  were  talked  of,  and  lived  among 
the  Oglethorpes,  and  such  men  of  the  pigtail 
school,  who  would  have  been  greatly  astonished 
at  finding  themselves  in  company  with  Benja- 
min Franklin  or  his  kind.  I  don't  know  any- 
thing of  old  Tatnall.  Indeed  who  docs  ?  But 
he  had  a  lino  idea  of  planting  trees,  which  he 
never  got  in  America,  where  he  would  have  re- 
ceived scant  praise  for  anything  but  his  power  to 
plant  cotton  or  sugar-cane  just  now.  In  his 
kneebreeches  and  top  boots,  I  can  fancy  the  old 
gentleman  reproducing  some  home  scene,  and 
boasting  to  himself,  "I  will  make  it  as  fine  as 
Lord  Nihilo's  park."  Could  he  see  it  now? — A 
decaying  army  of  the  dead.  The  mansion  was 
burred  down  during  a  Christmas  merrymaking, 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


08 


ere  the 


nnrl  wiv.1  never  built  n^nin,  nnd  tho  youtiR  trees 
liiiVd  K>'"^vii  u|)  (lcH(iit()  the  S|iuiiisli  inosrt,  iiiul 
niiw  tlicy  Htiiud,  lis  it  were  in  ciitlifdnil  iiislcs, 
iiroiitKl  tlu;  rnliiH  of  the  dopiirted  iioii.sc,  Nliiulin^ 
tliu  Kiouiul,  and  onHJiriniii^  its  tneniorici  in  uii 
nnti'inity  wliicli  Heenin  of  tlin  reinotcNt,  altiioiiKit 
it  i.H  not  ait  uncient  uh  tliat  of  the  yuuiigUHt  oak  in 
tho  S(|(iirc'ti  park  nt  home. 

I  have  bi^foro  oftentimes  in  my  short  voynn*'** 
hero,  wondered  ^f'^^'y  "^  '''"  reverencci  heHtow- 
cd  on  ft  tree.  In  fact,  it  is  hecuiiso  u  treo  of  any 
de<-(>nt  growth  is  sure  to  U<'  older  than  nnytiunK 
else  around  it ;  and  althouuli  yonn^  Auieriea  rev- 
els in  her  future,  she  is  beeominj;  oKl  enough  to 
tliiiik  about  her  past. 

In  ihe  eveniuK  Mr.  Green  K'lve  a  dinner  to 
gomo  very  fturoeable  jjeojdc,  Mr.  Ward,  tho  Chi- 
nese Minister — (vviio  tried,  by-tiie-iiye,  to  make; 
it  appear  tltat  his  wooden  box  was  the  I'ekin 
State  carriaRO  for  distiiiRuished  foreij,'ui'i*s) — Mr. 
Loekc,  the  clever  and  intelligent  editor  of  the 
prineij)al  journal  in  Savannah,  Uri^^adier  Law- 
ton,  one  of  tho  Judges,  a  Hritisher,  owner  of  the 
ouee  renowned  Ameriea  whieh,  under  liie  name 
of  Camilla,  was  now  lying  in  tlio  river  (not  per- 
haps witiiout  reforenec  to  n  little  speeulation  in 
runnin^^  tho  bloeknde,  hf)urly  expected),  Mr. 
Ward,  ami  (/ommodoro  Tatnail,  so  well  known 
to  us  in  England  for  his  gallant  conduct  in  the 
Teiho  all'air,  when  ho  ottered  and  gave  our  ves- 
sels aid,  though  a  neutral,  and  uttered  the  excla- 
mation in  doing  so, — in  his  despatch  at  all  events, 
— "that  blood  was  thicker  than  water."  Of  our 
party  was  also  Mr.  Hodgson,  well  known  to  most 
of  our  Mediterranean  travellers  some  ye.'i'-sback, 
when  he  was  United  States'  Consul  in  the  I'last. 
He  amuses  his  leisure  still  by  inditing  and  read- 
ing monographs  on  the  languages  of  divers  bar- 
barous tribes  in  Numidia  and  Mauritania. 

Tho  Georgians  are  not  quite  so  vehement  as 
the  South  Carolinians  in  their  bate  of  tho  North- 
erners ;  but  they  are  scarcely  less  determined  to 
figlit  President  Lincoln  and  all  his  men.  And 
that  is  tho  test  of  this  rebellion's  strength.  I 
did  not  hear  any  profession  of  a  desire  to  become 
subject  to  England,  or  to  borrow  a  jirince  of  us  ; 
but  I  have  nowhere  seen  stronger  determimition 
to  resist  any  reunion  with  the  New  England 
States.  "They  can't  conquer  us,  Sir?"  "If 
they  try  it,  we'll  whip  tliAn." 


CHAPTER  XX!. 

Thfi  rlvpr  at  Savannah— (JomnKxloro  Tatnnll — Fort  Pulns- 
kl— Want  of  a  fleet  to  the  SiiiithornerH— .Strong  foeling 
of  the  women — Slavc^ry  connidered  in  it.i  rei<ults — CJut- 
ton  and  Georgia — Off  for  Montgomery — The  Hisliop  of 
Georgia — The  Ulble  and  Slavery — .Macon— Dislilce  of 
United  States'  gold. 

May  Lay. — Not  unworthy  of  the  best  effort  of 
English  fine  weather  before  the  change  in  the 
kalendar  robbed  the  poets  of  twelve  days,  but 
still  a  little  warm  for  choice.  The  young  Amer- 
ican artist  Moses,  who  was  to  have  called  our 
party  to  meet  the  officers  who  were  going  to 
Fort  Pulaski,  for  some  reason  known  to  himself 
remained  on  board  the  Camilla,  and  when  at  last 
we  got  down  to  the  river-sido  I  found  Commo- 
dore Tatnail  and  Brigadier  Law  ton  in  full  uni- 
form waiting  for  me. 

The  river  is  about  tho  width  of  the  Thames 
below  Gravescnd,  very  muddy,  with  a  strong  cur- 


rent, and  rather  fetid.  That  effect  might  have 
been  produced  from  the  rice-swampH  at  the  oth- 
er side  of  it,  where  the  laud  is  (piiie  low,  and 
stretches  away  as  far  as  the  sni  in  one  level 
green,  smooth  as  a  billiard-cloth.  The  bunk  at 
the  city  side  is  higher,  ho  that  the  houses  stand 
on  a  little  eminence  over  tho  stream,  all'ordlng 
convenient  wharfage  and  nlips  for  merchant  ves- 
sels. 

Of  these  there  were  few  indeed  visible — nearly 
all  had  cleared  out  fur  fear  of  the  blockade  ; 
some  coasting  vessels  were  lying  iille  at  the  quay 
side,  and  in  the  iniddht  of  the  stream  near  u 
floating  dock  the  (Jaiiiilla  was  moored,  with  her 
clul)  ensign  (iyiug.  These  are  the  times  for  bold 
ventures,  and  if  Uncle  Sam  is  n<Jt  very  (|uiek  with 
his  bhxrkades,  there  will  bt;  plenty  of  privateers 
and  the  like  under  C.  S.  A.  colours  looking  out 
for  bis  fat  nuuchantmen  all  over  the  world, 

1  have  been  trying  to  jK-rsuade  my  friends  liiTC 
they  will  find  very  few  Englishmen  willing  to 
take  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal. 

The  steamer  which  was  waiting  to  receive  ns 
bad  the  Confederate  flag  flying,  and  Coniinudove 
Tatnail,  pointing  to  a  yoimg  officer  in  a  naval 
uniform,  told  me  he  had  just  "come  over  from 
the  other  side,"  and  that  he  had  pres.sed  hard  to 
be  allowed  to  hoist  a  ('onmiodoro  or  flag-officer's 
enfi,",ii  in  honour  of  tho  visit  and  of  tlu;  occasion. 
I  was  much  interested  in  the  fine  white-headed, 
blue-eyed,  ruddy- cheeked  old  man  —  who  smi- 
denly  found  himself  blown  into  the  air  by  a  great 
fiolitienl  exphjsion,  and  in  doubt  and  woinler- 
ment  was  tloating  to  shore,  under  a  striin;<(!  flag 
in  unknown  waters.  He  was  lull  of  auecdoto 
too,  as  to  strange  flags  in  distant  waters  and 
well-known  names.  The  gentry  of  Savannah 
had  a  sort  of  (Celtic  feeling  towards  him  in  re- 
gard of  bis  old  name,  and  seemed  determined  to 
sujiport  him. 

lie  has  served  the  Stars  and  Stripes  for  three 
fourths  of  a  long  life  —  his  friends  are  in  tho 
North,  his  wife's  kindred  are  there,  and  so  are 
all  his  best  ossociations — but  his  State  has  gone 
out.  How  could  he  fight  against  tho  country 
that  gave  him  birth !  The  United  States  is  no 
country,  in  the  sense  we  understand  the  words. 
It  is  a  corporation  or  a  body  cori:orate  for  cer- 
tain purposes,  and  a  man  might  as  well  call  him- 
self a  native  of  the  common  council  of  the  city 
of  London,  or  a  native  of  the  Swiss  Diet,  in  tho 
estimation  of  our  Americans,  as  say  ho  is  a  citi- 
zen of  the  United  States ;  though  it  answers  very 
well  to  say  so  when  he  is  abroad,  or  for  purposes 
of  a  legal  character. 

Of  Fort  Pulaski  itself  I  wrote  on  my  return  a 
long  account  to  the  "Times." 

When  I  was  venturing  to  point  out  to  General 
Lawton  tho  weakness  of  Fort  Pulaski,  placed  as 
it  is  in  low  land,  accessible  to  boats,  and  quite 
open  enough  for  approaches  from  the  city  side, 
he  said,  "Oh,  that  is  true  enough.  All  our  sea- 
coast  works  are  liable  to  that  remark,  but  the 
Commodore  will  take  care  of  tho  Yankees  at  sea, 
and  we  sliall  manage  them  on  land."  These 
peoj)lo  all  make  a  mistake  in  referring  to  the 
events  of  tho  old  war.  "  We  beat  off  the  Brit- 
ish fleet  at  Charleston  by  the  militia — ergo,  we'll 
sink  the  Yankees  now."  They  do  not  under- 
stand the  nature  of  tho  new  shell  and  heavy  ver- 
tical fire,  or  the  effect  of  projectiles  from  great 
distances  falling  into  open  works.     The  Com- 


ij  , 


64 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


fill' 


modore  afterwards,  smiling,  remarked,  "I  have  | 
no  Hect.     Lour  before  the  Soutliern  Confedera- 
cy has  a  fleet  that  can  cope  ,vitli  tlie  Stars  and  , 
Stripes,  my  bones  will  be  wliite  in  the  grave."     | 

We  got  back  by  eight  o'clock  p.m.,  after  a 
pleasant  day.     What  I  saw  did  not  satisfy  me 
that  i'uhvski  was  strong,  or  Savannuii  very  safe. 
At  Bonaventiire  yesterday  1  saw  a  poor  fort  call- 
ed "  Thunderbolt,"  on  an  inlet  from  which  the  | 
city  was  qiutc  accessible.     It  could  be  easily  \ 
menaced  from  that.point,  while  attempts  at  land-  ; 
ing  were  made  elsewhere  as  soon  as  Tulaski  was  j 
reduced.    At  dinner  met  a  very  strong  and  very  ! 
well  informed  Southerner — there  are  some  who 
are  neither — or  either — whose  name  was  spelled  | 
Gourdin  and  iironounced  Go-dine — ^just  as  lin- 
ger is  called  Hugee — and  Tagliaferro,  Telfer  in 
these  parts. 

^fly  2)1(1. — Breakfasted  with  Mr.  Hodgson, 
where  I  met  Mr.  Locke,  Mr.  Ward,  Mr.  Green, 
and  Mrs.  Hodgson  and  her  sister.  Tiierc  were  1 
in  attendance  some  good-looking  little  negro  ' 
boys  and  men  dressed  in  liveries,  which  smacked 
of  our  host's  Orientalism,  and  they  must  have  ' 
heard  our  discussion,  or  rather  allusion,  to  the  ' 
question  which  would  decide  whether  we  thought  j 
they  are  human  beings  or  black  two-legged  cat-  i 
lie,  with  some  interest,  unless  indeed  the  boast 
of  their  masters,  that  slavery  elevates  the  char- 
acter and  civilises  the  mind  of  a  negro,  is  anoth- 
er of  the  false  pretences  on  which  the  institution 
is  rested  by  its  advocates.  The  native  African, 
poor  wretch,  avoids  being  carried  into  slavery 
totis  virihus,  and  it  would  argue  ill  for  the  effect 
on  his  mind  of  becoming  a  slave  if  lie  prefers  a 
])iece  of  gaudy  calico  even  to  his  loin-cloth  and 
feather  head-dress.  This  question  of  civilising 
the  African  in  slavery  is  answered  in  the  asser- 
tion of  the  slave-owners  themselves,  that  if  the 
negroes  were  left  to  their  own  devices  by  eman- 
cipation, they  would  become  the  worst  sort  of 
barbarians — a  veritable  Quasboedom,  the  like  of 
which  was  never  thought  of  by  Mr.  Tiiomas  Car- 
lyle.  I  doubt  if  the  aboriginal  is  not  as  civilised, 
in  the  true  sense  of  the  word,  as  an '/  negro,  after 
three  degrees  of  descent  in  servitude,  whom  I 
have  seen  on  any  of  the  plantations  —  even 
though  the  latter  have  leather  shoes  and  fustian 
or  cloth  raiment,  and  felt  hat,  and  sings  about 
the  Jordan.  He  is  'exempted  from  any  bloody 
raid  indeed,  but  he  i;  liable  to  be  carried  from 
his  village  and  borne  from  one  captivity  to  an- 
other, and  his  family  are  exposed  to  the  same 
exile  in  America  as  in  Africa.  The  extreme 
anger  with  which  any  unfavourable  comment  is 
met  publicly,  shows  the  sensitiveness  of  the  slave- 
owners. Privately,  they  affect  ])hilosophy ;  and 
the  blue  books,  and  reports  of  Education  Com- 
missions and  Mining  Committees,  furnish  them 
with  an  inexhaustible  source  of  argument  if  you 
once  admit  that  the  summum  honum  lies  in  a  cer- 
tain rotundity  of  ]ierson  and  a  regular  supjtly  of 
coai>:e  food.  A  long  conversation  on  the  old 
topics— old  to  me,  but  of  only  a  few  weeks'  birth. 
People  are  swimming  with  the  tide.  Here  are 
many  men  who  would  willingly  stand  aside  if 
they  could,  and  see  the  battle  between  the  Yan- 
kees, whom  they  hate,  and  the  Secessionists. 
But  tlioro  arc  no  women  in  this  party.  Wo  be- 
tide the  Nortiiern  Pyvrhus  whose  head  is  within 
reach  of  a  Southern  tile  and  a  Southern  wom- 
an's arm ! 


I  re-visited  some  of  the  big  houses  afterwards, 
and  found  the  merchants  not  cheerful,  but  fierce 
and  resolute.  There  is  a  considerable  ])oj)ula- 
tion  of  Irish  and  Germans  in  riavaniuih,  wlio  to 
a  man  are  in  favour  of  the  Confederacy,  and  will 
fight  to  supj)ort  it.  Indeed,  it  is  expected  they 
will  do  so,  and  there  is  a  pressure  brought  to 
bear  on  them  by  their  employers  which  they  can- 
not well  resist.  The  negroes  will  be  forced  into 
the  place  the  whites  hitherto  occupied  as  labour- 
ers— only  a  few  useful  mechanics  will  be  kept, 
and  the  white  population  will  be  obliged  by  a 
moral  force  draugliting  to  go  to  the  wars.  The 
kingdom  of  cotton  is  most  essentially  of  this 
world,  and  it  will  be  fought  for  vigorously.  On 
the  quays  of  Savannah,  and  in  the  warehouses, 
there  is  not  a  man  who  doubts  that  he  ought  to 
strike  his  hardest  for  it,  or  apprehends  failure. 
And  then,  what  n  career  is  before  them !  All 
the  world  asking  for  cotton,  and  England  de- 
pendent on  it.  What  a  change  since  Whitney 
first  set  his  cotton  gin  to  work  in  this  state  close 
by  us !  (icorgia,  as  a  vast  country  only  partial- 
ly reclaimed,  yet  looks  to  a  magnificent  future. 
In  her  past  history  the  Florida  wars,  and  the 
treatment  of  the  unfortunate  Cherokee  Indians, 
who  were  expelled  from  their  lands  as  late  as 
1838,  show  the  people  who  descended  from  old 
Oglethoq)e's  band  were  fierce  and  tyrannical, 
and  apt  at  aggression,  nor  will  slavery  improve 
them.  I  do  not  speak  of  the  cultivated  and  hos- 
pitable citizens  of  the  large  towns,  bujt  of  the  bulk 
of  the  slaveless  whites. 

May  3nl. — I  bade  good-by  to  Mr.  Green,  who 
with  several  of  his  friends  came  down  to  see  me 
off,  at  the  terminus  or  "dejiot"  of  the  Central 
Railway,  on  my  way  to  Montgomery — and  look- 
ed my  last  on  Savannah,  its  squares  and  leafy- 
streets,  its  churches,  and  institutes  with  a  feeling 
of  regret  that  I  could  not  see  more  of  them,  and 
that  I  was  forced  to  be  content  with  the  outer  as- 
pect of  the  public  buildings.  I  had  been  sere- 
naded and  invited  out  in  all  directions,  asked  to 
visit  ])lantations  and  big  trees,  to  make  excur- 
sions to  famous  or  beautiful  spots,  and  sjiecially 
warned  not  to  leave  the  State  without  visiting 
the  mountain  district  in  the  northern  and  west- 
ern portion ;  but  the  march  of  events  called  me 
to  Montgomery. 

From  Savannah  to  Macon,  191  miles,  the  road 
passes  through  level  country  only  partially  clear- 
ed. That  is,  there  are  patches  of  forest  still  in- 
truding on  the  green  fields,  where  the  jagged 
black  teeth  of  the  destroyed  trees  rise  from  above 
the  maize  and  cotton.  There  were  but  few  ne- 
groes visible  at  work,  nor  did  the  land  apjjcar 
rich,  but  I  was  told  the  rail  was  laid  along  the 
most  barren  part  of  the.  country.  The  Indians 
had  roamed  in  these  woods  little  mere  than  twen- 
ty years  ago — now  the  wooden  huts  if  the  ])lant- 
crs'  slaves  and  the  larger  edifice  with  its  veran- 
dah and  timber  colonnade  stood  in  the  place  of 
their  wigwam. 

Among  the  passengers  to  whom  I  was  intro- 
duced was  the  Bishop  of  Georgia,  the  Rev.  Mr. 
Elliott,  a  man  of  exceeding  fine  presence,  of  great 
stature,  and  iiandsome  face,  with  a  manner  easy 
and  graceful,  but.we  got  on  the  unfortunate  snl)- 
ject  of  slavery,  and  I  rather  revolted  at  hearing 
a  Clirisiian  prelate  advocating  the  institution  on 
scriptural  grounds. 

This  application  of  biblical  sanction  and  ordi- 


nance  as  th 
thougli  it  is 
of  the  Atlai 
very,  that  it 
and  the  Co 
that  it  musi 
tion  til  at  CO 
of  the  Scrip 
"  New  Yorl 
tion  as  a  cc 
hibitum  was 
detect,  and 
only  camo 
miserable  sc 
contempt  ol 
on  the  diviii 
finitely  moi 
bigots  who 
propriety  of 
for  the  ofliec 
Whcnevei 
achieve  its 
resources,  it; 
stand  face  t( 
question  of  s 
rived  from  t 
league  with 
— will  bo  wi 
I  am  wel 
summary  coi 
of  a  railway 
which  exists 
can  determii 
from  a  glan 
hour.     For  i 
donee  of  Ids 
dows  of  tlie  ( 
footed,  slioel 
who  congrog 
shops  of  the  s 
fighting  mate 
crable  jilaces 
tlements  one 
riage-windo\\ 
py  enough - 
rough-lookinj 
but  badly  cle 
the  least  fert 
acquirement- 
Tlie  train 
cred  restaura 
work,  and  in 
presciitod  a 
ings"  we  liiv 
was  good  of 
On  tendcrin; 
paym.'nt,  lie 
" I lave  you 
federate  note 
ject  to  gold 
have  oiir  ow 
of  the  UiiitiM 
stars  and  the 
The  in;iu  was 
him  notes  of 
It  was  dar 
one  of  the 
drove  to  tlie 
dinner-hour 
yet  come, 
terrauean  iv 
crypts  closed 


MY  DIAKY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


65 


I 


I 


nance  as  the  btisis  of  slavery  was  not  new  to  me, 
thouyli  it  is  not  much  known  at  the  otiier  side 
of  the  Athiiitic.  I  liad  road  in  a  work  on  shi- 
very, that  it  was  permitted  by  both  the  Scriptures 
and  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States,  and 
that  it  must,  tlierefove,  be  doubly  right.  A  na- 
tion that  couUl  approve  of  such  inteqiretations 
of  the  Scriptures  and  at  the  same  time  read  the 
"New  York  Herald,"  seemed  ripe  for  destruc- 
tion as  a  corporate  existence.  The  malum  pro- 
hibitum was  tiie  only  evil  its  crass  senses  could 
detect,  and  the  malum  per  se  was  its  good,  if  it 
only  came  covered  with  cotton  or  gold.  The 
miserable  sophists  who  expose  themselves  to  the 
contempt  of  the  world  by  their  paltry  thesicles 
on  the  divine  origin  and  uses  of  slavery,  are  in- 
finitely more  contemptible  than  the  wretched 
bigots  who  published  themes  Jong  ago  on  the 
propriety  of  burning  witches,  or  on  the  necessity 
for  the  offices  of  the  Inquisition. 

Whenever  the  Southern  Confederacy  shall 
achieve  its  independence — no  matter  what  its 
resources,  its  allies,  or  its  aims — it  will  have  to 
stand  face  to  face  with  civilized  Europe  on  this 
question  of  slavery,  and  the  strength  which  it  de- 
rived from  the  a;gis  of  the  Constitution — "the 
league  with  the  devil  and  covenant  with  Hell" 
— will  bo  withered  and  gone. 

I  am  well  aware  of  the  danger  of  drawing 
summary  conclusions  ofF-hand  from  the  windows 
of  a  railway,  but  there  is  also  a  right  of  sight 
whicli  exists  under  all  circumstances,  and  so  one 
can  determine  if  a  man's  face  be  dirty  as  well 
from  a  glance  as  if  he  inspected  it  for  half  an 
hour.  For  instance,  no  one  can  doubt  the  evi- 
dence of  ills  senses,  when  he  sees  from  the  win- 
dows of  the  carriages  that  the  children  are  bare- 
footed, slioeless,  stockingless  —  that  the  people 
who  congregate  at  the  wooden  huts  and  grog- 
shops of  the  stations  are  rude,  unkempt,  but  great 
fighting  material  too — that  the  villages  are  mis- 
erable places,  compared  with  the  trim,  snug  set- 
tlements one  saw  in  New  Jersey  from  the  car- 
riage-windows. Slaves  in  the  fields  looked  hap- 
py enougli  —  but  their  masters  certainly  were 
rough-looking  and  uncivilised — and  the  land  was 
but  badly  cleared.  But  then  we  were  traversing 
the  least  fertile  portions  of  the  State — a  recent 
acquireiuGnt — gained  only  one  generation  since. 
The  train  halted  at  a  snug  littlo  wood-embow- 
ered restaurant,  surrounded  by  trellis  and  lattice- 
work, and  in  the  midst  of  a  pretty  garden,  which 
presented  a  marked  conti'ast  to  the  "surround- 
ings" we  had  seen.  The  dinner,  served  by  slaves, 
was  good  of  its  kind,  and  the  charge  not  high. 
On  tendering  the  landlord  a  piece  of  gold  for 
piiym.'ut,  ho  looked  at  it  with  disgust,  and  asked, 
"Have  you  no  Charleston  money?  No  Con- 
federate notes?"  "  Well,  no  !  Why  do  you  ob- 
ject to  gold?"  "Well,  do  you  see,  I'd'  rather 
have  our  own  paper !  I  don't  care  to  take  any 
of  the  United  States'  gold.  I  don't  want  their 
stars  and  their  eagles  ;  I  hate  the  sight  of  them." 
The  mxn  was  quite  sincere — my  companion  gave 
him  notes  of  some  South  Carolina  bank. 

It  was  dark  when  the  train  reached  Macon, 
one  of  the  ))rincipal  cities  of  the  State.  We 
drove  to  the  best  hotel,  but  the  regular  time  for 
dinner-hour  was  over,  and  that  for  supper  not 
yet  come.  The  landlord  directed  us  to  a  sub- 
terranean restaurant,  in  which  were  a  series  of 
crypts  closed  in  by  dirtv  curtains,  where  we  made 
'E 


a  very  extraordinary  repast,  served  by  a  half-clad 
little  negress,  who  watched  us  at  the  meal  with 
great  interest  through  the  curtains — the  service 
was  of  the  coarsest  description ;  thick  French 
earthenware,  the  spoons  of  pewter,  the  knives 
and  forks  steel  or  iron,  with  scarce  a  pretext  of 
being  cleaned.  On  the  doors  were  the  usual 
warnings  against  pickpockets,  and  the  customa- 
ry internal  police  regulations  and  ukases,  i'ick- 
pockcts  and  gamblers  abound  in  American  cities, 
and  thrive  greatly  at  the  large  hotels  and  the 
lines  of  railways. 


CHAPTER  XXII. 

Slave-pena ;  Negroes  on  Rale  or  hire— Popnlnr  feeling  m 
to  Secession— Ueaurcgard  and  speech-making— Arrival 
at  Montgomciy — Had  hotel   accommodation— Knights 

of  the  Golden  Circle  —  Keflections  on  Hlaviry Mnve 

auction— 'I'he  Legislative  Assembly — A  "  live  chattel" 
knocked  down  —  Rumours  from  the  North  (true  and 
false)  and  prospects  of  war. 

Mai/  ith.— In  the  morning  I  took  a  drive  about 
the  city,  which  is  loosely  built  in  detached  houses 
over  a  pretty  undulating  country  covered  witli 
wood  and  fruit-trees.  Many  good  houses  of  daz- 
zling white,  with  bright  green  blinds,  verandahs, 
and  doors,  stand  in  their  own  grounds  or  gar- 
dens. In  the  course  of  the  drive  I  saw  two  or 
three  signboards  and  placards  announcing  that 
"  Smith  &  Co.  advanced  money  on  slaves,  and 
had  constant  supplies  of  Virginian  negroes  on 
sale  or  hire."  These  establishments  were  sur- 
rounded by  high  walls  enclosing  the  slave-pens 
or  large  rooms,  in  which  the  slaves  are  kept  for 
inspection.  The  train  for  Montgomery  started 
at  9  45  A.M.,  but  1  had  no  time  to  stop  and  vi-^it 
them. 

It  is  evident  wc  are  approaching  the  Confed- 
erate capital,  for  the  candidates  for  office  begin 
to  show,  and  I  detected  a  printed  testimonial  in 
my  room  in  the  hotel.  The  country,  from  Ma- 
con in  Georgia  to  Montgomery  in  Alabama,  of- 
fers no  features  to  interest  the  traveller  which 
are  not  common  to  the  districts  already  described. 
It  is,  indeed,  more  undulating,  and  somewhat 
more  picturesque,  or  less  unattractive,  but,  on  the 
whole,  there  is  little  to  recommend  it,  except  the 
natural  fertility  of  the  soil.  The  people  are  raw- 
er, ruder,  bigger — there  is  the  same  amount  of 
tobacco-chewing  and  its  consequences — and  as 
much  swearing  or  use  of  expletives.  The  men 
are  tall,  lean,  uncouth,  but  they  are  not  peasants. 
There  are,  so  far  as  I  have  seen,  no  rustics,  no 
peasantry  in  America  ;  men  dress  after  the  same 
type,  differing  only  in  finer  or  coarser  material ; 
every  man  would  wear,  if  he  coidd,  a  black  satin 
waistcoat  and  a  large  diamond  pin  stuck  in  the 
front  of  his  shirt,  a-s  he  certainly  has  a  watch 
;\nd  a  gilt  or  gold  chain  of  .some  sort  or  other. 
The  Irish  labourer,  or  the  German  husbandman 
is  the  nearest  approach  to  our  Giles  Joltcr  or  the 
Jacques  Bonhomme  to  be  found  in  the  States. 
The  moan  white  affects  the  style  of  the  large 
proprietor  of  slaves  or  cajiital  as  closely  as  ho 
C!in ;  he  reads  his  papers — and,  by-the-by,  thoy 
are  becoming  smaller  and  more  whitey-brown  as 
we  proceed — and  takes  his  drink  with  the  same 
air — takes  up  as  much  room,  and  speaks  a  good 
deal  in  the  same  fashion. 

'J'he  ])eople  arc  all  hearty  Secessionists  here — 
the  Bars  and  Stars  are  flying  at  the  road-stations 


66 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


and  from  the  pine-tops,  and  there  are  lusty 
cheers  for  Jelf  Davis  and  tlic  Southern  Oonfed- 
eracy.  Troops  are  flocking  towards  Virginia 
from  tlie  Southern  States  in  reply  to  the  march 
of  Volunteers  from  Northern  States  to  Washing- 
ton ;  but  it  is  folt  that  the  ste])S  taken  by  the 
Federal  Government  to  secure  Baltimore  have 
obviated  any  chance  of  successfully  opposing  the 
"Lincolnites"  going  througli  that  city.  There 
is  a  strong  disposition  on  the  part  of  the  South- 
erners to  believe  they  have  many  friends  in  the 
North,  and  they  endeavour  to  attach  a  factious 
character  to  the  actions  of  the  Government  by 
calling  the  Volunteers  and  the  war  party  in  the 
North  "Lincolnites,"  "Lincoln's  Mercenaries," 
"Black  Republicans,"  "Abolitionists,"  and  the 
like.  The  report  of  an  armistice,  now  denied 
by  Mr,  Seward  officially,  was  for  some  time  cur- 
rent, but  it  is  plain  that  the  South  must  make 
good  its  words,  and  justify  its  acts  by  the  sword. 
General  Scott  would,  it  was  fondly  believed,  re- 
tire from  the  United  States'  army,  and  either  re- 
main neutral  or  take  command  under  the  Con- 
federate flag,  but  now  that  it  is  certain  he  will 
not  follow  any  of  these  courses,  he  is  assailed  in 
the  foulest  manner  by  the  press  and  in  private 
conversation.  Heaven  help  the  idol  of  a  democ- 
racy! 

At  one  of  the  junctions  General  Beauregard, 
attended  by  Mr.  Manning,  and  others  of  his  staft', 
pot  into  the  car,  and  tried  to  elude  observation, 
but  the  conductors  take  great  pleasure  in  nnearth- 
ing  distinguished  passengers  for  the  public,  and 
the  General  was  called  on  for  a  speech  by  the 
crowd  of  idlers.  The  General  hates  s])eech-niak- 
ing,  he  told  me,  and  he  had  besides  been  bored 
to  death  at  every  station  by  similar  demands. 
But  a  -man  must  be  popular  or  he  is  nothing. 
So,  as  next  best  thing.  Governor  Manninj^  made 
a  speech  in  the  Generui's  name,  in  which  he 
dwelt  on  Soutjiern  Rights,  Sumter,  victory,  and 
abolitiondom,  and  was  carried  ofl' from  vhe  cheers 
of  his  auditors  by  the  train  in  the  midst  of  an 
unfinished  sentence.  There  were  a  number  of 
blacks  listening  to  the  GoA'crnor,  who  were  ap- 
preciative. 

Towards  evening,  having  thrown  out  some 
slight  outworks  against  accidental  sallies  of  my 
fellow-passengers'  saliva,  I  went  to  sleep,  and 
woke  up  at  11  p.m.  to  hear  we  were  in  Mont- 
gomery. A  very  ricketty  omnibus  took  the  party 
to  the  hotel,  which  was  i-rowded  to  excess.  The 
General  and  his  friends  lad  one  -.oom  to  them- 
selves. Three  gentlemen  .-.nd  myself  were  cram- 
med into  a  filthy  room  waich  already 'contained 
two  strangers,  and  as  there  were  only  three  beds 
in  the  apartment  it  was  apparent  that  we  were 
intended  to  "double  up  considerably;"  but  aft- 
er strenuous  efforts,  a  little  bribery  and  cajoling, 
we  succeeded  in  procuring  mattresses  to  put  on 
the  floor,  which  was  regarded  by  our  neighbours 
as  aproof  of  miserable  aristocratic  fastidiousness. 
Had  it  not  been  for  the  flies,  the  fleas  would  have 
been  intolerable,  but  one  nuisance  neutralised  the 
other.  Then,  as  to  food — nothing  could  be  had 
in  the  hotel — but  one  of  the  waiters  led  us  to  a 
restaurant,  where  we  selected  from  a  choice  bill 
of  fare,  which  contained,  I  think,  as  many  odd 
dishes  as  ever  I  saw,  some  unknown  iishes,  oys- 
ter-plants, 'possums,  racoons,  frogs,  and  other 
delicacies,  and,  eschewing  toads  and  the  like, 
really  made  a  good  meal  olf  dirty  i)lates  on  a 


vile  table-cloth,  our  appetites  being  sharpened  by 
the  best  of  condiments. 

Colonel  Pickett  has  turned  u])  here,  having 
made  his  escape  from  Washington  just  in  time 
to  escape  arr«st — travelling  in  disguise  on  foot 
through  out-of-the-way  places  till  he  got  among 
friends. 

I  was  glad,  when  bed-time  approached,  that  I 
was  not  among  the  mattress  men.  One  of  the 
gentlemen  in  tlie  bed  next  the  door  was  a  tre- 
mendous projector  in  the  .obaceo-juicc  line  :  his 
final  rumination  ere  he  sank  to  repose  was  a  mas- 
terpiece of  art — a  perfect  liquid  pyrotechny,  Ro- 
man candles  and  falling  stars.  A  horrid  thought 
occurred  as  I  gazed  and  wondered.  In  case  ha 
should  in  a  supreme  moment  tmn  his  attention 
my  way ! — I  was  only  seven  or  eight  yards  ofl^", 
and  that  might  be  nothing  to  him  I — I  hauled 
down  my  muscpiito  curtain  at  once,  and  watched 
him  till,  completely  satiated,  he  slc])t. 

May  5th. — Very  warm,  and  no  cold  wn*er,  un- 
less one  went  to  the  river.  The  hotel  baths  were 
not  promising.  This  hotel  is  worse  than  Mill's 
House  or  Willard's.  The  feeding  and  the  flies 
are  intolerable.  One  of  our  party  comes  in  to 
say  that  he  coidd  scarce  get  down  to  the  hall  on 
account  of  the  crowd,  and  that  all  the  people  who 
passed  him  had  very  hard,  sharp  bones.  He  re- 
marks thereupon  to  the  clerk  at  the  bar,  who 
tells  him  that  the  particular  projections  he  al- 
ludes to  are  implements  of  defence  or  offence,  as 
the  ease  may  be,  and  adds,  "  1  suppose  you  and 
your  friends  are  the  only  people  in  the  house  who 
haven't  a  bowie-knife,  or  a  six-shooter,  or  Der- 
ringer about  them."  The  house  is  full  of  Con- 
federate Congress  men,  politicians,  colonels,  and 
placemen  with  or  without  ])laccs,  and  a  vast  num- 
ber of  speculators,  contractors,  and  the  like,  at- 
tracted by  the  embryo  government.  Among  the 
visitors  are  many  fillibnsters,  such  as  Henning- 
sen,  Pickett,  Tocliman,  Wheat.*  I  hear  a  good 
deal  about  the  association  called  the  Knights  of 
the  Golden  Circle,  a  Protestant  association  for 
securing  the  Gulf  ])rovinces  and  states,  including 
— which  has  been  largely  developed  by  recent 
events — them  in  the  Southern  Confederacy,  and 
creating  them  into  an  independent  government. 

Montgomery  has  little  claims  to  be  called  a 
capital.  The  streets  are  very  hot,  unpleasant, 
and  uninteresting.  I  have  rarely  seen  a  moro 
dull,  lifeless  place  ;  it  looks  like  a  small  Russian 
town  in  the  interior  The  names  of  the  slioj)- 
keepers  indicate  German  and  French  origin.  I 
looked  in  at  one  or  two  of  the  slave  magazines, 
which  are  not  unlike  similar  establishments  iti 
Cairo  and  Smyrna.  A  certain  degree  of  free- 
dom is  enjoyed  by  some  of  the  men,  who  lounge 
about  the  doors,  and  are  careless  of  escape  or 
liberty,  knowing  too  well  the  diflSculties  of  either. 

It  is  not  in  its  external  asi)eets  generally  that 
slavery  is  so  painful.  The  observer  must  go 
with  Sterne,  and  gnze  in  on  the  captives'  dun- 
geons through  the  bars.  The  condition  of  a  pig 
in  a  stye  is  not,  in  an  animal  sense,  anything  but 
good.  Well  fed,  over  fed,  covered  from  the 
winds  and  storms  of  heaven,  with  clothing,  food, 
medicine  provided,  children  taken  care  of,  aged 
relatives  and  old  age  itself  succoured  and  guard- 
ed— is  not  this ?     Get  thee  behind  us,  slave 

philosopher  !     The  hour  comes  when  the  butch- 

•  ?ince  killed  in  action. 


I 


er  steals  t( 
sheath. 

Now  tb 
dvSpujv,  tl 
a  kind  of 
leader.     '. 
his  course 
who  drive 
thin  ho  M 
compels  n 
op  the  pi 
very  supei 
and  habit! 
a  man. 
regulates 
fellows,  as 
becomes  d 
less  marti 
gances,  lu: 
Jeins  rouni 
make  the : 
arts  whicl 
ignorant  a 
population 
race  come 
the  part  of 
patrician. 
The  Soi 
faetures,  u 
side  or  the 
spises  botl 
The  one  ^ 
and  the  fr 
spend  thrift 
good  as  h 
ginning  of 
gro.     It  is 
erine-whec 
light  and  1 
— I  hope  I 
in  the  ceA 
emigrants 
the  emigri 
The  Unite 
British  an 
the  North 
the  British 
self  in  the 
Northern 
bourer,  or 
the  North 
to  the  pos! 
After  d 
crowded  w 
ell  Cobb  1 
gress,  I  SI 
Quarterni; 
Staff",  in  th 
to  the  hou 
deuces   so 
ceived   a 
men  and  a 
ing  whicl 
meeting-h 
never  intr 
or  persons 
appearanc 
luxury, 
of  my  com 
ft   straw-h 
trimmings 
thaw  1,  anc 


MY  DIAKY  NOUTH  AND  SOUTH. 


67 


er  steals  to  the  stye,  and  the  knife  leaps  from  the 
sheath. 

JJow  there  is  this  one  thinp;  in  being  a  uva^ 
avopu)v,  timt  be  the  race  of  men  bud  as  it  may, 
a  liinfl  of  grandiose  character  is  given  to  tiieir 
leader.  Tlie  stag  which  sweeps  his  rivals  from 
his  course  is  the  largest  of  tlie  herd ;  but  a  man 
wlio  drives  the  largest  drove  of  sheep  is  no  better 
than  ho  who  drives  the  smallest.  The  flock  he 
compels  must  consist  of  human  beings  to  devel- 
op the  property  of  whicli  I  speak,  and  so  the 
very  superiority  of  the  slave  master  in  the  ways 
and  habits  of  command  proves  that  the  negro  is 
a  man.  But,  at  the  same  time,  the  law  which 
regulates  all  the."e  relations  between  man  and  his 
fellows,  asserts  itsielf  here.  The  dominant  race 
becomes  dependent  on  some  other  body  of  men, 
less  martial,  arrogant,  and  wealthy,  for  its  ele- 
gances, luxuries,  and  necessaries.  The  poor  vil- 
leins round  the  Norman  castle  forge  the  armour, 
make  the  furniture,  and  exercise  the  mechanical 
arts  which  the  baron  and  his  followers  arc  too 
ignorant  and  too  proud  to  pursue  ;  if  there  is  no 
population  to  serve  this  purpose,  some  energetic 
race  comes  in  their  place,  and  the  Yankee  does 
the  part  of  the  little  hungry  Greek  to  the  Roman 
patrician. 

The  South  has  at  present  little  or  noTnanu- 
factures,  takes  everything  from  the  Yankee  out- 
side or  the  mean  white  within  her  gates,  and  de- 
spises botli.  Both  are  reconciled  by  interest. 
The  one  gets  a  good  price  for  his  manufacture 
and  the  fruit  of  his  ingenuity  from  a  careless, 
spendthrift  proprietor  ;  the  other  hopes  to  be  as 
good  as  his  master  some  day,  and  sees  the  be- 
ginning of  his  fortune  ia  the  possession  of  a  ne- 
gro. It  is  fortunate  for  our  great  British  Cath- 
erine-wheel, which  is  continually  throwing  off 
light  and  heat  to  the  remotest  parts  of  the  world 
— I  hope  not  burning  down  to  a  dull  red  cinder 
in  the  certlre  at  last — that  it  had  not  to  send  its 
emigrants  to  the  Southern  States,  as  assuredly 
the  emigration  would  soon  have  been  checked. 
The  United  States  has  been  rejiresented  to  the 
British  and  Irish  emigrants  by  the  free  States — 
the  Northern  States  and  the  great  West — and 
tlie  British  and  German  emigrant  who  finds  him- 
self in  the  S(^th,  has  drifted  there  tlwough  the 
Nortliern  States,  and  either  is  a  migratory  la- 
bourer, or  hopes  to  return  with  a  little  money  to 
the  North  and  West,  if  he  docs  not  see  his  way 
to  the  possession  of  land  and  negroes. 

After  dinner  at  the  hotel  table,  which  was 
crowded  with  officers,  and  where  I  met  Mr.  How- 
ell Cobb  and  several  senators  of  the  new  Con- 
gress, I  spent  the  evening  with  Colonel  Deas, 
Quartermaster  -  General,  and  a  number  of  h'r 
statl',  in  their  quarte.s.  As  I  was  walking  over 
to  the  house,  one  of  the  detached  villa-like  resi- 
dences so  common  in  Southern  cities,  I  per- 
ceived a  crowd  of  very  well-dressed  negroes, 
men  and  women,  in  front  of  a  i)laln  brick  build- 
ing which  I  was  informed  was  their  Baptist 
meeting-house,  into  wliich  white  people  rarely  or 
never  intrude.  These  were  domestic  servants, 
or  persons  employed  in  stores,  and  their  general 
appearance  indicated  much  comfort  and  even 
luxury.  I  doubted  if  tlicy  all  were  slaves.  One 
of  my  companions  went  up  to  a  young  woman  in 
n  straw-hat,  with  bright  red-and-green  riband 
trimmings  and  artificial  flowers,  a  gaudy  Paisley 
thawl,  and  a  rainbow-like  gown,  blown  out  over 


her  yellow  boots  by  a  prodigious  crinoline,  and 
asked  her  "Whom  do  you  belong  to  ?"  She  re- 
plied, "I  b'long  to  Massa  Smith,  sar."  Well, 
we  have  men  who  "  belong"  to  horses  in  Eni?- 
land.  X  am  not  sure  if  Americans,  North  and 
South,  do  not  consider  their  superiority  to  all 
Englishmen  so  thoroughly  established,  that  they 
can  speak  of  them  as  if  they  were  talking  of  in- 
ferior animals.  To-night,  for  example,  a  gal- 
lant young  South  Carolinian,  one  liansome  Cal- 
houn,* was  good  enough  to  say  that  "Great 
Britain  was  in  mortal  fear  of  France,  and  was 
abjectly  subdued  by  her  great  rival."  Hence 
came  controversy,  short  and  acrimonious. 

jMnij  Gth. — I  forgot  to  say  that  yesterday  be- 
fore dinner  I  drove  out  with  some  gentlemen  and 
the  ladies  of  the  family  of  Mr.  George  N.  Sand- 
ers, once  United  States'  consul  at  Liveri)ool, 
now  a  doubtful  ma-^  here,  seeking  some  oflicc 
from  the  Government,  and  accused. by  a  por- 
tion of  the  press  of  being  a  Confederate  spy — 
Porcus  de  (jreye  epicuri — but  a  learned  pig  withal, 
and  weather-wise,  and  mindful  of  tlie  signs  of 
the  times,  cateiiing  straws  and  whisking  them 
upwards  to  detect  the  currents.  Well,  in  this 
great  moment  I  am  bound  to  say  there  was 
much  talk  of  ice.  The  North  owns  the  frozen 
climates  j  but  it  was  hoped  that  Great  Britain, 
to  whom  belongs  the  North  Pole,  might  force 
the  blockade  and  send  aid. 

'^^  environs  of  Montgomery  jrre  agreeable — 
■  ■'  wooded,  undula/ting,  villas  abounduig,  pub- 
lic garden?,  and  a  hT-ge  negro  and  mulatto  sub- 
urb. It  is  not  usual,  as  far  as  I  can  judge,  to 
see  women  riding  on  horseback  in  the  South 
but  on  the  road  here  we  encountered  several. 

After  breakfast  I  walked  down  with  Senator 
Wigfall  to  the  capitol  of  Montgomery — one  of 
the  true  Athenian  Yankeeized  structures  of  this 
novo-classie  land,  erected  on  a  site  worthy  of  a 
better  fate  and  edifice.  By  an  open  cistern,  on 
our  way,  I  came  on  a  gentleman  engaged  in  dis- 
posing of  some  living  ebony  carvings  to  a  small 
circle,  who  had  more  curiosity  than  cash,  for  they 
did  not  at  all  respond  to  the  energetic  appeals 
of  the  auctioneer. 

The  sight  was  a  bad  preparation  for  an  intro- 
duction to  the  legislative  assembly  of  a  Confed 
eracy  which  rests  on  the  Institution  as  the  cor- 
nerstone of  the  social  and  political  arch  which 
maintains  it.  But  there  tliey  were,  the  legisla- 
tors or  conspirators,  in  a  large  room  provided 
with  benches  and  seats,  and  listening  to  such 
a  sermon  as  a  Balfour  of  Burley  might  have 
preached  to  his  Covenanter; — resolute  and  mass- 
ive heads,  and  large  frame:; — such  men  as  must 
have  a  fiiith  to  inspire  them.  And  tliat  is  so. 
Assaulted  by  reason,  by  logic,  argument,  philan- 
thi'opy,  progress  directed  against  his  peculiar  in- 
stitutions, the  Southerner  at  last  is  driven  to  a 
fanaticism — a  sacred  faith  which  is  above  ail  rea- 
son or  logical  attack  in  tiie  propriety,  righteous- 
ness, and  divinity  of  slavery. 

Tlie  chaplain,  a  venerable  old  man,  loudly  in- 
voked curses  on  the  heads  of  the  enemy,  and 
blessings  on  the  arms  and  councils  of  the  New 
State.  When  he  was  done,  Mr.  Howell  Cobb,  a 
fat,  double -chinned,  mellow -eyed  man,  rapped 
with  hi.^  hammer  on  the  desk  before  the  chair  on 
which  he  sat  as  speaker  of  the  assembly,  and  the 
house  proceeded  to  business.  I  coulil  fancy  that. 
*  Since  killed. 


!r  >  ■ 


68 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


! 


in  all  but  garments,  they  were  like  the  men  who 
first  conceived  the  great  rebellion  which  led  to 
the  independence  of  this  wonderful  cor.ntry — so 
earnest,  so  grave,  so  sober,  and  so  vin''"  'live — at 
least,  so  embittered  against  the  power  which  they 
consider  tyrannical  and  insulting. 

The  word  "  liberty"  was  used  repeatedly  in  the 
short  time  allotted  to  the  public  transaction  of 
business  and  the  reading  of  documents ;  the  Con- 
gress was  anxious  to  get  to  its  work,  and  Mr. 
Howell  Cobb  again  thumped  his  desk  and  an- 
nounced that  the  house  was  going  into  "secret 
session,"  which  intimated  that  all  persons  who 
were  not  members  should  leave.  1  was  intro- 
duced to  what  is  called  the  floor  of  the  house, 
and  liad  a  delegate's  chair,  and  of  course  I  moved 
away  with  th  ■  others,  and  with  the  disappointed 
ladies  and  men  from  the  galleries,  but  one  of  the 
members,  Mr.  Rhett,  1  believe,  said  jokingly :  "  I 
think  you  ought  to  retain  your  scat.  If  the 
"  Times"  will  support  the  South,  we'll  accejjt  you 
as  a  delegate."  I  replied  that  I  was  afraid  I 
could  not  act  as  a  delegate  to  a  Congress  of 
Slave  States.  And,  indeed,  I  had  been  much 
affected  at  the  slave  auction  held  just  outside  the 
hotel,  on  the  steps  of  the  public  fountain,  which 
I  had  witnessed  on  my  way  to  the  caj)itol.  The 
auctionec,  who  was  an  ill-favoured,  dissipated- 
looking  rascal,  had  his  "article"  beside  him  on, 
not  in,  a  deal  packing-case — a  stout  young  negro 
badly  dressed  and  ill-shod,  who  stood  with  all 
his  goods  fastened  in  a  small  bundle  in  his  hand, 
looking  out  at  the  small  and  listless  gathering 
of  men,  who,  whittling  and  chewing,  had  moved 
out  from  the  shady  side  of  the  street  as  they  saw 
the  man  put  up.  The  chattel  character  of  i-lav- 
ery  in  the  States  renders  it  most  repulsive.  What 
a  pity  the  nigger  is  not  polypoid — so  that  he 
could  be  cnt  up  in  junks,  and  each  junk  should 
reproduce  itself! 

A  man  in  a  cart,  some  volunteers  in  coarse 
nniform,  a  few  Irish  labourers  in  a  long  van,  and 
four  or  five  men  in  the  usual  black  coat,  satin 
waistcoat,  and  blnck  hat,  constituted  the  audi- 
ence, whom  the  auctioneer  addressed  volubly : 
"  A  prime  field-hand  !  Just  look  at  him — good- 
natered,  well-tempered  ;  no  marks,  nary  sign  of 
bad  about  him  !  En-i-ne  hunthered — only  nine 
hun-ther-ed  and  fifty  dol'rs  for  'em  !  Why,  it's 
quite  rad-aklous  !    Nine  hundred  and  fifty  dol'rs ! 

I  can't  raly ^That's  good.     Thank  you,  sir. 

Twenty-five  bid — nine  hun-therd  and  seventy- 
five  dol'rs  for  this  most  useful  hand."  The  price 
rose  to  one  thousand  dollars,  at  wiiioh  the  useful 
hand  was  knocked  down  to  one  of  the  black  hats 
near  me.  The  auctioneer  and  the  negro  and 
his  buyer  all  walked  ott'  together  to  settle  the 
transaction,  and  the  crowd  moved  away. 

"That  nigger  went  cheap,"  said  one  of  them 
to  a  companion,  ns  he  walked  towards  the  shade. 
"Yes,  Sirr !  Niggers  is  cheap  now — that's  a 
fact."  I  must  admit  that  I  felt  myself  indulging 
in  a  sort  of  reflection  whether  it  would  not  be 
nice  to  own  a  man  as  absolutely  as  one  might 
possess  a  horse— to  hold  him  subject  to  my  will 
and  i)lca8urc,  ns  if  he  were  a  brute  beast  without 
the  power  of  kicking  or  biting — to  make  liim 
work  for  me— to  liold  his  fate  in  my  hands :  but 
the  thought  was  fc.  a  moment.  It  was  followed 
by  disgust. 

I  have  seen  slave  markets  in  the  East,  where 
the  traditions  of  the  race,  the  condition  of  family 


and  social  relations  divest  slavery  of  the  most 
odious  characteristics  which  pertain  to  it  in  the 
States ;  but  the  use  of  the  English  tongue  in 
such  transactions,  and  the  idea  of  its  taking  ])lace 
among  a  civilized  Christian  people,  jjroduccd  in 
me  a  feeling  of  inexi)ressiblo  loathing  and  in- 
dignation. Yesterday  I  was  much  struck  by  the 
intelligence,  activity,  and  derire  to  please  of  n 
good-looking  coloured  waiter,  who  seemed  so 
light-hearted  and  light  -  coloured  I  could  not 
imagine  no  was  a  slave.  So  one  of  our  party, 
who  was  an  American,  asked  him :  "  What  arc 
yon,  boy — a  free  nigger?"  Of  course  he  knew 
that  in  Alabama  it  was  most  unlikely  he  could 
reply  in  the  aflirmutive.  The  young  man's  smile 
died  away  from  his  lips,  a  flush  of  blood  em- 
browned the  face  for  a  moment,  and  he  answ  cred 
in  a  sad,  low  tone :  "  No,  sir !  I  b'long  to  Massa 
Jackson,"  and  left  the  room  at  once.  As  I  stood 
at  an  upper  window  of  the  capitol,  and  looked  on 
the  wide  expanse  of  richly-wooded,  wcll-cidti- 
vated  land  which  sweeps  round  the  hill  side  away 
to  the  horizon,  I  could  not  help  thinking  of  the 
misery  and  cruelty  which  must  have  been  borno 
in  tilling  the  land  and  raising  the  houses  and 
streets  of  the  dominant  race  before  whom  one 
nationality  of  coloured  people  have  perished  with- 
in the  memory  of  man.  The  misery  and  cruelty 
of  the  system  are  established  by  the  advertise- 
ments for  runaway  negroes,  and  by  the  descrip- 
tion of  the  stigmata  on  their  persons — whippings 
and  brandings,  scars  and  cuts — though  these,  in- 
deed, are  less  frequent  here  than  in  the  border 
States. 

On  my  return^  the  Hon.  W.  M.  Browne,  As- 
sistant Secretary  of  State,  came  to  visit  me — a 
cadet  of  an  Irish  family,  who  came  to  America 
some  years  ago,  and  having  lost  his  money  in 
land  speculations,  turned  liis  pen  to  pood  ac- 
count as  a  journalist,  and  gained  Mr.  Buchan- 
an's patronage  and  support  as  a  newspaper  editor 
in  Washington.  There  he  became  intimate  with 
the  Southern  gentlemen,  with  whom  he  natural- 
ly associated  in  preference  to  the  Northern  mem- 
bers ;  and  when  they  went  out,  he  walked  over 
along  with  them.  He  told  me  the  Government 
had  already  received  numerous — I  think  he  said 
400 — letters  from  shipowners  applying  for  letters 
of  marque  and  reprisal.  Many  of  these  applica- 
tions were  from  merchants  in  Boston,  and  other 
maritime  cities  in  the  New  England  States.  Ho 
further  stated  that  the  President  was  determined 
to  take  the  whole  control  of  the  army,  and  the 
appointments  to  command  in  all  ranks  of  ofiicers 
into  his  own  hands. 

There  is  now  no  possible  chance  of  preserving 
the  i)eace  or  of  averting  the  horrors  of  war  from 
these  great  and  prosperous  communities.  The 
Southern  people,  right  or  wrong,  are  bent  on  in- 
dependence and  on  separation,  and  they  will  fight 
to  the  last  for  their  object. 

The  press  is  fanning  the  flame  on  both  sides: 
it  would  be  difficult  to  say  whether  it  or  the  tel- 
egraphs circulate  lies  most  largely ;  but  that  a« 
the  papers  i)rint  the  telegrams  they  must  have 
the  palm.  The  Southerners  are  told  there  is  a 
reign  of  terror  in  New  York — that  the  7th  New 
York  Regiment  has  been  captured  by  the  Balti- 
more people — that  Abe  Lincoln  is  always  drunk 
— that  General  Lee  has  seized  Arlington  heights, 
and  is  bombarding  Washington.  The  New  York 
jwople  are  regaled  with  similar  stories  fiotn  the 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


69 


South.  The  coincidence  between  the  date  of 
the  skirmish  nt  Lcxinpton  nnd  of  the  attack  on 
the  0th  Massachusetts  licgiment  at  IJaltiinorc  is 
not  so  remarkable  as  the  fact,  tliat  tiie  first  man 
who  was  killed. at  the  latter  place,  80  years  ago, 
was  a  direct  descendant  of  the  first  of  the  colo- 
nists who  was  killed  by  the  royal  soldiery.  Bal- 
timore may  do  the  same  for  the  South  which 
Lexington  did  for  ail  the  Colonies.  Head- 
sliaving,  forcible  deportations,  tarring  and  feath- 
ering are  recommended  and  adopted  as  specilics 
to  produce  conversion  from  erroneous  opinions. 
Tlie  President  of  tiie  United  States  has  called 
■'ito  service  of  the  Federal  Government  42,000 
volunteers,  and  increased  the  regular  army  bv 
!i2,000  men,  and  the  navy  by  18,000  men.  If 
the  South  secede,  they  ought  certainly  to  take 
over  witii  them  some  Yankee  hotel  keepers. 
Tills  "Exchange"  is  in  a  frightful  state — noth- 
ing but  noise,  dirt,  drinking,  wrangling. 


CHAPTER  XXIII. 

Proclamation   of  war — Jefferson   Davia— Interview  with 
the  President  of  tlio  (Jonfeeleraoy — Passport  nnd  Bnfe- 
conduot — Messrs.  Wigfiill,  Walker,  and  IJeiijnmin — Pri- 
vateering and  letters  of  mari|ue— A  reeeption  at  Jeffer- 
Bon  Davis's— Dinner  at  .Mr.  Benjamin's. 
Mai/  dlh. — To-day  the  papers  contain  a  ])roc- 
lamatjon  by  the  President  of  the  Confederate 
States  of  America,  declaring  a  state  of  war  be- 
tween tlie  Confederacy  and  the  United  States, 
and  notifying  the  issue  of  letters  of  marque  and 
reprisal.     I  went  out  with  Mr.  Wi<i'"all  in  the 
forenoon  to  pay  my  respects  to  IVIr.  Jefferson 
Davis  at  the  State   Department.     Mr.  Sew    d 
told  mo  that  but  for  Jcflferson  Davis  the  Seces- 
sion plot  could  never  have  been  carried  out.    No 
other  man  of  tlie  party  had  the  brain,  or  the 
courage  and  dexterity,  to  bring  it  to  a  successful 
issue.     All  the  persons  in  the  Southern  States 
spoke  of  him  with  admiration,  though  their  forms 
of  speech  and  thouglit  generally  forbid  them  to 
be  respectful  to  any  one. 

Tliere  before  me  was  "JeffDavis^s  State  De- 
partment"— a  large  brick  building,  at  the  corner 
of  a  street,  witii  a  Confederate  flag  floating  above 
it.  The  door  stood  open,  and  "  gave"  on  a  large 
hall  white-washed,  with  doors  y)lainly  painted 
belonging  to  small  rooms,  in  which  w.ns  trans- 
acted most  important  business,  judging  by  the 
n.amos  written  on  siieets  of  ])apcr  and  a])plied 
outside,  denoting  bureaux  of  the  higliest  func- 
tions. A  few  clerks  were  jiassing  in  and  out, 
and  one  or  t.vo  gentlemen  were  on  the  stairs, 
but  there  was  no  aj)pearance  of  any  bustle  in  the 
building. 

We  walked  straight  np-stairs  to  the  first-floor, 
Avhicli  was  surrounded  by  doors  opening  from  a 
quadrangular  platform.  On  one  of  tiiese  wan 
written  simidy,  "Tlie  President."  Mr.Wigfall 
went  ii.,  and  after  a  moment  returned  and  said, 
"The  President  will  be  glad  to  see  you;  walk 
in,  sir."  When  I  entered,  the  President  was  en- 
gaged witli  four  gentlemen,  who  were  making 
some  offer  of  aid  to  liim.  He  was  thanking  them 
"in  the  name  of  the  Government."  Shaking 
hands  with  each,  he  saw  them  to  the  door,  bowed 
them  and  Mr.  Wigfall  out,  and  turning  to  me 
said,  "  Mr.  Russell,  I  am  glad  to  welcome  you 
here,  though  I  fear  your  appearance  is  a  symp- 
tom that  our  affairs  arc  not  qnitc  prosj)erous," 


or  words  to  that  effect.  He  then  requested  mo 
to  sit  down  close  to  his  own  chair  at  his  oflicc 
table,  and  proceeded  to  speak  on  general  mat- 
ters, adverting  to  the  Crimean  War  and  the  In- 
dian Mutiny,  and  asking  ([uestions  about  Sebas- 
to])oI,  the  lledan,  and  the  Siege  of  Lucknow. 

I  had  an  opportunity  of  observing  the  Presi- 
dent very  closely :  he  did  not  impress  me  as  fa- 
vourably as  I  had  expected,  tliough  he  is  certainly 
a  very  difl'erent  looking  man  from  Mr.  Lincoln. 
He  is  like  a  gentleman — has  a  slight,  liglit  fig- 
nro,  little  exceeding  middle  height,  and  holds 
himself  erect  and  straight.  He  was  dressed  in 
a  rustic  suit  of  slate-coloured  stuff,  with  a  black 
silk  handkerchief  round  his  neck  ;  his  manner  is 
plain,  and  rather  reserved  ;ind  drastic ;  his  head 
is  well  formed,  with  a  fine  full  forehead,  square 
and  high,  covered  with  innumerable  fine  lines 
and  wrinkles,  features  regular,  though  the  cheek- 
bones are  too  high,  and  the  jaws  too  hollow  to  be 
handsome ;  the  lips  are  thin,  flexible,  and  curved, 
the  chin  square,  well-defined  ;  the  nose  very  reg- 
ular, witli  wide  nostrils ;  and  the  eyes  deep  set, 
large  and  full — one  seems  nearly  blind,  and  is 
partly  coveiv'  with  a  film,  owing  to  excruciating 
attacks  of  neuralgia  and  tic.  Wonderful  to  re- 
late, he  does  not  chew,  and  is  neat  and  clean- 
looking,  with  hair  trimmed  nnd  boots  brushed. 
The  expression  of  his  face  is  anxious,  he  has  a 
very  haggard,  care-worn,  and  pain-drawn  look, 
though  no  trace  of  anything  but  the  utmost  con- 
fidence and  the  greatest  decision  could  be  detect- 
ed in  his  conversation.  He  asked  me  some 
questions  respecting  the  route  I  had  taken  in  the 
States. 

I  mentioned  that  I  had  seen  great  military 
preparations  through  the  South,  and  was  aston- 
ished at  the  alacrity  with  which  the  people  sprang 
to  arms.  "  Yes,  sir,"  he  remarked,  and  his  tone 
of  voice  and  manner  of  speech  are  rather  re- 
markable for  what  are  considered  Yankee  pe- 
culiarities, "in  Eu-rope"  (Mr.  Seward  also  in- 
dulges in  that  pronunciation)  "they  laugh  at  us 
because  of  our  fondness  for  military  titles  and 
displays.  All  your  travellers  in  this  country 
have  commented  on  the  number  of  generals,  and 
colonels,  and  majors  all  over  the  States.  But 
the  fact  is,  we  are  a  military  people,  and  these 
signs  of  the  fact  were  ignored.  We  are  not  lcs,s 
military  because  we  have  had  no  great  standing 
armies.  But  perhaps  we  arc  the  only  people  in 
the  world  where  gentlemen  go  to  a  military 
academy,  who  do  not  intend  to  follow  the  jirofcs- 
sion  of  arms." 

In  the  course  of  our  conversation,  I  aske<l  him 
to  have  the  goodness  to  direct  thafa  sort  of  pass- 
port or  protection  should  be  given  to  me,  as  I 
might  possibly  fall  in  with  some  guerilla  loader 
on  my  way  northwards,  in  whose  eyes  I  might 
not  be  entitled  ti  safe  conduct.  Mr.  Davis  said, 
"I  shall  give  such  instructions  to  the  Secretary 
of  War  as  shall  be  necossar} .  But,  sir,  you  are 
among  civilised,  intelligent  jicople  who  under- 
stand your  position,  and  appreciate  your  charac- 
ter. We  do  not  seek  the  sympathy  of  England 
by  unworthy  means,  for  we  respect  ourselves, 
and  we  are  glad  to  invite  the  scrutiny  of  men 
into  our  acts;  as  for  our  motives,  we  meet  the 
eye  of  Heaven."  I  thought  I  could  judge  from 
his  words  that  ho  had  the  highest  idea  of  the 
French  as  soldiers,  but  that  his  feelings  and  :isso- 
ciations  were  more  identified  with  England,  al- 


70 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


though  he  was  quite  aware  of  the  difficult;'  of 
conquering  the  repugnance  which  exists  to  slav- 

61*V 

Mr.  Davis  made  no  allusion  to  the  authorities 
at  Washington,  hut  he  asked  me  if  I  thought  it 
was  supposed  in  England  there  would  be  war  hc- 
twcon  the  two  States  ?  I  answered,  that  I  was 
under  the  impression  the  public  thought  there 
would  be  no  actual  hostilities.  "And  yet  you 
sec  we  are  driven  to  take  up  arms  for  the  defence 
of  our  rights  and  liberties." 

As  I  saw  an  immense  mass  of  papers  on  his 
table,  I  rose  and  made  ny  bow,  and  Mr.  Davis, 
seeing  me  to  the  door,  gave  nie  his  hand  and 
said,  "As  long  as  you  may  stay  among  us  you 
shall  receive  every  facility  it  is  in  our  power  to 
aflbrd  to  you,  and  I  shall  always  be  glad  to  see 
you."  Colonel  Wigfall  was  outside,  and  took 
me  to  tlie  room  of  the  Secretary  of  War,  Mr. 
Walker,  wl  Aii  we  found  closeted  with  General 
Beauregard  and  two  other  officers  in  a  room  full 
of  maps  and  plans.  He  is  the  kind  of  man  gen- 
erally represented  in  our  ty])es  of  a  "  Yankee" — 
tall,  lean,  straight-haired,  angular,  with  fiery, 
impulsive  eyes  and  manner — a  ruminator  of  to- 
bacco and  a  profuse  spitter — a  lawyer,  I  believe, 
certainly  not  a  soldier;  ardent,  devoted  to  the 
cause,  and  confident  to  the  last  degree  of  its 
8])eedy  success. 

The  news  that  two  more  States  had  joined  the 
Confederacy,  making  ten  in  all,  was  enough  to 
put  them  in  good  humour.  "Is  it  not  too  bad 
these  Yankees  will  not  let  us  go  our  own  way, 
and  keep  their  cursed  Union  to  themselves  ?  If 
they  force  us  to  it,  we  may  be  obliged  to  drive 
them  beyond  the  Susquehanna."  Beauregard 
was  in  excellent  spirits,  busy  measuring  off  miles 
of  country  with  his  compass,  as  if  he  were  divid- 
ing empires. 

From  this  room  I  proceeded  to  the  office  of 
Mr.  Benjamin,  the  Attorney-General  ot  ii.  Con- 
federate States,  the  most  brilliant  ])erhaps  of  the 
whole  of  the  famous  Southern  orators.  He  is  a 
short,  stout  man,  with  a  full  face,  olive-coloured, 
and  most  decidedly  Jewi.sh  features,  with  the 
brightest  large  black  eyes,  one  of  which  is  some- 
what diverse  from  the  other,  and  a  brisk,  lively, 
agreeable  manner,  combined  with  much  vivacity 
of  speech  and  quickness  of  utterance.  Ho  is  one 
of  the  first  lawyers  or  advocates  in  the  United 
States,  and  had  a  large  practice  at  Washington, 
where  his  anniuil  recei])ts  *'rom  his  profession 
were  not  less  than  £8000  to  £10,000  a  year. 
But  his  lov«  of  the  card-table  rendered  him  a 
prey  to  older  and  cooler  hands,  who  waited  till 
the  sponge  was  full  at  the  end  of  the  session,  and 
then  squeezed  it  to  the  last  drop. 

Mr.  Benjamin  is  the  most  open,  frank,  and 
cordial  of  the  Confederates  whom  I  have  yet  met. 
In  n  few  seconds  he  wns  telling  me  all  about  the 
course  of  Government  with  respect  to  ])rivateers 
and  letters  of  marque  and  reprisal,  in  order  prob- 
ably to  ascertain  what  were  our  views  in  England 
on  the  subject.  I  observed  it  was  likely  the 
North  would  not  respect  their  flag,  and  would 
treat  their  privateers  as  pirates.  "  We  have  an 
easy  remedy  for  that.  For  any  man  under  our 
flag  whom  the  authorities  of  the  United  States 
dare  to  execute,  we  shall  hang  two  of  their  peo- 
ple." "Suppose,  Mr.  Attorney -General,  En- 
gland, or  any  of  the  great  powers  which  decreed 
the  abolition  of  privateering,  refuses  to  recog- 


nise your  flag?"  "We  intend  to  claim,  and  do 
claim,  the  exercise  of  all  the  rights  and  privi- 
leges of  an  independent  sovereign  State,  and 
any  attemj)t  to  refuse  us  the  full  measure  of  those 
rights  would  be  an  act  of  hostility  to  our  coun- 
try." "But  if  England,  for  cxamjile,  declared 
your  privateers  were  pirates  ?"  "As  the  United 
States  never  admitted  the  principle  laid  down  at 
the  Congress  of  Paris,  neither  have  the  Confed- 
erate States.  If  England  thinks  fit  to  declare  pri- 
vateers under  our  flag  ])irates,  it  would  be  noth- 
ing more  or  less  than  a  declaration  o."  war  against 
us,  and  we  must  meet  it  as  best  we  can."  In 
fact,  Mr,  Benjamin  did  not  appear  afraid  of  any- 
thing ;  but  his  confidence  respecting*Great  IJrit- 
ain  was  based  a  good  deal,  no  doubt,  on  his  firm 
faith  in  cotton,  and  in  England's  utter  subjecticn 
to  her  cotton  interest  and  manufactures.  "All 
this  coyness  about  acknowledging  a  slave  power 
will  come  right  at  last.  We  hear  our  commis- 
sioners hiive  gone  on  to  Paris,  which  looks  as  if 
they  had  met  with  no  encouragement  at  Lon- 
don ;  but  we  are  quite  easy  in  our  minds  on  this 
point  at  present." 

So  Great  Britain  is  in  a  ])leasant  condition. 
Mr.  Seward  is  threatening  us  with  war  if  we  rec- 
ognise the  South,  and  the  South  declares  that  if 
we  don't  recognise  their  flag,  they  will  take  it  as 
an  act  of  hostility.  Lord  Lyons  is  jjressed  to 
give  an  assurance  to  the  Government  at  Wash- 
ington, that  under  no  circumstances  will  Great 
Britain  recognise  the  Southern  rebels ;  but,  at 
the  same  time,  Mr.  Seward  refuses  to  give  any 
assurance  whatever  that  the  right  of  neutrals 
will  be  respected  in  the  iiTipending  struggle. 

As  I  was  going  down  stairs,  Rlr.  Browne  call- 
ed me  into  his  room.  lie  said  that  the  Attor- 
ney-General and  himself  were  in  a  state  of  jier- 
])lexity  as  to  the  form  in  which  letters  t)f  marque 
and  reprisal  should  he  maue  out.  They  had  con- 
sulted all  the  bof)ks  they  could  get,  but  found  no 
examples  to  suit  their  case,  and  he  wished  to 
know,  as  I  was  a  barrister,  whether  I  could  aid 
him.  I  told  him  it  was  not  so  much  my  regard 
to  my  own  position  as  a  neutral,  as  the  va/ri  in- 
scitia  ju7-is  which  i)rcveuted  me  throwing  any 
light  on  the  sulyect.  There  are  not  only  Yan- 
kee shi[)owners  but  English  firms  ready  with  sail- 
ors and  steamers  for  the  Confederate  Govern- 
ment, and  the  owner  of  the  Camilla  might  be 
temjtted  to  part  with  his  yacht  by  the  ofiers  made 
to  him. 

Being  invited  to  attend  a  Icve'e  or  reception 
held  by  Mrs.  Davis,  the  President's  wife,  I  re- 
turned to  the  hotel  to  prepare  for  the  occasion. 
On  my  way  I  passed  a  comjiany  of  volunteers, 
one  hundred  and  twenty  artillerymen,  and  three 
field-jiieces,  oil  their  way  to  the  station  for  Vir- 
ginia, followed  by  a  crowd  of  "citizens"  and  ne- 
groes of  both  sexes,  cheering  vociferously.  The 
band  was  jilnyiug  that  excellent  quick  -  step 
"Dixie."  The  men  wore  stout,  fine  fellows, 
dressed  in  coarse  grey  tunics  with  yellow  fac- 
ings, and  French  caps.  They  were  armed  with 
smooth-bore  muskets,  and  their  knapsacks  were 
unfit  for  marching,  being  water-proof  bags  slung 
from  the  shoulders.  The  guns  had  no  caissons, 
and  the  shoeing  of  the  troops  was  certainly  defi- 
cient in  soleing.  The  Zouave  mania  is  quite  as 
rampant  here  as  it  is  in  New  York,  and  the 
smallest  children  are  thrust  into  baggy  red  breech- 
es, which  the  learned  Lipsius  might  have  appre- 


MY  DIAIIY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


71 


ciatcJ,  and  ai*e  sent  out  with  flags  and  tin  swords 
to  impede  tlic  highways. 

The  modest  villa  in  which  the  President  lives 
is  painted  white — another  "White  House" — and 
stands  in  a  small  garden.  The  door  was  open. 
A  coloured  servant  took  in  our  names,  and  Mr. 
Browne  presented  me  to  Mrs.  Davis,  whom  I 
could  just  make  out  in  the  demi-jour  of  a  mod- 
erately-sized parlour,  surrounded  by  a  few  ladies 
and  gentlemen,  the  former  in  bonnets,  the  latter 
in  morning  dress  a  la  midi.  There  was  no  aft'ect- 
ation  of  state  or  ceremony  in  the  reception.  Mrs. 
Davis,  whom  some  of  her  friends  call  "Queen 
Variua,"  is  a  comely,  sprightly  woman,  verging 
on  matronhood,  of  good  figure  and  manners, 
well-dressed,  lady-like,  and  clever,  and  she  seem- 
ed a  great  favourite  with  those  around  her,  though 
I  did  hear  one  of  them  say  "  It  must  be  very  nice 
to  be  the  President's  wife,  and  be  the  first  lady 
in  the  Confederate  States."  Mrs.  Davis,  whom 
the  President  C.  S.  married  en  secondesi  noces,  ex- 
ercised considerable  social  influence  in  Washing- 
ton, where  I  met  many  of  her  friends.  She  was 
just  now  inclined  to  bo  angry,  because  the  pa- 
pers contained  a  report  that  a  reward  was  oftercd 
in  the  North  for  the  head  of  the  arch  rebel  Jeff 
Davis.  "They  are  quite  capable,  1  believe,"  she 
said,  "of  such  acts."  There  were  not  more  than 
eighteen  or  twenty  persons  present,  as  each  party 
came  in  and  staid  only  for  a  few  moments,  and, 
after  a  time,  I  made  my  bow  and  retired,  receiv- 
ing from  Mrs.  Davis  an  invitation  to  come  in  the 
evening,  when  I  would  find  the  President  at  home. 
At  sundown,  amid  great  cheering,  the  guns  in 
front  of  the  State  Department  fired  ten  rounds, 
to  announce  that  Tennessee  and  Arkansas  had 
joined  the  Confederacy. 

In  the  evening  I  dined  with  Mr.  Benjamin  and 
his  brother-in-law,  a  gentleman  of  New  Oilcans, 
Colonel  Wii;;f  dl  coming  in  at  the  end  of  dinner. 
The  New  Orleans  people  of  French  descent,  or 
"Creoles,"  as  they  call  themselves,  speak  French 
in  preference  to  English,  and  Mr.  Benjamin's 
brotiier-in-law  laboured  considerably  in  trying 
to  make  himself  understood  in  our  vernacular. 
The  conversation,  Franco-English,  very  pleasant, 
for  Mr.  Benjamin  is  agreeable  and  lively.  Ho 
is  certain  tliat  the  English  law  authorities  must 
advise  the  Government  that  the  blockade  of  the 
Southern  iwrts  is  illegal  so  long  as  the  President 
claims  them  to  be.  ports  of  the  United  States. 
"At  present,"  he  said,  "their  paper  blockade 
does  no  harm ;  the  season  for  shipping  cotton  is 
over;  but  in  October  next,  when  the  Mississippi 
is  floating  cotton  by  the  thousands  of  bales,  and 
all  our  wharves  are  fidl,  it  is  inevitable  that  the 
Yankees  must  come  to  trouble  with  this  attempt 
to  coerce  us."  Mr.  Benjamin  walked  back  to 
the  hotel  with  mo,  and  we  found  our  room  full 
of  tobacco-smoke,  filibusters,  and  conversation, 
in  which,  as  sleep  was  impossible,  we  were  olligcd 
to  join.  I  resisted  a  vigorous  attempt  of  Mr.  G. 
N.  Sanders  and  a  friend  of  his  to  take  me  to  visit 
a  planter  who  had  a  beaver-dam  some  miles  out- 
side Montgomery.  They  succeeded  in  captur- 
ing Mr.  Deasy. 


CHAPTER  XXIV. 

Mr.  WiEfnll  on  the  Cunfedcracy— Intonrlcd  departure  fmtn 
tho  South— Northern  opathy  and  Southura  activity — 


Future  prospects  of  tho  Union— South  Carolina  and  cot- 
ton—The theory  of  slavery — Indifference  at  Now  York 
— Ucpurturo  from  Montgomery. 

J/ay  8th. — I  tried  to  write,  as  I  have  taken  my 
place  in  the  steamer  to  Mobile  to  morrow,  and  I 
was  obliged  to  do  my  best  in  a  room  full  of  peo- 
ple, constantly  disturbed  by  visitors.     Early  this 
morning,  as  usual,  my  faithful  Wigfall  conies  in 
and  sits  by  my  bedside,  and  passing  his  hands 
through  his  locks,  pours  out  his  ideas  with  won- 
derful lucidity  and  odd  affectation  of  logic  all 
his  own.    "We  are  a  peculiar  people,  sir !    You 
don't  understand  us,  and  you  can't  understand 
us,  because  we  are  known  to  you  only  by  North- 
ern writers  and  Northern  papers,  who  know  noth- 
ing of  us  themselves,  or  misrepresent  what  they 
do  know.     We  arc  an  agricultural  people ;  we 
are  a  primitive  but  a  civilised  people.    We  have 
no  cities — we  don't  want  them.    We  have  no  lit- 
erature— we  don't  need  any  yet.     We  have  no 
press — we  are  glad  of  it.     We  do  not  require  a 
press,  because  we  go  out  and  discuss  all  public 
questions  from  the  stump  with  our  people.     We 
Jiave  no  commercial  marine — ^no  navy — we  don't 
want  them.    We  are  bettor  without  them.    Your 
ships  carry  our  jiroduce,  and  you  can  protect  your 
own  vessels.    We  want  no  manufactures :  we  de- 
sire no  trading,  no  mechanical  or  manufacturing 
classes.    As  long  as  we  have  our  rice,  our  sugar, 
our  tobacco,  and  our  cotton,  we  can  command 
wealth  to  purchase  all  we  want  from  those  na- 
tions with  which  we  are  in  amity,  and  to  lay  up 
money  besides.     But  with  the  Yankees  we  will 
never  trade — never.     Not  one  pound  of  cotton 
shall  ever  go  from  the  South  to  their  accursed 
cities;  not  one  ounce  of  their  steel  or  their  man- 
ufactures shall  ever  cross  our  border."     And  so 
on.     What  the  Senator  who  is  preparing  a  bill 
for  drafting  the  people  into  the  army  fears  is, 
that  the  North  will  begin  active  operations  be- 
fore the  South  is  ready  for  resistance.     "Give 
us  till  November  to  drill  our  men,  and  we  shall 
be   irresistible."     He   deprecates  any  offensive 
movement,  and  is  opposed  to  an  attack  on  Wash- 
ington, which  many  journals  here  advocate. 

Mr.  Walker  sent  me  over  a  letter  recommend- 
ing me  to  all  officers  of  the  Confederate  States, 
and  I  received  an  invitation  from  the  President 
to  dine  with  him  to-morrow,  which  I  was  much 
chagrined  to  be  obliged  to  refuse.  In  fact,  it  is 
most  important  to  complete  my  Sot  th»i'n  tour 
speedily,  as  all  mail  communication  will  soon 
be  suspended  from  the  South,  and  the  blockade 
effectually  cuts  off  any  communication  by  sea. 
Rails  torn  up,  bridges  broken,  telegraphs  down — 
trains  searched — the  war  is  begun.  The  North 
is  pouring  its  hosts  to  the  battle,  and  it  has  met 
the  paans  of  the  conquering  Charlcstonians  with 
a  universal  yell  of  indignation  and  an  oath  of 
vengeance. 

I  expressed  a  belief  in  a  letter,  written  a  few 
days  after  my  arrival  (March  27tli),  that  the 
South  would  never  go  back  into  the  Union.  The 
North  tliink  that  they  can  coerce  the  South,  and 
I  am  not  prepared  to  say  they  are  right  or  wrong  ; 
but  I  am  convinced  that  the  South  can  only  be 
forced  back  by  such  a  conquest  as  that  which  laid 
Poland  prostrate  at  the  feet  of  Russia.  It  may 
be  that  such  a  conquest  can  be  made  by  the 
North,  but  success  must  destroy  the  Union  as  it 
has  been  constituted  in  times  past.  A  strong 
Government  must  be  the  logical  consequence  of 


mi}J 


72 


MY  DIAliY  NOK'lII  AND  SOUTH. 


victory,  and  the  tiiumiih  of  the  South  will  he 
attended  l)y  n  similar  result,  for  whicli,  indeed, 
many  Southerners  are  very  well  disposed.  To  tlie 
people  of  the  C^onfedcrate  States  there  would  be 
no  terror  in  such  an  issue,  for  it  ajjpears  to  me 
they  arc  pining  fur  li  strong  Government  exeecd- 
inply.  The  North  must  accept  it,  whether  they 
like  it  or  not. 

Neither  party— if  sudi  a  term  can  he  applied 
to  the  rest  of  "the  United  States,  and  to  those 
States  which  disclaim  the  authority  of  the  Fed- 
eral Government— was  i)repared  for  the  apRress- 
ive  or  resisting  power  of  the  other.  Already  the 
Confederate  titates  perceive  tlmt  tlicy  cannot  car- 
ry all  before  them  with  a  rush,  while  the  North 
have  learnt  that  they  must  i)Ut  forth  all  their 
strength  to  make  good  a  tithe  of  their  lately  ut- 
tered threats.  Uut  the  Montgomery  Government 
are  anxious  to  gain  time,  and  to  prepare  a  regu- 
lar army.  Tiic  Nnrdi,  distracted  by  apprehen- 
sions of  vast  disturbance  in  their  com])lieated  re- 
lations, are  clamouring  for  instant  action  and 
speedy  consummation.  The  counsels  of  moder- 
ate men,  as  they  Were  called,  have  been  utterly 
overruled. 

The  whole  foundation  on  which  South  Caro- 
lina rests  is  cotton  and  a  certain  amount  of  rice ; 
or  rather  she  bases  her  whole  fabric  on  the  ne- 
cessity wliich  exists  in  Europe  for  those  products 
of  her  soil,  believing  and  asserting,  as  she  does, 
that  England  and  France  cannot  and  will  not  do 
without  them.  Cotton,  without  a  market,  is  so 
much  flocculcnt  mattereneumbering  the  ground. 
Kice,  without  demand  for  it,  is  unsaleable  grain 
in  store  and  on  the  field.  Cotton  at  ten  cents 
a  pound  is  boundless  prosperity,  em])ire  and  su- 
periority, and  rice  or  grain  need  no  longer  be  re- 
garded. 

In  the  matter  of  slave-labour,  South  Carolina 
argues  pretty  much  in  the  following  manner: 
England  and  France  (she  says)  require  our  ])rod- 
ucts.  In  order  to  meet  their  wants,  we  must 
cultivate  our  soil.  There  is  only  one  way  of  do- 
ing so.  The  white  man  cannot  live  on  our  land 
at  certain  seasons  of  the  year ;  he  cannot  work 
in  the  manner  required  by  the  cro])S.  lie  must, 
therefore,  employ  a  race  suited  to  the  labour, 
and  that  is  a  race  which  will  only  work  when  it 
is  obliged  to  do  so.  That  race  was  imported 
from  Africa,  under  the  sanction  of  the  law,  by 
our  ancestors,  when  wc  were  a  British  colony, 
and  it  has  been  fostered  by  us,  so  that  its  increase 
here  has  been  as  great  as  that  of  the  most  flour- 
ishing people  in  the  world.  In  other  places,  where 
its  labour  was  not  productive  or  imperatively  es- 
sential, that  race  has  been  made  free,  sometimes 
with  disastrous  consequences  to  itself  and  to  in- 
dustry. But  we  will  not  make  it  free.  We  can- 
not do  so.  We  hold  that  slavery  is  essential  to 
our  existence  as  producers  of  what  Europe  re- 
quires; nay  more,  we  maintniu  it  is  in  the  ab- 
stract right  in  principle  ,  and  some  of  us  go  so 
far  as  to  maintain  that  the  only  proper  form  of 
society,  according  to  the  law  of  God  and  the  ex- 
igencies of  man,  is  that  which  has  slavery  as  its 
basis.  As  to  the  slave,  he  is  happier  far  in  his 
state  of  servitude,  more  civilised  and  religious, 
than  he  is  or  could  he  if  free  or  in  his  native  Af- 
rica.    For  this  system  we  will  fight  to  the  end. 

In  the  evening  I  ])aid  farewell  visits,  and  spent 
an  hour  with  Mr.  Toombs,  who  is  unquestionably 
one  of  the  most  original,  quaint,  and  earnest  of 


the  Southern  len<l?rg,  and  whoso  eloquence  and 
power  as  a  delatci-  are  greatly  estcinied  by  his 
countrymen.  lit  is  something  of  an  Anglo- 
maniac,  and  au  Anglo-phobist — a  combination 
not  tmusunl  in  America — that  is,  he  is  jiroud  of 
being  connected  with  and  descended  from  r(;s])ect- 
able  English  families,  and  admires  our  mixed 
constitution,  whilst  he  is  an  enemy  to  what  is 
called  English  policy,  and  is  a  strong  jiro-slavcry 
chamj)i()n.  Wigfall  and  he  are  very  uneasy  about 
the  scant  supply  of  gunjiowdcr  in  the  Southern 
States,  and  the  diflicuhy  of  obtaining  it. 

In  the  evening  had  a  little  reunion  in  the  bed- 
room as  before — Mv.  Wigfall,  Mr.  Keitt,  an  em- 
inent Southern  jiolitician.  Colonel  riikctt,  Mr. 
Browne,  Mr.  nenjamin,  Mr.  George  Sanders, 
and  others.  The  last-named  gentleman  was  dis- 
missed or  recalled  from  his  post  at  ]iiverj)ool, 
because  Vie  fra  ernised  with  Mazziiii  and  oilier 
V.^il  Kopui. Hears  a  ce  qtt'  on  dit.  Here  he  is  a 
7  m"n,  and  a  friend  of  an  oligarchy.  Your 
'  '  i.ts  ■.  Man"  man  is  often  most  inccmsistent 
wi  hinijCi ';  and  is  generally  found  associated 
with  tlie  meii  .  i  ^'uce  and  violence. 

May  the  U/A. — My  faithful  Wigfall  was  good 
enough  to  come  in  early,  in  order  to  show  mo 
some  comments  on  my  letters  in  the  "New  York 
Times."  It  appears  the  ])ai)ers  are  angry  be- 
cause I  said  that  New  York  was  ajiathctic  when 
I  landed,  and  they  try  to  prove  I  was  wrong  by 
.showing  there  was  a  "glorious  outburst  of  Union 
feeling,"  after  the  news  of  the  fall  of  Sumter. 
But  I  now  know  that  the  very  a))athy  of  which  I 
spoke  was  felt  by  the  Government  of  Washing- 
ton, and  was  most  weakening  and  embarrassing 
to  them.  What  would  not  the  value  of  "the 
glorious  outburst"  have  been,  had  it  taken  jilace 
before  the  Charleston  batteries  had  ojiencd  on 
Sumter — when  the  Federal  flag,  for  cxiini])le, 
was  fired  on,  flying  from  the  '  Star  of  the  West,' 
or  when  Beauregard  cut  oflf  supjilies,  or  Bragg 
threatened  Pickens,  or  the  first  shovel  of  earth 
was  thrown  up  in  hostile  battery  ?  But  no  ! 
New  York  was  then  engaged  in  discussing  State 
rights,  and  in  reading  articles  to  ])rove  the  new 
Government  would  be  traitors  if  they  endeav- 
oured to  reinforce  the  Federal  forts,  or  were  pe- 
rusing leaders  in  favor  of  the  Southern  Govern- 
ment. Ilaply,  they  may  rememher  one,  not  so 
many  weeks  old,  in  which  the  "New  York  Her- 
ald" compared  Jift'Davis  and  his  Cabinet  to  the 
"Great  Rail  Sjilitter,"  and  Seward,  and  Chase, 
and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  the  former  "  were 
gentlemen" — (a  matter  of  which  it  is  quite  incom  - 
potent  to  judge) — "  and  would,  and  ouglitto  suc- 
ceed." The  glorious  outburst  of  "Union  feel- 
ing" which  threatened  to  demolish  the  "  Herald" 
office,  has  created  a  most  wonderful  change  in 
the  views  of  the  jjroprietor,  whose  diverse-eyed 
vision  is  now  directed  solely  to  the  beauties  of 
the  Union,  and  whose  faith  is  expressed  in  "a 
hearty  adhesion  to  the  Government  of  our  coun- 
try." New  York  must  pay  the  penalty  of  its  in- 
difference, and  bear  th  •  consequences  of  listen- 
ing to  such  counsellors. 

Mr.  Dcasy,  much  dilapidated,  returned  about 
twelve  o'clock  from  his  planter,  who  was  drunk 
when  he  went  over,  and  would  not  let  him  go  to 
the  beaver-dam.  To  console  him,  the  jilanter 
stayed  up  all  night  drinking,  and  waking  him  up 
at  intervals,  that  he  might  refresh  him  w  ith  a 
glass  of  whisky.     This  man  was  well  c;ft',  owned 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


78 


land,  nml  a  rooiI  stock  of  slaves,  l)iit  lie  iiuist 
luivt!  hi'cM  a  "  iticHii  wiiite,"  who  hail  rui.soil  liim- 
seir  in  tlic  woiKI.  Ho  lived  in  a  tiucc-roonied 
wooden  cahin,  and  in  one  of  tiu;  rooms  he  ki^pt 
his  wife  shut  n|>  from  the  straMKcrs'  ^aze.  One 
of  his  iie;;ntes  was  unwell,  and  he  took  Deasy  to 
sec  him.  The  result  of  his  examination  was, 
"NiK^er!  I  KUfss  you  won't  live  more  than  an 
hour."     His  diagnosis  was  quite  correcjt. 

Ik'foro  my  departure  I  had  a  little  farewell 
levde — Mr.  Toombs,  Mr.  lirownc,  .Mr.  IJcnjamin, 
Mr. Walker,  Major  Ocas,  Colonel  J'iekett,  Major 
Calhoun,  Captain  Uipley,  and  others — wiio  were 
exceedingly  kind  witli  letters  of  introduction  and 
offiU'S  of  service.  Dined  as  usual  on  a  composite 
dinner — Southern  meat  and  ])unltry  had  —  at, 
three  o'clock,  and  at  fom*  p.m.  drove  down  to  the 
steep  hanks  of  the  Alabama  River,  where  the 
castle-like  hulk  of  the  "  Southern  Republic"  was 
waitinj^  to  receive  us.  I  bade  good-by  to  Mont- 
Koniery  without  regret.  The  native  people  were 
not  very  attractive,  and  the  city  lias  nothing  to 
make  up  for  their  deficiency,  but  of  my  friends 
there  I  must  always  retain  pleasant  memories, 
and,  indeed,  I  hope  some  day  I  shall  be  able  to 
keep  my  |)roniise  to  return  and  see  more  of  the 
Confederate  ministers  and  their  chief. 


CHAPTER  XXV. 

Tlio  i;iv(>r  Al,il)iim!i  —  Voyuj^o  I)}'  t^teaincr — Polnin — Our 
ciiptiiiii  anil  his  slaves  —  "  liunniiig"  flaves  —  Ne(j;ro 
views  of  tuippineaa  —  Mobile  —  Hotel  —  The  city — Mr. 
Foriyth. 

Tin;  vessel  was  nothing  more  than  a  vast  Avood- 
en  house,  of  three  separate  storeys,  floating  on  a 
pontoon  which  upheld  the  engine,  with  a  dining- 
hall  or  saloon  on  the  second  storey  surrounded 
by  .sleei)iiig-berths,  and  a  nest  of  smaller  rooms 
up-staiis;  on  the  metal  roof  was  a  "musical" 
instrument  called  a  "calliope,"  jdayed  like  a  pi- 
ano by  keys,  which  acted  on  levers  and  valves, 
admitting  steam  into  metal  cups,  where  it  i)ro- 
duced  the  requisite  notes — high,  resonant,  and 
not  unpleasing  at  a  moderate  distance.  It  is 
417  miles  to  Mobile,  but  at  this  season  the  steam- 
er can  maintain  a  good  rate  of  speed,  as  there  is 
very  little  cotton  or  cargo  to  be  taken  on  board 
at  the  landings,  and  the  stream  is  full. 

The  river  is  about  200  yar's  broad,  and  of  the 
colour  of  chocolate  and  milk,  with  high,  steep, 
wooded  banks,  rising  so  much  above  the  surface 
of  the  stream,  that  a  person  on  the  ujiper  deck 
of  the  towering  Southern  llepublic,  cannot  get 
a  glimpse  of  the  fields  and  country  beyond. 
High  banks  and  bluffs  spring  up  to  the  height  of 
150  or  even  200  feet  above  the  river,  the  breadth 
of  which  is  so  uniform  as  to  give  the  Alabama 
the  ap])earaiiee  of  a  canal,  only  relieved  by  sud- 
den bL'iuis  and  rajiid  curves.  The  surface  is  cov- 
ered wiili  masses  of  drift  wood,  whole  trees,  and 
small  islaiuls  of  branches.  Now  and  then  a 
sharj),  black,  fang-like  projection  standing  stiffly 
in  the  current  gives  warning  of  a  snag,  but  the 
helmsman,  who  commands  the  whole  course  of 
the  river,  from  an  elevated  house  amidships  on 
the  upper  deck,  can  see  these  in  time ;  and  at 
nigiit  pine,  bouglis  are  lighted  in  iron  cressets  at 
the  bows  to  illuminate  the  water. 

The  captain,  who  was  not  ])articular  whether 
his  name  was  sfjclt  Maher,  or  Mealier,  or  Meagh- 
or  {_les  trois  se  disent),  was  evidently  a  character 


— perhaps  a  good  one.  One  with  a  grey  eye  full 
of  cunning  and  of  some  huiiKJur,  strongly-mark- 
ed features,  and  a  very  Celtic  mouth  of  the  Ker- 
ry type.  He  soon  attached  himself  to  me,  and 
favoured  mo  with  some  wondi-rful  yarns,  which  I 
hope  he  .'as  not  foolish  enough  to  think  I  be- 
lieved. One  relating  to  a  wholisale  destruction 
and  massacre  of  Indians  he  narrated  w  ith  evi- 
I  dent  gusto.  I'ointing  to  one  of  the  bliitVs,  he 
I  said  that  some  thirty  years  ago  tlie  whole  of  ihc 
i  Indians  in  the  district  being  surrounded  by  the 
I  whites,  betook  themselves  to  that  s|)ot,  and  re- 
mained there  without  any  means  of  escape,  till 
they  were  (piito  starved  out.  So  they  sent  down 
to  know  if  the  whites  would  let  thciii  go,  and  it 
was  agreed  that  they  slioukl  be  jiennitted  to 
move  down  the  river  in  boats.  When  the  <lay 
came,  and  they  were  all  afloat,  the  whites  aiitici- 
l)ated  the  boat-massacre  of  Nana  Saliib  at  Cawn- 
pore,  and  destroyed  the  helpless  red  skins,  INIany 
hundreds  thus  perished,  and  the  whole  affair  was 
very  much  approved  of. 

The  value  of  land  on  the  sides  of  this  river  is 
great,  as  it  yields  nine  to  eleven  bales  of  cotton 
to  the  acre — worth  10/.  a  bale  at  yiresent  ])rices. 
The  only  evidences  of  this  wealth  '  w  seen  by 
us  consisted  of  the  cotton  sheds  o,  tli .  ip  of 
the  banks,  and  slides  of  timber,  vvith  'Ds  at 
each  side  down  to  the  landings,  .  con.itructed 
that  the  cotton  bales  could  be  shot  down  on 
board  the  vessel.  These  shoots  and  staircases 
arc  generally  jjrotected  by  a  roof  oi  ,>lanks,  and 
lead  to  unknown  regions  inb:.bited  by  niggers 
and  their  masters,  the  latter  j''  talking  iiolitics. 
They  never  will,  never  can  be  (..oiKjuered — noth- 
ing on  earth  could  induce  them  to  go  l)aek  into 
the  Union.  They  will  burn  every  bale  of  cot- 
ton, and  fire  every  house,  and  lay  waste  every 
field  and  homestead  before  they  will  yield  to  the 
Yankees.  And  so  they  talk  through  the  glim- 
mering of  bad  cigars  for  houis. 

The  management  of  the  boat  is  dexterous, — as 
she  api)roaclies  a  landing-place,  the  helm  is  put 
hard  over,  to  the  screaming  of  the  steam-pipe 
and  the  wild  strains  of  "Dixie'' floating  out  of 
the  throats  of  the  calliope,  and  as  the  engines  arc 
detached,  one  wheel  is  worked  forward,  and  the 
other  backs  water,  so  she  soon  turns  head  np 
stream,  and  is  then  gently  paddled  up  to  the 
river  bank,  to  which  she  is  just  ke))t  up  by  steam 
— the  plunk  is  run  ashore,  and  the  few  j>assengers 
who  are  coming  in  or  out  are  lighted  on  their 
way  by  the  flames  of  pine  in  an  iron  basket, 
swinging  above  the  bow  by  a  long  ))ole.  Then 
we  see  tliem  vanishing  into  black  darkness  uj)  the 
steps,  or  coming  down  clearer  and  clearer  till 
they  stand  in  the  full  blaze  of  the  beacon  which 
casts  dark  shadows  on  the  yellow  water.  The 
air  is  gli.stening  with  fire-flies,  which  dot  the 
darkness  with  sjiecks  and  jioints  of  lliiiiK',  just  as 
sparks  fly  through  the  embers  of  tinder  or  half- 
burnt  ))aper. 

Some  of  the  landings  were  by  far  more  im- 
portant than  others.  There  were  some,  for  ex- 
ample, where  an  iron  rail  road  was  wprked  down 
the  bank  by  windlasses  for  hoisting  up  goods; 
others  where  the  negroes  half- naked  leaped 
ashore,  and  rushing  at  piles  of  firewood,  tossed 
them  on  board  to  feed  the  engine,  which,  all 
uncovered  and  open  to  the  lower  deck,  lighted 
up  the  darkness  by  the  glare  from  the  stoke- 
holes, which  cried  for  ever  "Give,  give!"  as  the 


74 


MY  DIAliY  NOUTII  AND  cOUTII. 


negroes  consclcssly  thrust  tlic  pine-beams  into 
tlieir  iiunmy  maws.  I  coulil  iimicr.stiiml  Iidw 
easily  a  steamer  can  '  ni  u|),"  nrui  how  hope- 
less escape  wouUl  l)e  iintier  siuii  circumstanees. 
The  wliole  framework  of  tiie  vessel  is  of  the 
lij^iitest  resinous  pine,  so  raw  that  the  tiir|)entiiie 
oozes  out  throuKli  tlic  jmint ;  tlie  iiull  is  a  mere 
sliell.  If  the  vessel  omc  eau^ht  lire,  all  that 
could  be  done  would  be  to  turn  her  round,  anil 
run  her  to  the  bank,  in  tho  hojie  of  holding'  there 
long  enough  to  enable  the  piople  to  escape  into 
the  trees ;  but  if  she  were  not  near  a  landing, 
many  "must  be  lost;  as  the  bank  is  steep  down, 
the  vessel  cannot  be  rim  aground ;  and  in  some 
places  tho  trees  are  in  8  and  10  feet  of  water. 
A  few  minutes  would  suffice  to  set  the  vessel  in 
a  bliize  from  stem  to  stern  ;  and  if  there  were 
cotton  on  board,  the  bales  wouM  burn  almost 
like  powder.  The  scene  at  each  landing  was 
repeated,  with  few  variations,  ten  times  till  we 
reached  Selma,  110  miles  distance,  at  11. aO  at 
night. 

Sclma,  which  is  connected  with  the  Tennes.see 
and  Mississijipi  rivers  by  railroad,  is  built  upon 
a  steep,  lofty  bluff,  and  the  lights  in  the  windows, 
and  the  lofty  hotels  above  us,  put  me  in  mind  of 
tho  old  town  of  Edinburgh,  seen  from  Princes 
Htrcet.  Ik'side  us  there  was  a  huge  storied 
wharf,  so  that  our  passengers  could  step  on  shore 
from  any  dock  they  pleased.  Hero  Mr.  Deasy, 
being  attacked  by  illness,  became  alarmed  at 
the  idea  of  continuing  his  journey  without  any 
opi)ortunity  of  medical  assistance,  and  went  on 
shore. 

Mivj  \Otfi. — Thecabin  of  one  of  these  steamers, 
in  the  month  of  Alay,  is  not  favourable  to  sleep. 
The  wooden  beams  of  tho  engines  creak  and 
scream  "consumedly,"  and  the  great  engines 
themselves  throb  as  if  they  would  break  through 
their  thin,  jmlse  covers  of  pine, — and  the  whistle 
sounds,  and  tho  calliope  shrieks  out  "Dixie"  in- 
cessantly. So,  when  I  was  up  and  dressed,  break- 
fast w  as  over,  and  I  had  an  opportunity  of  see- 
ing the  slaves  on  board,  male  and  female,  acting 
as  stewards  and  stewardesses,  at  their  morning 
meal,  which  they  tdok  with  much  good  spirits 
jind  decorum.  They  were  nicely  dressed — clean 
and  neat.  I  was  forced  to  admit  to  myself  that 
their  Ashantee  grandsires  and  grandmothers,  or 
their  Kroo  and  Dahomey  progenitors  were  cer- 
taiidy  less  comfortable  and  well  clad,  and  that 
these  slaves  had  other  social  advantages,  though 
I  could  not  recognise  the  force  of  the  Bishop  of 
Georgia's  assertion,  that  from  slavery  must  come 
the  sole  liojio  of,  and  machinery  for,  the  evan- 
gelisation of  Africa.  I  confess  I  would  not  give 
much  for  the  infiuenco  of  the  stewards  and  stew- 
ardesses in  Christianising  the  blacks. 

The  river,  the  scenery,  and  the  scenes  were 
just  the  same  as  yesterday's — high  banks,  cotton- 
slides,  wooding  stations,  cane-brakes — and  a  very 
miserable  negro  p0])ulation,  if  the  specimens  of 
women  and  children  at  the  landings  fairly  rep- 
resented the  mass  of  the  slaves.  They  were  in 
strong  contrast  to  the  comfortable,  well-dressed 
domestic  slaves  on  board,  and  it  can  well  be 
imagined  there  is  a  wide  difference  between  the 
classes,  and  that  those  condemned  to  work  in  the 
open  fields  must  suffer  exceedingly. 

A  jjassenger  told  us  the  captain's  story.  A 
number  of  planters,  the  narrator  among  thom, 
subscribed  a  thou.sand  dollars, each  to  get  up  a 


vessel  for  tho  purpose  of  running  a  cargo  of 
slaves,  with  tlu;  umlerstanding  they  were  to  pnv 
so  much  for  the  vessel,  aiul  so  much  j)cr  head  if 
she  succeeded,  and  so  much  if  she  was  taken  or 
lost.  The  vessel  made  her  voyage  to  the  coast, 
was  laden  with  native  Africans,  and  in  due  time 
made  her  apiiearanec  off  Mobile,  The  collcdor 
heard  of  her,  but,  oddly  enough,  the  sheritl'  was 
iu)t  about  at  the  time,  the  United  States'  .Marshal 
was  away,  and  as  the  vessel  could  not  be  .seen 
next  morning,  it  was  fair  to  sujjiiosc  she  bad 
gone  up  the  river,  or  somewhere  or  another.  Hut 
it  so  happened  that  CajUain  Mahcr,  then  com- 
manding a  river  steamer  called  the  Czar  (a  name 
once  very  ajjiu-opriatc  for  the  work,  but  sin(!e  the 
serf  emancipation  rather  out  of  place),  found  him- 
self in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  brig  about  night- 
fall ;  next  morning,  indeed,  the  Czar  was  at  her 
moorings  in  tho  river;  but  Ca])tain  Maher  be- 
gan to  grow  rich,  he  had  fine  negroes  fresh  run 
on  his  land,  and  bought  fresh  acres,  and  finally 
built  the  "  Southern  Rei)ublie."  The  jylanters 
asked  him  for  their  share  of  the  slaves.  Captain 
Maher  laughed  pleasantly ;  ho  did  not  under- 
stand what  they  meant.  If  he  had  done  any- 
thing wrong  they  had  their  legal  remedy.  They 
were  completely  beaten  ;  for  they  could  not  have 
recoiu'se  to  the  tribunals  in  a  case  which  render- 
ed them  liable  to  cajjital  punishment.  And  so 
Captain  Maher,  as  an  act  of  grace,  gave  them  a 
few  old  niggers,  and  kept  the  rest  of  the  cargo. 

It  was  worth  while  to  see  the  leer  with  which 
he  listened  to  this  stoiy  about  himself,  "Wall 
now  !  You  think  them  niggers  I've  abord  came 
from  Africa!  I'll  show  you.  Just  come  up  here, 
Bully  !"  A  boy  of  some  twelve  years  of  age, 
stout,  fat,  nearly  naked,  came  up  to  us  ;  his  col- 
our was  jet  black,  his  wool  close  as  felt,  his 
clieeks  were  marked  with  regular  parallel  scars, 
and  his  teeth  very  ;vhite,  looked  as  if  they  had 
been  fded  to  a  point,  his  belly  was  slightly  jiro- 
tuberant,  and  his  chest  was  marked  with  tracings 
of  tattoo  marks. 

"What's  vour  name,  sir?" 

"Mynanie— Bully. '• 

"Where  were  you  born?" 

"Me  born  Sout  Karliner,  sar!" 

"There,  you  see  he  wasn't  taken  frgm  Afri- 
ca," exclaimed  the  Captain,  knowingly.  "I've 
a  lot  of  these  black  South  Caroliny  niggers 
abord,  haven't  J,  Bully?" 

"Yas,  sar." 

"  Are  vou  happy,  Bully  ?" 

"Yas,  sar." 

"  Show  how  you're  happy." 

Here  the  boy  rpbhed  his  stomach,  and  grin- 
ning with  delight,  said,  "Yummy!  yummy! 
plenty  belly  full." 

"That's  what  I  call  a  real  hajipy  feelosoph- 
ieal  chap,"  quoth  the  Captain.  "  1  ^;uess  you've 
got  a  lot  in  your  country  can't  pat  i/idr  stomachs 
and  say,  'yummy,  yummy,  plenty  belly  full?'" 

"Where  did  he  get  those  marks  on  his  face?" 

"Oh,  them?  Wall,  it's  a  way  them  nigger 
women  has  of  marking  their  children  to  know 
them;  isn't  it.  Bully?'' 

"Yas,  sar  !  me  'sjiose  so !" 

"And  on  his  chest  J" 

"Wall,  r'ally  I  do  b'l'evc  them's  marks  agin 
the  smallpox." 

"Why  are  his  teeth  filed?" 

"  Ah,  there  now  !     You'd  never  have  guessed 


MY  DIAllY  NOUTII  AND  SOUTH. 


it ;  Bully  done  that  himself,  for  tho  greater  cnso 
of  ItiliiiK  I'i-*  vittcls." 

Ill  fiu-t,  tli(!  hul,  and  a  pood  many  of  tho 
hands,  \\vi\:  tlie  results  of  Cuptuiii  Mahor's  little 
yuil  in  tlic  C)/,ar. 

"  Wc'ro  oblcpgcd  to  let  Vm  in  some  times  to 
keep  up  tho  balance  ayin  tho  niggers  you  run 
into  Canaydy." 

From  1H18  to  I8ri'_'  tlicro  were  no  slaves  run  ; 
but  sii.co  the  migrations  to  Canada  and  the  jku'- 
Honal  lii)erty  laws,  it  has  been  fuiind  profitahlc  to 
run  lliom.  There  is  a  buciilic  I'croi'ity  about 
theso  Southern  pco|)lo  which  will  stand  them 
good  stead  in  tho  shoek  of  battle.  IIow  tho 
Spartans  would  have  fou^'ht  against  any  bar 
bariuns  who  eamo  to  cmaiu-ipato  their  slaves,  or 
the  Uomans  have  smitten  those  who  would 
munutnit  slave  and  creditor  together! 

To-nigiit,  on  tiio  lower  deck,  amid  wood  fag- 
gots and  barrels,  a  dan(!e  of  negroes  was  ar- 
ranged by  an  entliusiast,  who  d'sircd  to  show 
how  "liappy  they  wore."  Tliat  is  tlie  favourite 
themo  of  tho  Southerners;  tho  gallant  Captoin 
Maher  becomes  (piite  eloquent  when  he  ]ioints 
to  liully's  prominent  "yuinmy,"  and  descants 
on  the  misery  of  his  condition  if  ho  had  been  left 
to  the  precarious  ciianees  of  obtaining  such  d(!- 
velopmcnts  in  his  native  |and  ;  then  turns  a  (piid, 
and,  as  if  uttering  some  sacred  refrain  to  tlie 
universal  hymn  of  tlie  South,  says,  '•  Ye.s,  sir, 
they're  tlie  ha})piest  people  on  the  face  of  the 
airth!" 

There  was  a  fiddler,  and  also  a  banjo-player, 
who  played  uncouth  musie  to  tho  clumsiest  of 
dances,  which  it  would  bo  insulting  to  conifiaro 
to  the  worst  Irish  jig,  and  the  men  with  immense 
gravity  and  great  ett'usion  of  sudor,  shuffled,  and 
cut,  and  heeled  and  buckled  to  each  other  with 
an  overwhelming  solemnity,  till  the  rum-bottle 
warmed  them  up  to  the  lighter  graces  of  the 
dance,  when  they  became  (juite  overpowering. 
"  Yes,  sir,  jist  look  at  them  how  they're  enjoying 
it;  they're  the  ha])piest  people  on  the  face  of  the 
airth."  When  "  wooding"  and  firing  up  they 
don't  seem  to  be  in  the  possession  of  the  same 
exquisite  f.dicitj'. 

Mill/  l\th. — At  early  dawn  the  steamer  went 
its  way  through  a  broad  bay  of  snags  bordered 
with  drift-wood,  and  with  steam-trumpet  and  cal- 
liope announced  its  arrival  at  the  (jiiay  of  Mo- 
bile,  which  presented  a  fringe  of  tall  warehouses, 
and  shops  alongside,  over  which  were  names  in- 
dicating Scotch,  Irish,  English,  many  Spanish, 
German,  Italian,  and  Freneh  owners,  Captain 
Maher  at  onco  sot  off  to  his  plantation,  and  we 
descended  the  stories  of  the  walled  castle  to  the 
beach,  and  walked  on  towards  the  "  Battle 
House,"  so  called  fi'om  the  name  of  its  propri- 
etor, for  Mobile  has  not  yet  bad  its  fight  like 
New  Orleans.  The  quays  which  usually,  as  we 
were  told,  arc  lined  with  stately  hulls  and  a  forest 
of  masts,  were  deserted ;  although  the  port  was 
not  actually  blockaded,  there  were  squadrons  of 
the  United  States  shijis  at  Pensacola  on  the  east, 
and  at  New  Orleans  on  the  west. 

The  hotel,  a  fine  building  of  the  American 
stamp,  was  the  seat  of  a  Vigilance  Committee, 
and  as  we  put  down  our  names  in  the  book  they 
were  minutely  inspected  by  some  gentlemen 
who  came  out  of  the  parlour.  It  was  fortunate 
they  did  not  find  traces  of  Lincolnism  about  us, 
as  it  ajipeared  by  the  papers  they  were  busy  de- 


porting "Ai)olitionists"  after  certain  incliminary 
processes  supposed  to 

*'(ilv(!  tlicm  a  rinp,  nnd  oiH>n  tliolr  pjroi 

Tij  II  M'UM)  i)f  tlii^lr  i-itimtlDii.'' 

The  citizens  were  busy  in  drilling,  marching,  and 
drum-beating,  and  the  Confederate  Hag  Hew  from 
every  spire  nnd  steeple.  The  day  was  so  hot 
that  it  was  little  more  inviting  to  go  out  in  the 
sun  than  it  would  be  in  the  dog-days  at  Malaga, 
to  which,  by-the-bye,  Mol)ile  bears  some  "  kinder 
sorter"  resemblance,  but,  nevertheless,  I  sullii'd 
forth,  and  liad  a  drive  on  a  fihell  road  by  tlio 
head  of  the  bay,  where  there  were  pretty  vilhi- 
rettes  in  chariuing  groves  of  miignijliu,  orange- 
trees,  and  lime  oaks.  Wide  streets  of  similar 
houses  sjiring  out  to  nu^et  the  country  through 
sandy  roads;  some  worthy  of  Strcatluiui  or  Hal- 
ham,  nnd  all  surrounded  in  such  vegetation  as 
Kew  might  envy. 

Many  Mobilians  called,  nnd  nmong  them  tho 
mayor,  Mr.  Forsyth,  in  whom  I  reeogni/ed  tho 
most  remarkable  of  the  Southern  Cominissiiiiiers 
I  had  met  at  Washington.  Mr.  Magee,  the  act- 
ing British  Consul,  was  also  good  enough  to  wait 
upon  me,  with  offers  of  any  assistance  in  his 
jiower.  I  hear  he  has  most  difficult  (piestions  to 
deal  with,  arising  out  of  the  claims  of  distressed 
British  subjects,  and  dis|)utetl  nationality.  In 
the  evening  the  Consul  and  Dr.  Nott,  a  savant 
and  physician  of  Mobile,  well  known  to  ethnol- 
ogists for  his  work  on  the  "Types  of  Mankind," 
written  conjointly  witli  the  lute  Mr.  Gliddon, 
dined  with  me,  and  I  learned  from  them  that, 
notwithstanding  tho  intimate  commercial  rela- 
tions between  JVIobile  nnd  the  Great  Northern 
cities,  the  people  here  are  of  tho  most  ultra-se- 
cessionist doctrines.  Tho  wealth  and  manhood 
of  the  city  will  be  devoted  to  repel  the  "  Lincoln- 
ite  mercenaries"  to  tho  last. 

After  dinner  we  walked  through  tho  city,  which 
abounds  in  oyster  saloons,  drinking-houses.  Ligcr- 
bier  and  wine-shops,  and  gambling  and  dancing 
places.  The  mark(!t  was  well  worthy  of  a  visit 
— something  like  St.  tlohn's  at  Iiivcrj)ool  on  a 
Saturday  night,  crowded  with  negroes,  mnlat- 
toes,  (piadroons,  and  mestizos  of  all  sorts,  Sjian- 
ish,  Italian,  and  French,  speaking  their  own 
tongues,  or  a  quaint  lingua  franca,  and  dressed 
in  very  striking  and  pretty  costumes.  The  fruit 
and  vegetable  stalls  displayed  very  fine  produce, 
and  some  stajiles,  remarkable  for  novelty,  ugli- 
ness, and  goodness.  After  our  stroll  we  went 
into  one  of  the  great  oyster  saloons,  and  in  a 
room  up-stairs  had  opportunity  of  tasting  those 
great  bivulvians  in  tlio  form  of  natural  fish  j)ud- 
dings,  fried  in  batter,  roasted,  stewed,  devilled, 
broiled,  and  in  many  other  ways,  pius  raw.  I 
am  bound  to  observe  that  tho  Mobile  peojilo  nte 
them  as  if  there  was  no  blockade,  as  though 
oysters  were  a  specific  for  political  indigestions 
and  civil  wars;  a  fierce  Marseillais  are  they — 
living  in  the  most  foreign-looking  city  I  have 
yet  seen  in  the  States.  My  private  room  in  the 
hotel  was  large,  well-lighted  with  gas,  and  ex- 
ceedingly well  furnished  in  the  Gorman  fashion, 
with  French  pendulc  and  mirrors.  The  charge 
for  a  private  room  varies  from  1/.  to  1/.  rys.  a 
day ;  the  bed-room  nnd  board  are  charged  se])a- 
rately,  from  10s.  Gd.  to  12s.  Gd.  a  day,  but  meals 
served  in  the  jirivate  room  are  charge<l  extra, 
nnd  henvily  too.  IvKclusiveness  is  an  aristocratic 
taste  which  must  be  paid  for. 


76 


MY  DIAUY  NOUTfl  AND  SOUTH. 


CIIAITKU  XXVI. 


VWt  to  I'ortK  (ininpn  uikI  .Mi.rKiiii   -Wiii'  to  the  knif.«  »lii' 


(TV  iif  ili(<  South— Tlif  "Stiiti-"  iind  llii^  "Miilt" 


ItllV 


nl'Mnlpilr     T\\v  forlH  ami  llitlr  IiiiiihIim  -( iplrilMiiK  uh  to 
uii  iitlink  oil  WiiHliliiKtcin   -IJiiiiioiiM  of  iic'l  uul  wur. 

Mini  I '.'//(.—.Mr.  Foi-KVlIi  liadliccnKooJloiinngli 


to  invite  iiic  to  ail 


(.'xcursiini  iIdwii  ilic  Hav  i>t' 


Moliilc,  to  llic  t'urt.s  Itiiilt  liy  IJiirlc  Sam  and  his 
Fi-endi  fiiKiiiccrs  to  hiiik  his  HritishtTH— now 
tiinicil  hy  "('.  S.  A."  a^'ainst  tim  liatcd  Stars 
niid  Stripi's.  Thr  iinuDr  aii<i  tlic  piiii(i|pal  incr- 
cliants  and  many  jioliticians — and  arn  not  all 
liicii  Jioliticians  in  America? — foniii-d  tiic  jpaitx . 
If  niiv  jii(l>;incnt  of  men's  acts  can  Ik;  formed 
I'roni  fheir  words,  the  Mohilites,  wlio  are.  the  r(>|>- 
rosenlatives  of  the  tliird  (greatest  port  of  the  I'liit- 
cd  States,  will  ])eris!i  ere  tliej  8ul)init  to  the  Yan- 
kees and  |i<'o|iIe  of  New  York.     I  iiavc!  now  been 


Ah 


in  North  ('arolina,  Soiitli  l.aroiina,  deoiKm,  Aia 
1)11111(1,  and  ill  none  of  tlioso  ^reat  Stales  liave  1 
found  the  least  imlieation  of  the  rnifiii  senti- 
ment, or  of  the  nttaehnient  for  the  Union  which 
Mr.  Steward  always  assumes  to  exist  in  the  Sontii. 
If  there  were  any  cotisidernhle  amount  of  it,  I 
was  ill  n  ]iositioii  as  a  neutral  to  have  hccn  aware 
of  its  existence. 

Those  who  miRht.  have  nf  one  time  opposed 
secesfioii,  have  now  howed  their  heads  to  the 
majesty  of  the  majority;  and  with  the  coward- 
ice, which  is  the  result  of  the  irresponsible  and 
cruel  tyranny  of  the  multitude,  hasten  to  swill 
the  cry  of  revolution.  But  the  multitude  are 
tlH>  law  in  the  United  States.  "There's  a  di- 
vinity dotii  liedjie"  the  nioh  here,  which  is  om- 
nipotent and  all  good.  The  mnjority  in  each 
State  determines  its  political  status  according  to 
Southern  views.  The  Northerners  arc  endeav- 
ouring to  maintain  tiiat  the  majority  of  the  jieo- 
j)li'  in  the  mass  of  the  States  generally  shall 
regulate  that  point  for  each  State  iiidividnally 
nnd  collectively.  If  there  he  any  jmrty  in  the 
Soiitiiern  States  whieli  thinks  such  nn  attempt 
jiistiliahle,  it  sits  silent,  and  fearful,  and  hope- 
less, in  darkness  and  sorrow,  hid  from  the  light 
of  day.  (lencral  Scott,  who  was  a  short  time 
ago  written  of  in  the  usual  inflated  style,  to  which 
respectable  military  mediocrity  and  success  are 
entitled  in  the  States,  is  now  reviled  by  the  South- 
ern jiajicrs  as  an  infamous  hoary  traitor  and  tlie 
like.  If  an  officer  prefers  his  allegiance  lO  the 
United  States'  flag,  and  remains  in  tlic  Federal 
K  rvice  after  his  State  has  gone  out,  his  projicrty 
is  liable  to  confiscation  by  the  State  authorities, 
and  his  family  and  kindred  are  exposed  to  the 
gravest  susjiiiion,  and  must  prove  their  loyalty 
by  extra  zeal  in  the  cause  of  secession. 

Our  merry  comjiany  comprised  naval  and  mili- 
tary oflicers  in  tlie  service  of  the  Confederate 
States,  journalists,  jioliticians,  professional  men, 
merchants,  and  not  one  of  them  bad  a  word  but 
of  hat(!  and  execration  for  the  North.  The  Brit- 
ish and  (lernian  settlers  are  quite  as  vehement  as 
the  natives  in  ujiholding  States' rights,  and  among 
the  most  ardent  ujiholders  of  slavery  are  the  Irisli 
proprietors  and  mercantile  classes. 

The  Buy  of  Mobile,  which  is  about  thirty  miles 
long,  with  a  breadth  varying  from  three  to  seven 
miles,  is  formed  by  the  outfall  of  the  Alabama 
and  of  the  Tombigbee  river,  and  is  shallow  and 
dangcrou.s,  full  of  banks  and  trees,  embedded  in 
the  sands  ;  hut  all  large  vessels  lie  at  the  entrance 
between  Fort  Morgan  and  Fort  Gaines,  to  the 


mitixfaetioii  of  tlie  masters,  who  nro  thtm  njiarcd 
the  trouble  witli  their  crews  which  oecuiH  in  tlio 
low  liiiiintH  of  a  maritime  town.  The  cotton  is 
sent  down  in  lighters,  which  employ  many  liandii 
at  high  wages.  The  shores  are  low  wooifed,  and 
are  dotted  here  and  there  with  jiretly  villas,  but 
jirescnt  no  attractive  scenery. 

The  sea-breeze  .somewhat  alleviated  the  fierce- 
iiess  of  the  huh,  which  was  liowever  too  hot  to 
be  (jiiite  agreeable.  Our  steamer,  erowried  to  the 
sjionsons,  inaile  little  way  against  the  tide;  biit 
at  length,  after  nearly  four  hours'  sail,  wc  hauled 
iij)  alongside  a  jetty  at  Fort  (Jniiics,  which  is  on 
the  right  hand  or  western  exit  of  the  harbour, 
and  would  command,  were  it  finislied,  the  light 
draft  channel ;  it  is  now  mendy  a  shell  of  ma- 
sonry,but  Colonel  Ilardce,  who  has  charge  of  llio 
defences  of  Mobile,  told  me  that  thcv  would  fini.sll 


It  sjieeiiily. 

The  Colonel  is  an  agreeable,  delicate-looking 
man,  scareely  of  middle  age,  and  is  well-known 
ill  the  States  as  the  antlun*  of  "The  Tactics," 
which  i.s,  however,  merely  a  translation  of  llio 
French  manual  of  arms,  lie  does  not  apjicar  to 
be  jiosscssed  of  any  great  energy  or  eajiacity, 
but  is,  no  doubt,  a  resjiectable  ollicer. 

Ujiou  landing  we  found  a  small  body  of  men 
on  guard  in  the  fort.  A  few  cannon  of  mod- 
erate calibre  were  mounted  on  the  sandhills  nnd 
on  the  beach.  ^Ve  entered  the  unfinished  work, 
ami  were  received  with  a  salute.  The  men  felt 
diflieulty  in  combining  discijiline  with  eitizen- 
sliiji.  They  were  "bt  red"  with  their  .sandhill, 
Mild  one  of  them  asked  me,  w  hen  I  "thought  them 
damned  Yankees  were  eomiiig.  He  wanted  to 
touch  ofV  a  few  jiills  he  knew  would  be  good  for 
their  cimijilaint."  I  must  say  I  could  symjui- 
thise  with  the  feelings  of  the  young  < '  'cer  who 
saiil  lu!  woidd  sooner  have  n  day  witii  the  Liii- 
colnitcs,  than  a  week  with  the  mu.squitoe.*,  for 
whieh  this  locality  is  famous. 

From  Fort  Gaines  the  steamer  ran  across  to 
Fort  Morgan,  about  tlirce  miles  distant,  jiassing 
in  its  way  seven  vessels,  mostly  British,  at  anchor, 
where  hundreds  may  be  seen,  I  am  told,  during 
the  cotton  season.  This  work  has  a  formidable 
sea  face,  nnd  may  give  great  trouble  to  Uncle 
Sam,  when  he  wants  to  visit  his  loving  subjects 
in  Mobile  in  his  gunboats.  It  is  the  work  of 
Bernard,  I  jiresiime,  anil  like  most  of  his  designs 
has  a  weak  long  base  towards  the  land;  but  it 
is  provided  with  a  wet  ditch  and  drawbridge, 
with  demi  lunes  covering  the  curtains,  and  has 
a  regular  bastioned  trace.  It  has  one  row  of 
casemates,  armed  with  32  nnd  42-j)ounders.  The 
barbette  guns  arc  8-inch  and  10-ineh  guns;  the 
external  works  at  the  salients  are  armed  with 
howitzers  and  field-jiieccs,  and  as  we  crossed  the 
drawbridge,  a  salute  was  fired  from  a  field  bat- 
tery, on  a  flanking  bastion,  in  our  honour. 

Inside  the  work  was  crammed  with  men,  some 
of  whom  slejit  in  the  casemates — others  in  tents 
in  the  parade  grounds  and  enceinte  of  the  fort. 
They  were  Alabama  Volunteers,  and  as  sturdy 
a  lot  of  fellows  as  ever  shouldered  musket ;  dress- 
ed in  homesjnm  coarse  grey  suits,  with  blue  and 
yellow  worsted  facings  and  strijics — to  Eurojican 
eyes  not  very  respectful  to  their  ofliicers,  but  very 
obedient,  I  am  told,  and  very  peremptorily  or- 
dered about,  as  I  heard. 

There  were  700  or  800  men  in  the  work,  nnd 
an  undue  jiroportion  of  oflicers,  all  of  whom 


were  intro 
olllcers  wei 
of  youiiK 
come  over 
State.      I  I 
maud,  thoi 
nil  excel l(! 
nft(U'  a  ho 
practice  wi 
which  did 
the  greatly 
One  of  I 
of  "deen-«. 
iuiiM  and  i 
kindliness, 
among  the 
youngest  e 
would  Hulle 
nieiit — the 
the  traversi 
nnd  woodei 
wi>h  to  avo 
Oil  our  ( 
of  a  cold  d 
sion  of  the  I 
Forsyth,  the 
bile    Uegisl 
though  he  v 
Southerner, 
ative  to  an 
(leorge  Coi 
ginia  on  tin 
tenticm  of  a 
limits  of  thii 
the  conduct 
land  is  cons 
to  justify  tlu 
midons,"  " 
Clay,"  fron 
the  Relay 
more   and 
Washingtoi 
vigour  since 
democrat,  n 
Massaehuse 
Y'ork,  and 
on  the  Virg 
Navy  Yard, 
iiig,  which 
dows  in  the 
There  is 
small  cfi'ect 
what  thoy  a 
hut  hopes  a 
travelling  t 
have  a  stro 
mol  ion  for 
conflict  wh 
than  that 
jiroaching- 
nia  are  mi 
and  Staff, 
under  Maji. 
Ohio  Voliin 
on  each  sid 
Icgiance. 

The  har 
nnder  block 
a  force  of 
Missouri,  n 
dispensed  a 
adier  Gene 


MY  DIAllY  NOIITII  AND  SOUTH. 


77 


woro  Introducnd  to  tlin  «tranp;ors  in  ttirn.  Tlio 
ollli't^rs  vvcic  ti  very  Rt'iitlfmaiily,  iiii-o-looking  set 
til  yuuiiK  t\;ll()WH,  lUiil  hoiik;  of  tlictii  litid  just 
cumo  over  fiorii  Kuioik!  Id  tukc  up  uiiiih  for  tlicir 
Htiito.  I  riii^,'et  tlio  inirnc  of  tli(!  otlircr  in  com- 
Diiind,  tli()ii;{li  I  cannot  forget  liix  courtesy,  nor 
tin  excell(Mit  liuxtli  lie  unva  us  in  his  cascniatu 
lifter  11  hot  walk  round  the  ])ara])ets,  and  sohk; 
liraeticc  with  solid  shot  from  the  liarhette  nuns, 
which  did  not  tend  to  make  nie  think  much  of 
tlie  ureutly-ho-praiscd  Columbiads. 

One  of  tiie  olHcers  named  Maury,  a  rclntivo 
of  "deen-sea  Maury,"  struck  me  as  an  ini^-n- 
iiius  ami  clever  ofllcer ;  the  utmost  harmony, 
kindliness,  and  devotion  to  the  cause  prevailed 
nnion}:C  tl'u  garrison,  from  the  chief  down  to  the 
youngest  ensign.  In  its  present  state  the  I'\irt 
woulil  suller  exceedingly  from  a  heavy  liomljard- 
nient — the  magazines  would  be  in  clanger,  and 
the  traverses  are  inadc([uatc.  All  the  I)arrack9 
and  wooden  I/uildings  should  he  destroyed  if  they 
wi>h  to  avoid  the  fate  of  Sumter. 

On  our  cruise  homewards,  in  the  enjoyment 
of  a  cold  dinner,  wo  had  tin*  inevitable  discus- 
sion of  the  Northern  and  Southern  contest.  Mr. 
Forsyth,  the  editor  and  proprietor  of  the  "Mo- 
bile Register,"  is  impassioned  for  the  cause, 
though  he  was  not  at  one  time  considered  a  pure 
Southerner.  There  is  dilVercneo  of  opinion  rel- 
ative to  an  attack  on  Washington.  General  St. 
Ocorge  Cooke,  commanding  the  army  of  Vir- 
ginia on  the  Potomac,  declares  there  is  no  in- 
tention of  attacking  it,  or  any  place  outside  the 
limits  of  that  free  and  sovereign  State.  IJut  then 
the  conduct  of  the  Federal  Government  in  Mary- 
laud  is  considered  by  the  more  fiery  Southerners 
to  justify  the  expulsion  of  "  Lincoln  and  his  Myr- 
midons," "the  Border  llufli.uis  and  Cassius  M. 
CMay,"  from  the  capital.  Butler  has  seized  on 
the  llelay  House,  on  the  junction  of  the  Balti- 
more and  Ohio  Kailroau,  with  the  rail  from 
Washington,  and  has  displayed  a  good  deal  of 
vigour  since  his  arrival  at  Annapolis.  lie  is  a 
democrat,  and  a  celebrated  criminal  lawyer  in 
Massachusetts.  Troops  are  pouring  into  New 
York,  and  arc  preparing  to  attack  Alexandria, 
on  the  Virginia  side,  b.>low  Washington  and  the 
Navy  Yard,  where  a  large  Confederate  flag  is  fly- 
ing, which  can  he  seen  from  tlie  President's  win- 
dows in  the  White  House. 

Tiiere  is  a  secret  soreness  even  here  at  the 
small  ctFoet  i)roduced  in  England  compared  with 
Avhat  they  anticipated  by  the  attack  on  Sumter ; 
hut  hopes  are  excited  that  Mr.  Gregory,  who  was 
travelling  through  the  States  so  le  time  ago,  will 
have  a  strong  j)arty  to  snppon  ''is  forthcoming 
motion  for  a  recognition  of  the  South.  The  next 
conflict  which  takes  place  will  be  more  bloody 
than  that  at  Sumter.  The  gladiators  are  ap- 
l)roaching — Washington,  Annapolis,  Pennsylva- 
nia arc  military  departments,  each  with  a  chief 
and  Staff,  to  which  is  now  added  that  of  Ohio, 
under  Major  G.  B.  M'Clellan,  Major  General  of 
Ohio  Volunteers  at  Cincinnati.  The  authorities 
on  each  side  arc  busy  administering  oaths  of  al- 
legiance. 

The  harbour  of  Charleston  is  reported  to  be 
nnder  blockade  by  the  Niagara  steam  frigate,  and 
a  force  of  United  States'  troops  at  St.  Louis, 
Missouri,  under  Captain  Lyon,  has  attacked  and 
dispensed  a  body  of  State  Militia  under  one  B.  ig- 
adier  General  Frost,  to  the  intense  indignation 


of  all  Mobile.  TIio  nrgumont  i:<,  that  Missouri 
gave  tip  the  St.  Louis  Arsenal  to  tlie  I'nitetl 
States'  (iovcrnmcnt,  and  could  take  it  Ihk  k  ifslio 
|>lcas('(l,  and  was  certainly  competent  to  prevent 
the  United  States'  troops  stirring  l)cyond  the  Ar- 
senal. 


CHAPTEIl  XXVir. 

IVnmirolii  nad  Tort  I'lrkniH  -NciitriilH  mid  tlirlr  frlondu^ 
CiiHHllrij; — Shiukrt — Tliti  IjIik'IcikIIiik'  llrct  — 'riii'Kliu'H  und 
utr'tipH,  iind  ntiirii  (ilid  Imith— Ooinci'tlc  fciidi  cuiiHcd  by 
tli<>'wiu'--<'nptiUn  Adunirt  itiid  (it'iiorul  Di'ugg— Inturior 
vt  I'lirt  I'ltkuiiH. 

i}[(iif  I'Mli, — I  was  busy  making  arrangements 
to  get  to  Pcnsacola,  ami  Fort  Pickens,  all  day. 
The  land  journey  was  rcpresentecl  as  being  most 
tedious  antl  exceedingly  comfortless  in  all  re- 
spects, thnuigh  a  waste  of  sand,  in  which  we  ran 
the  chance  of  being  smothered  or  lost.  And 
then  I  had  set  my  mind  on  seeing  Fort  Pickens 
as  well  as  Pcin  acola,  and  it  wouM  be  diOiiiilt,  to 
say  the  least  of  it,  to  get  across  from  in  enemy's 
camp  to  the  Federal  fortress,  and  then  return 
again.  The  United  States' sipiadron  blockaded 
the  port  of  Pcnsacola,  but  1  thought  it  likely 
llicy  would  permit  mc  to  run  in  to  visit  Fort 
Pickens,  aiul  that  the  Federals  would  allow  mo 
to  sail  thence  across  to  General  Bragg,  as  they 
might  be  assured  I  would  not  commuircate  any 
iitformation  of  what  1  had  seen  iir  my  character 
as  neutral  to  any  but  the  journal  in  Kuropc, 
which  I  rc]ircscnfed,  and  in  the  interests  of 
which  I  was  bound  to  sec  and  rcjiort  all  tiiat  I 
could  as  to  the  state  of  both  jiarties.  It  was,  at 
all  events,  worth  while  to  make  the  attem])t,  and 
after  a  long  search  1  heard  of  a  schooner  which 
was  ready  for  the  voyage  at  a  reasonable  rate, 
all  things  considered. 

Mr.  Forsyth  asked  if  I  had  any  objection  to 
take  with  me  thr-ec  gentlemen  of  Mobile,  who 
were  anxious  to  be  of  the  party,  as  they  wanted 
to  see  their  frieirds  at  Pcnsacola,  where  it  was 
bolievcd  a  "  fight"  was  to  come  off  immediately. 
Since  I  came  South  I  have  seen  thi;  daily  an- 
nouncement that  "Braxton  Bragg  is  ready," 
and  his  present  state  of  jn-eparation  must  be  be- 
yond all  conception.  But  here  was  a  difliculty. 
I  told  Mr.  Forsyth  that  I  could  not  possibly  as- 
sent to  any  jjersons  coming  with  mc  who  were 
not  neutrals,  or  i)r'epared  to  adhere  to  the  obli- 
gations of  neutrals.  There  was  a  suggestion 
that  I  should  say  these  gentlemen  were  my 
friends,  but  as  I  had  only  seen  two  of  them  on 
board  the  steamer  yesterday,  I  could  not  accede 
to  that  idea.  "  Then  if  you  are  asked  if  Mr. 
Ilavesies  is  your  friend,  you  will  say  he  is  not." 
"Certainly."  "But  surely  you  don't  wish  to 
have  Mr.  Bavcsies  hanged?"  "No,  I  do  not, 
and  I  shall  do  nothing  to  cause  him  to  be  hang- 
ed ;  but  if  he  meets  tliat  fate  by  his  own  act,  I 
can't  help  it.  I  will  not  allow  him  to  accomiiany 
me  under  false  pi'etences." 

At  last  it  was  agreed  that  Mi".  Ravesies  and 
his  friends  Mr.  Bartre  and  Mr.  Lyiies,  being  in 
no  way  employed  by  or  connected  with  the  Con- 
federate Government,  should  have  a  ])lace  in  the 
little  schooner  which  we  had  jjickcd  out  at  the 
quayside  and  hired  for  the  occasion,  ami  go  on 
the  voyage  with  the  plain  understanding  that 
they  were  to  accept  all  the  consequences  of  being 
citizens  of  Mobile. 


1 ; 


78 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


Mr.  Forsyth,  Mr.  Kavesies,  and  a  couple  of 
gctitlenien  dined  with  n.e  in  the  evening.  After 
dinner,  Mr.  Forsyth,  who,  us  mayor  of  the  town, 
is  tlie  Executive  of  tiie  Vigilance  Committee, 
took  a  copy  of  Harper's  Ilhmtratcd  I'ajicr,  wliicli 
is  a  very  jroor  imitation  of  tiie  I lluxlrated  London 
News,  and  called  my  attention  to  the  announce- 
ment that  Mr.  Moses,  their  special  artist,  was 
travelling  with  mo  in  the  South,  as  well  as  to  an 
engraving,  which  purported  to  be  by  Moses  afore- 
said. I  could  only  say  that  I  knew  nothing  of 
the  young  designer,  except  what  he  told  me,  and 
that  he  led  me  to  believe  he  was  furnishing 
sketches  to  the  London  News.  As  he  was  in  the 
hotel,  though  he  did  not  live  with  me,  I  sent  for 
him,  and  the  young  gcnlcman,  who  was  very 
pale  and  agitated  on  being  sliown  the  advertise- 
ment and  sketch,  declared  that  he  had  renounced 
all  connection  with  Harper,  that  he  was  sketch- 
ing for  the  Illustrated  London  News,  and  that 
the  advertisement  was  contrary  to  fact,  and  ut- 
terly unknown  to  him ;  and  so  he  was  let  go 
forth,  and  retired  uneasilv.  After  dinner  I  went 
to  the  IJienvillo  Club.  '"Rule  No.  1"  is,  "No 
gentleman  shall  he  admitted  in  a  state  of  intoxi- 
cation." The  club  very  social,  very  small,  and 
very  hospitable. 

Later  paid  my  respects  to  Mrs.  Forsyth,  whom 
I  found  anxiously  waiting  for  news  of  her  young 
son,  who  had  gone  off  to  join  the  Confederate 
army.  She  told  me  that  nearly  all  the  ladies  in 
Mobile  are  engaged  in  making  cartridges,  and  in 
prcjiaring  lint  or  clothing  for  the  army.  Not 
the  smallest  fear  is  cntertamed  of  the  swarming 
black  population. 

]\Jai/  \it/i. — Down  to  our  yacht,  the  Diana, 
which  is  to  be  ready  this  afternoon,  r.nd  saw  her 
cleared  out  a  little — a  broad-beamed,  flat-floored 
schooner,  some  fifty  tons  burthen,  with  a  centre- 
board, badly  caulked,  and  dirty  enough — unfa- 
miliar with  paint.  The  skipper  was  a  long-leg- 
fed,  ung!  'Uly  young  fellow,  with  long  hair  and 
an  inexpressive  face,  just  relieved  by  the  twinkle 
of  a  vc'7  "Yankee"  eye  ;  but  that  was  all  of  the 
hated  creature  about  him,  for  a  more  earnest  se- 
ccdcr  I  never  heard. 

His  crew  consi;;ted  of  three  rough,  mechanical 
sort  of  men  and  a  -.legro  cook.  Having  freigiit- 
ed  the  vessel  with  a  small  stock  of  stores,  a  Brit- 
ish flag,  kindly  Iciit  by  the  acting  Consul,  Mr. 
Magee,  and  a  iablecloth  to  serve  as  r  flag  of 
truce,  our  party,  consisting  of  the  gentlemen 
previously  named,  Mr.  Ward,  and  the  young  art- 
ibf,  weighed  from  the  quay  of  Mobile  at  five 
o'clock  in  the  evening,  with  the  manifest  ap))ro- 
bation  of  the  small  crowd  who  had  assembled  to 
see  us  off,  the  rumour  having  spread  through  the 
town  tiiat  we  were  bound  to  sec  the  great  fight. 
The  breeze  was  favourable  and  steady ;  at  nine 
o'clock  I'.M.,  the  lights  of  Fort  Morgan  were  on 
our  port  beam,  and  for  some  time  we  were  ex- 
pecting to  see  the  flash  of  a  gur.,  as  the  skijiper 
confidently  declared  they  would  never  allow  us 
to  pass  unchallenged. 

Tlic  darkness  of  t!ie  night  miglit  possibly  have 
favoured  us,  or  the  sentries  were  remiss ;  at  all 
events,  we  were  soon  creeping  through  the 
"Swash,"  whicli  is  a  narrow  channel  over  the 
bar,  through  which  our  skip])er  worked  us  by 
means  of  a  sounding-pole.  The  air  was  delight- 
fnl,  and  blow  ilirectly  ofl'  the  low  shore,  in  a  line 
parallel  to  which  we  were  moving.     When  the 


evening  vapours  passed  away,  the  stars  shone 
out  brilliantly,  and  though  the  wind  was  strohg, 
and  sent  us  at  a  pood  eight  knots  through  the 
water,  there  was  scarcely  a  rijijde  on  the  sea. 
Our  course  lay  within  a  (puirter  of  a  mile  of  the 
shore,  which  looked  like  a  white  ribbon  fringed 
with  fire,  from  the  ceaseless  j)lay  of  Mie  j/Los- 
phorescent  surf.  Above  this  belt  of  sand  rose  tho 
black,  jagged  outlines  of  a  pine  forest,  through 
whi(di  steal  immense  lagoons  and  marshy  creeks. 

Driftrtood  and  trees  strew  the  beach,  and  from 
Fort  Morgan,  for  forty  miles,  to  the  entrance  of 
Tensacola,  not  a  human  habitatioi  disturbs  the 
domain  sacred  to  alligators,  serpents,  pelicans, 
and  wild-fowl.  Some  of  the  lagoons,  like  the 
Perdida,  swell  into  inland  seas,  deep  buried  in 
pine  woods,  and  known  only  to  the  wild  creatures 
swarming  along  its  brink  and  in  its  waters ; 
once,  if  report  says  true,  frequented,  however,  l)y 
the  filibusters  and  by  the  pirates  of  the  Spanish 
Main. 

If  the  mnsquitoes  were  as  numerous  ar.d  as 
persecuting  in  those  days  as  they  are  at  present, 
the  most  adventurous  youth  would  have  soon  re- 
pented the  infatuation  which  led  him  to  join  the 
brethren  of  the  Main.  The  musquito  is  a  great 
enemy  to  romance,  and  our  skipper  tells  us  that 
there  is  no  such  place  known  in  the  world  for 
them  as  this  coast. 

As  the  Diana  flew  along  the  grim  shore,  we 
lay  listlessly  on  the  deck  admiring  the  excessive 
brightness  of  the  stars,  or  watching  the  trailing 
fire  of  her  wake.  Now  and  then  great  fish  flew 
off  from  the  shallows,  cleaving  their  path  in 
flame ;  and  one  shining  gleam  came  up  from 
leeward  like  a  watery  comet,  till  its  horrible  out- 
line was  revealed  close  to  us — a  monster  shark 
— which  accompanied  us  with  an  e.asy  play  of 
the  fin,  distinctly  visible  in  the  wonderful  phos- 
j)horescence,  now  shooting  on  ahead,  now  drop- 
ping astern,  till  suddenly  it  dashed  off  seaward 
with  tremendous  rapidity  and  strength  on  some 
errand  of  destruction,  and  vanished  in  the  waste 
of  water„.  Despite  the  multitudes  of  fish  on  the 
coast,  the  Sj)aniards  who  colonize  this  ill-named 
Florida  must  have  had  a  trying  life  of  it  between 
the  Indians,  now  hunted  to  death  or  exiled  by 
rigorous  Uncle  Sam,  the  mus(piitoes,  and  the 
numberless  plagues  which  abound  along  these 
shores. 

Hour  after  hour  passed  watching  the  jihiy  of 
large  fish  atid  the  siu-f  on  the  beach  ;  one  by  one 
the  cigar-lights  died  out ;  and  muffling  ourselves 
up  on  deck,  or  creeping  into  the  little  cabin,  the 
party  slumbered.  I  was  awoke  by  the  Cajdain 
talking  to  one  of  his  hands  close  to  me,  au<l  on 
looking  up  saw  that  he  was  staring  through  a 
wonderful  black  tube,  which  he  denominatxl  his 
"  tallowscope,"  at  the  shore. 

Looking  in  the  direction,  I  observed  the  glare 
of  a  fire  in  the  wooi!,  which  on  exatuinati'in 
through  an  opera  glass  resolved  itself  into  a 
steady  central  light,  with  some  smaller  specks 
around  it.     "  Wa'll,"  said  the  Captain,  "  I  guess 

it  is  just  some  of  them  d d  Yankees  as  is 

landed  from  their  tarnation  boats,  and  is  'con- 
noitering'  for  a  road  to  Mo!  Me."  There  was  an 
old  iron  cannonade  on  board,  and  it  struck  me 
as  a  curious  exemplification  of  the  recklessness 
of  our  American  cousins,  when  the  skipper  said, 
"  Let  us  put  a  bag  of  bullets  in  the  ould  gun, 
and  toucli  it  off  at  them;"  which  he  no  ddubt 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


79 


would  have  done,  seconded  by  one  of  our  party, 
who  drew  liis  revolver  to  contribute  to  the  broad- 
side, but  that  I  represented  to  them  it  was  just 
as  likely  to  be  a  party  out  from  the  camp  at  Ten- 
Baeola,  and  that,  anyliuw,  1  strongly  olyeeted  to 
any  belligerent  act  wliilst  I  was  on  board.  It 
was  very  probably,  indeed,  the  watchfire  of  a 
Confederate  patrol,  for  the  gentry  of  the  country 
have  formed  tliemselvcs  into  a  body  of  regular 
cavalry  for  such  service;  but  the  skipper  de- 
clared that  our  ciiaiJS  knew  better  than  to  be 
showing  their  lights  in  that  way,  when  we  were 
within  ten  miles  of  the  entrance  to  Pensaeola. 

The  skipper  lay-tn,  as  he,  very  wisely,  did  not 
like  to  run  into  the  centre  of  the  United  States 
g([iiadron  at  night;  but  just  at  the  first  glimpse 
of  dawn  the  Diana  resumed  her  course,  and 
bowled  along  merrily  till,  with  the  first  rays  of 
the  sun,  Fort  M'llac,  Fort  Pickens,  and  the 
masts  of  the  squadron  were  visible  ahead,  rising 
above  the  blended  horizon  of  land  and  sea.  We 
di-ew  ujjon  them  rajjidly,  and  soon  could  make 
out  tlie  rival  Hags — the  Stars  and  Bars  and  Stars 
and  Stripes — flouting  defiance  at  each  other. 

On  tlie  land  side  on  our  left  is  F(  rt  M'Rac, 
and  on  the  end  of  the  sand-bank,  called  Santa 
Rosa  Island,  directly  opposite,  rises  tlie  outline 
of  the  much-talked-of  Fort  Pickens,  which  is  not 
unlike  Fort  Paul  on  a  small  scale.     Tbrough 
the  glass  the  blockading  squadron  is  seen  to  con- 
sist of  a  sailing  frigate,  a  Ek)op,  and  throe  steam- 
ers ;  and  as  we  are  scrutinising  them,  a  small 
seliooner  glides  from  under  tiie  shelter  of  the 
guardsiiij),  and  makes  towards  us  like  a  hawk 
on  a  sparrow.     Hand  ov>',r  hand  she  comes,  a 
great  swaggering  ensign  at  her  jjeak,  and  a  gun 
all  ready  at  her  bow  ;  and  rounding  up  alongside 
us,  a  boat,  manned  by  four  men,  is  lowered,  an 
oflicer  jumj)s  in,  and  is  soon  under  our  counter. 
The  otiicer,  a  bluff,  sailor-like  looking  fellow,  in 
a  uniform  a  little  the  worse  for  wear,  and  wear- 
ing his   beard  as  officers  of. the  United  States 
navy  generally  do,  fixed  his  eye  upon  the  skip- 
per— wlio  did  not  seem  quite  at  his  ease,  and 
had,  indeed,  confessed  to  us  that  he  had  been 
warned  off  by  the  Oriental,  as  the  tender  was 
named,  only   a  short  time    before  —  and   said, 
"Hallo,  sir,  I  think  I  have   seen  you  before: 
what  schooner  is  this?"     "The  Diana  of  Mo- 
bile."    "I  thought  so."     Step])ing  on  deck,  he 
said,  "Gentlemen,  I  am  j\Ir.  Brown,  Master  in 
the  United  States  navy,  in  charge  of  the  boarding 
schooner  Oriental."     We  each  gave  our  names ; 
whereupon  Mr.  Brown  says,  "I  have  no  doubt 
it  will  he  all  right;  be  good  enough  to  let  me 
have  your  papers.     And  now,  sir,  make  sail,  and 
lie-to  under  the  quarter  of  that  steamer  there, 
the  Powhatan."     The  Captain  did  not  look  at 
nil  happy  wiien  the  officer  called  his  attention  to 
the  indorsement  on  his  jjapers  ;  nor  did  the  Mo- 
bile jiarty  seem  very  comfortable  when  he  re- 
marked, "I  suppose,  gentlemen,  you  are  (piitc 
well  aware  there  is  a  strict  blockade  of  tliis 
port  ?" 

In  half  an  hour  tho  schooner  lay  under  the 
guns  of  the  Powhaton,  which  is  a  stumpy,  tliirk- 
set,  powerful  steamer  of  tho  old  paddle-wheel 
kind,  sometliing  like  our  Leopard.  We  pro- 
ceeded alongside  in  the  cutter's  boat,  and  were 
ushered  into  the  cabin,  where  the  officer  com- 
manding. Lieutenant  David  Porter,  received  tis, 
begged  us  to  be  seated,  and  tjieu  inquired  into 


the  object  of  our  visit,  which  he  communicated 
to  the  flag-ship  by  signal,  in  order  to  get  instruc- 
tions as  to  our  disposal.  Nothing  could  exceed 
his  courtesy;  and  I  was  most  favourably  im- 
])rcssed  by  himself,  his  officers,  and  crew.  He 
took  me  over  the  shij),  which  is  armed  witii  1(J- 
ineh  Dahlgrens  and  an  11-ineh  ])ivot  gun,  witli 
rifled  field-i)ieces  and  howitzers  on  the  si)ousons. 
Her  boarding  nettings  were  triced  u\>,  bows  and 
weak  portions  ])added  witii  dead  wood  and  old 
sails,  and  cverytliing  ready  for  acti(jn. 

Lieutenant  Porter  has  been  in  and  out  of  the 
harbour  examining  the  enemy's  works  at  all 
hours  of  the  night,  and  he  has  marked  offon  the 
chart,  as  he  showed  me,  the  bearings  of  tlie  vari- 
ous spots  where  he  can  sweep  or  enfilade  their 
works.  The  crew,  all  things  considcied,  were 
very  clean,  and  their  personnel  exceedingly  fine. 
We  were  not  the  oidy  prize  that  was  nuide  by 
the  Oriental  this  morning.  A  ragged  little 
schooper  lay  at  the  other  side  of  the  Powhatan, 
the  master  of  which  stood  rubbing  his  knuckles 
into  his  eyes,  and  uttering  dolorous  exjircssions 
in  broken  English  and  Italian,  for  lie  was  a  no- 
ble Roman  of  Civita  Vecchia.  Lieutenant  Por- 
ter let  nie  into  the  secret.  These  small  traders 
at  Mobile,  pretending  great  zeal  for  the  Cotifcd- 
eratc  cause,  load  their  vessels  with  fruit,  vegeta- 
bles, and  things  of  wliieh  they  know  the  sqiuxdron 
is  much  in  want,  as  well  as  the'  garrison  of  the 
Confederate  forts.  They  set  out  with  the  most 
valiant  intention  of  rumiing  the  blockade,  and 
are  duly  cajjtured  by  the  squadron,  the  officers 
of  which  are  only  too  glad  to  ])ay  fair  prii^cs  for 
the  cargoc"..  They  return  to  Alohile,  kec])  tiieir 
money  in  tiieir  pockets,  and  declare  they  have 
been  plundered  by  the  Yankees.  If  they  get  in, 
they  demand  still  higher  prices  from  the  Confed- 
erates, and  lay  claim  to  the  most  exalted  jjatriot- 
ism. 

By  signal  from  the  flag-ship  Sabine,  we  were 
ordered  to  repair  on  board  to  see  the  senior  offi- 
cer. Captain  Adams;  and  for  tlie  first  time  since 
I  trod  the  deck  of  the  old  Leander  in  Balaklava 
harbour,  I  stood  on  board  a  50-gun  sailing  frig- 
ate. Captain  Adams,  a  grey -haired  veteran 
of  very  gentle  manners  and  great  urbanity,  re- 
ceived us  in  his  cabin,  and  listened  to  my  expla- 
nation of  the  cause  of  my  visit  with  interest. 
About  myself  tiiere  was  no  difficulty  ;  but  he 
very  justly  observed  he  did  not  think  it  would  he 
right  to  let  tiie  gentlemen  from  Mobile  cxiunine 
Fort  Pickens,  and  then  go  among  the  Confeder- 
ate camps.  I  am  bound  to  say  tiiese  gentlemen 
scarcely  seemed  to  desire  or  anticipate  such  a 
favour. 

Major  Vogdes,  an  engineer  officer  from  the 
fort,  who  happened  to  be  on  board,  volunteered 
to  take  a  letter  from  mc  to  Colonel  Harvey 
Browne,  requesting  permission  to  visit  it ;  and  I 
finally  arranged  with  Captain  Adams  that  the 
Diana  was  to  be  jR-rniitted  to  pass  the  blockade 
into  Pensaeola  harbour,  and  thence  to  return  to 
Mobile,  my  visit  to  Pickens  depending  on  the 
pleasure  of  the  Commandant  of  the  ]>litc'e.  "I 
fear,  Mr.  Russell,"  said  Captain  Adams,  "in 
giving  you  this  ])ermission,  I  expose  mjself  to 
misre])resentation  and  unfounded  attacks,  (ien- 
tlemen  of  the  ]>ress  in  our  country  eari'  little 
about  private  character,  and  arc,  I  fear,  rather 
unscrui)ulnus  in  what  they  say ;  but  I  rely  upon 
your  character  that  no  improper  us.'   -hall  bo 


80 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


made  of  this  permission.  Yon  must  lioist  a  fiag 
of  truce,  jis  General  IJragp,  who  commands  over 
there,  has  sent  me  word  he  considers  our  hiociv- 
adc  a  decL'iratiou  of  war,  and  will  lire  upon  any 
A'cssel  which  approaclies  liini  from  our  ileel."^ 

In  the  course  of  cgnversation,  whilst  treating 
mc  to  such  man-of-war  luxuries  as  the  friendly 
officer  had  at  his  disi)osal,  he  gave  me  an  illus- 
tration of  tlic  miseries  of  this  cruel  conflict — of 
the  unspeakahle  desolation  of  homes,  of  the  bit- 
terness of  feeling  engendered  in  f'lmilies.  A 
rennsylvanian  by  birth,  he  married  long  ago  u 
lady  of  Louisiana,  where  he  resided  on  his  plant- 
ation till  his  shi])  was  commissioned.  lie  was 
absent  on  foreign  service  whtn  the  feud  first  be- 
gan, and  receiveil  orders  at  sea,  on  the  South 
American  station,  to  repair  direct  to  blockade 
I'ensacola.  He  has  just  heard  tliat  one  of  his 
sons  is  enlisted  in  the  Confederate  army,  and 
that  two  others  have  joined  the  forces  in  Vir- 
ginia ;  and  as  he  said  sadly,  "  God  kiinws,  when 
I  open  my  broadside,  but  that  I  may  be  killing 
my  own  children."  But  that  was  not  all.  One 
of  the  Mobile  gentlemen  bi-ought  him  a  letter 
from  his  daughter,  in  which  slie  informs  him 
that  she  has  i)een  elected  vivandiere  to  a  New 
Orleans  regiment,  witli  which  she  intends  to  jmsh 
on  to  Washington,  and  get  u  lock  of  old  Abe  Lin- 
coln's hair ;  and  the  letter  concluded  with  the 
charitable,  wish  that  her  father  might  starve  to 
death  if  he  ]jersisted  in  his  wicked  blockade. 
But  not  the  less  determined  was  the  gallant  old 
sailor  to  do  his  duty. 

Mr.  Ward,  one  of  my  companions,  had  sailed 
in  the  S.ihii  e  in  the  Paraguay  exi)edition,  and 
I  availe  I  mys.df  of  his  acquaintance  with  his  old 
eomradi  s  to  take  a  glance  round  the  ship. 
Wherever  thev  came  from,  foin*  hundred  more 
sailor-like,  strong,  handy  young  fellows  could 
not  be  seen  than  the  crew  ;  and  the  officers  were 
as  hospitable  as  their  limited  resources  in  whis- 
ky grog,  cheese,  and  junk  allowed  them  to  be. 

With  thanks  for  l.is  kindness  and  courtesy,  I 
])f;rted  from  Cajitain  Adams,  feeling  more  than 
tver  tlie  terrible  and  '\-ii'nest  nature  of  tlie  im- 
pending conllict.  May  tlic  kindly  good  old  num 
be  shielded  on  the  day  of  battle  ! 

A  ten -oared  l)arge  conveyed  us  to  the  Orient- 
al, whit'b,  with  flowing  sheet,  ran  down  to  the 
I'owbatan.  Tlicre  I  saw  Captain  I'orter,  and 
told  him  that  Captain  Adams  had  given  me  per- 
mission to  visit  the  Confederate  cam]i,  and  that 
I  had  written  for  leave  to  go  on  sliorc  at  Fort 
Pickens.  An  officer  was  in  his  cabin,  to  whom 
I  was  introduci'd  as  Cajitain  Poore,  of  the  Brook- 
lyn. "  Ydu  don't  mean  to  say,  Mr.  Russell,"  said 
he,  "that  these  editors  of  Southern  newspajiers 
who  are  with  you  have  leave  to  go  on  shore  ?" 
This  was  rather  a  fishing  question.  "  1  assure 
you.  Captain  Poore,  that  there  is  no  editor  of  a 
Soutbi  rn  ne\vs|ia]icr  in  my  company." 

Till  !'oat  which  took  us  from  the  Powh.atan 
to  the  Diana  was  in  charge  of  a  young  officer 
related  to  Captain  I'orter,  who  amused  me  by 
the  s]  iiif  witii  which  he  bandied  remarks  about 
(he  Mobile  men,  who  had  now  recovered  their 
equanimity,  and  were  indulging  in  what  is  call- 
ed cliatr  aiioiit  the  blockade.  "  Wtdl,"  he  said, 
"you  were  the  first  to  begin  it ;  let  us  see  wheth- 
er you  won't  be  the  hrst  to  leave  it  off.  I  guess 
our  Northern  ice  will  pretty  soon  jtut  out  your 
Southern  lire.'' 


When  we  came  on  board,  the  skipjier  heard 
our  orders  to  up  stick  and  away  with  an  air  of 
jiity  and  ii\cre(hdity ;  nor  was  it  till  1  had  rc- 
])eated  it,  he  kicked  up  his  crew  from  their  slecjt 
on  deck,  and  with  a  "  Wa'll,  really,  I  never  did 
sec  sich  a  thing !"'  made  sail  towards  the  entrance 
to  the  harbour. 

As  wc  got  abreast  of  Fort  Pickens,  I  ordered 
table-cloth  No.  1  to  be  hoisted  to  the  jieak  ;  and 
through  the  glass  I  saw  that  our  apjjcaraji  ■  ^  at- 
tracted no  ordinary  attention  from  the  gaiiison 
of  Pickens  close  at  hand  on  our  right,  and  the 
more  distant  Confederates  on  Fort  IM'Rae  and 
the  sand-hills  on  our  left.  The  latter  work  is 
weak  and  badly  built,  quite  under  the  command 
of  Pickens,  but  it  is  supported  by  the  old  Sjian- 
ish  fort  of  Barrancas  upon  high  ground  further 
inland,  and  by  numerous  batteric.«  at  the  water- 
line,  and  partly  concealed  amid  the  woods  which 
fringe  the  shore  as  far  as  the  navy  yard  of  War- 
rington, near  Pcnsacola.  The  wind  was  light, 
but  the  tide  bore  us  on  towards  the  Confederate 
works.  Arms  glanced  in  the  blazing  sun  where 
regiments  were  engaged  at  drill,  clouds  of  dust 
rose  from  the  sandy  roads,  horsemen  riding  along 
the  beach,  groups  of  men  in  uniform,  gave  a  mar- 
tial aj)j)earance  to  the  ]ilacc  in  unison  with  the 
black  muzzles  of  the  giins  which  ])eei)ed  frc^m  ihe 
white  sand  batteries  from  the  entrance  of  the 
harbour  to  the  navy  yard  now  close  at  hand. 
As  at  Sumter  Major  Anderson  ])ermiltcd  the 
Carolinians  to  erect  the  batteries  he  might  have 
so  readily  destroyed  in  the  commencenu'nt,  so 
the  Federal  officers  here  have  allowed  (ieneral 
Bragg  to  work  away  ftt  his  leisure,  mfuinting 
cannon  after  cannon,  throwing  up  earthworks, 
and  strengthening  his  batteries,  till  he  has  as- 
sumed so  formidable  an  attitude,  that  I  doubt 
very  much  whether  the  fort  and  the  fleet  com- 
bined can  silence  his  fire. 

On  the  low  shore  close  to  us  were  niinu^rous 
wooden  houses  and  detached  villas,  surrounded 
by  orange-groves.  At  last  the  captain  let  go  bis 
anchor  off  the  end  of  a  wooden  jetty,  which  was 
crowded  with  animuiiition,  shot,  shell,  casks  of 
j)rovisious,  and  commissariat  stores.  A  small 
steamer  was  (ugaged  in  adding  to  ihe  collection, 
and  numerous  light  craft  gave  evidence  that  all 
trade  had  not  ceased.  Indeed,  inside  h'Janta  Rosa 
Island,  which  runs  for  forty-five  miles  from  I'ick- 
ens  eastward  jiarallcl  to  the  shoie,  tlwre  is  a  con- 
siderable coasting  trafiic  carried  on  for  the  bene- 
fit of  the  Confederates. 

The  skijiper  went  ashore  wUh  my  letters  to 
General  Bragg,  and  speedily  r  turned  with  an 
orderly,  who  brought  permission  for  the  Diana 
to  come  alongside  the  wharf.  The  Mobde  gen- 
tlemen were  soon  on  shore,  eager  to  seek  their 
friends;  and  in  a  few  seconds  the  officer  of  the 
quartermaster  -  general's  department  on  duty 
came  on  board  to  conduct  me  to  the  officcr.s' 
quarters,  whilst  waiting  for  my  rejjly  from  Gcn- 
e'id  Bragg. 

The  navy  yard  is  .surrounded  by  a  high  wall, 
Ihe  gates  closely  guarded  by  sentries ;  the  houses, 
gardens,  workshops,  factories,  foi-ges,  slijs,  and 
building-sheds  are  complete  of  their  kind,  iind 
cover  ujiwanls  of  three  hundred  acres;  aiul  wiih 
the  ♦'orts  which  protect  the  entrance,  cost  the 
United  States  Government  not  less  than  six  mil- 
lions sterling.  Inside  these  was  the  greatest  ac- 
tivity and  life, — Zouare,  Chasseurs,  and  all  kind 


' 


of  militar; 
ing,  exerci 
brils,  playi 
Tents  wer 
little  lawns 
houses,  ea 
name  of  tl 
signed,  we: 
front,  fillec 
were  paint 
ticoes,  Vci 
nadcs,  to  p 
from  tin;  li 
worthy  of  ( 
shij)  on  tl 
quantities 
ing  to  the 
the  ground 
two  old  nu) 
avenue,  on 
The  qua; 
dy  walks  'r 
room,  an^,. 
officers,  mc 
from  New 
coinfortal)U 
pagne,   clai 
young,  full 
four  gravel 
ans.    One, 
sians  and  1; 
Friederichs 
have  been 
over  the  So 
Pole,  had  b( 
in  the   rev( 
these  officer 
his  wife,  i\Ii 
to  the  Navy 
and  had  bee 
Every  on 
threatened 
After  din 
Bragg  cnte 
company  hi 
ters.     As  t 
deep,  and 
the  young  i 
got,  and  ^v^ 
tall,  elderly 
star  on  the 
tvnd  gilt  bu 
derly,  who  k 
thing  I  hav 
General  Bi 
presented  tf 
waggon, 
light  cart  d 
comphited  i 
at  the  door 
trees  of  lime 
Led  hors( 
the  portico, 
like  aspect, 
steps,  and  tf 
remained  fi 
had  retired 
the  Mexicai 
cd  a  disting 
ly  coujded  A 
Captain  Br 
counters  of 


I 


MY  DIAKY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


81 


of  military  eccentricities — were  driilinR,  panul- 
inj?,  exercising,  sitting  in  the  siiiule,  loadinfj;  tum- 
brils, playing  cards,  or  sicci)ing  on  tiie  grass. 
Tents  were  pitched  under  tlie  trees  und  on  tiie 
little  lawns  and  grass-covered  (juadrangles.  Tlie 
houses,  each  numbered  and  marked  with  the 
name  of  the  functioiniry  to  whose  use  it  was  as- 
signed, were  models  of  neatness,  with  gardens  in 
front,  filled  with  glorious  trojiical  flowers.  They 
were  jiaintcd  green  and  white,  provided  with  por- 
ticoes, Venetian  blinds,  verandahs,  and  'olon- 
nadcs,  to  jcoteet  the  inmatrs  as  much  as  possible 
from  the  ti'a/.ing  sun,  whi^h  in  the  dog-days  is 
worthy  of  <  Calcutta.  The  old  Fulton  is  the  only 
ship  on  the  stocks.  From  the  naval  arsenal 
quantities  of  shot  and  shell  are  constantly  pour- 
ing to  the  batteries.  Files  of  cannon-balls  dot 
the  grounds,  but  the  only  ordnance  1  saw  were 
two  old  mortars  placed  as  ornaments  in  the  main 
avenue,  one  dated  177G. 

The  quartermaster  conducted  mc  through  sha- 
dy walks  'Uto  one  of  the  houses,  then  into  along 
room,  an^  presented  me  en  masse  to  a  body  of 
officers,  mostly  b'-!onging  to  a  Zouave  regiment 
from  New  Orleans,  who  were  seated  at  a  very 
comfortable  dinner,  with  abundance  of  cham- 
pagne, claret,  beer,  r^nd  ice.  They  were  all 
young,  full  of  life  .'cud  spirits,  except  three  or 
four  graver  and  older  men,  who  were  Europe- 
ans. One,  a  Du'ic,  had  fougiit  against  the  I'rus- 
sians  and  Scldeswig-IIulsteiners  at  Idstedt  and 
Friederichstadt ;  another,  an  Italian,  seemed  to 
have  been  indifferently  engaged  in  fighting  all 
over  the  South  American  continent ;  a  third,  a 
Pole,  had  been  at  Comorn,  and  had  participated 
in  the  revolutionary  guerilla  of  1848.  From 
these  officers  I  learned  that  Mr.  Jcfterson  Davis, 
his  wife,  Mr.  Wigfall,  and  Mr.  Mallory,  Secretary 
to  the  Navy,  hail  come  down  from  Montgomery, 
and  had  been  visiting  the  works  all  day. 

Every  one  here  believes  the  attack  so  long 
threatened  is  to  come  oil'  at  last  and  at  once. 

After  dinner  \\\  aide-de-camp  from  Oeneral 
Bragg  entered  with  a  request  that  I  would  ac- 
company him  to  the  commanding  officer's  quar- 
ters. As  the  sand  outside  the  navy  yard  was 
deep,  and  rendered  walking  very  disagreeable, 
the  young  officer  stopjjcd  a  cart,  into  wl-ich  we 
got,  and  were  proceeding  on  our  way,  >»'hen  a 
tall,  elderly  man,  in  a  blue  frock-coat  with  a  gold 
star  on  the  shoulder,  trowsers  with  a  gold  stripe 
and  gilt  buttons,  rode  past,  followed  by  an  or- 
derly, who  looked  more  like  a  dragoon  than  any- 
thing I  have  yet  seen  in  t!ie  States.  "There's 
General  IJragg,"  quoth  the  aide,  and  I  was  duly 
presented  to  the  General,  who  reined  up  by  the 
waggon.  He  sent  his  orderly  off  at  once  for  a 
light  cart  drawn  by  a  pair  of  mules,  in  which  I 
completed  my  journey,  and  was  safely  decarted 
at  the  doin*  of  a  substantial  house  surrounded  l)y 
trees  of  lime,  oak,  and  sycamore. 

Led  horses  and  orderlies  thronged  the  front  of 
the  portico,  and  gave  it  the  usual  head-quarter- 
likc  aspect.  General  Bragg  received  me  at  the 
steps,  and  took  me  to  his  private  room,  where  we 
remained  for  a  long  time  in  conversatJbn.  He 
had  retired  from  the  United  States  army  after 
the  Mexican  war — in  which,  by  the  way,  he  i)Iay- 
cd  a  distinguished  part,  his  name  being  general- 
ly coupled  with  the  phrase  "a  little  more  grajie. 
Captain  Hragg,''  used  in  one  of  the  hottest  en- 
counters of  tiuit  campaign — to  his  plantation  in 
F 


Louisiana ;  but  suddenly  the  Northern  States  de- 
clared their  intention  of  using  force  to  free  and 
sovereign  states,  which  were  exercising  their  con- 
stitutional rights  to  secede  from  the  Federal 
Union. 

Neither  he  nor  his  family  were  responsible  for 
the  system  of  slavery.  Ills  ancestors  found  it 
established  by  law  and  flourishing,  and  had  left 
him  pro])erty,  consisting  of  slaves,  which  was 
granted  to  him  by  the  laws  and  corstitution  of 
the  United  States.  Slaves  were  necessary  for 
the  actual  cultivation  of  the  soil  in  the  South ; 
Europeans  and  Yankees  who  settled  there  sjiced- 
ily  became  con'  ""ced  of  tiiat ;  and  if  a  Northern 
population  wc.c  settled  in  Louisiana  to-morrow, 
they  wouhl  discover  that  they  must  till  the  land 
by  the  labour  of  the  black  race,  and  that'  the 
only  mode  of  making  the  black  race  work  was 
to  hold  them  in  a  condition  of  involuntary  serv- 
itude. "Only  the  other  day.  Colonel  Harvey 
Browne,  at  Fickens,  over  the  way,  carried  off  a 
number  of  negroes  frcnn  Tortugas,  and  put  them 
to  work  at  Santa  Kosa.  Why?  Because  his 
white  soldiers  were  not  able  for  it.  No.  The 
North  was  bent  on  subjugating  the  South,  and 
as  long  as  he  had  a  drop  of  blood  in  his  body,  he 
would  resist  such  an  infamous  atteni])t." 

Before  supper  General  Bragg  opened  his  maps, 
and  ])ointed  out  to  mc  in  detail  the  jiosition  of 
all  his  worksj  the  line  of  fire  of  cacli  gun,  and 
(he  i)articular  object  to  be  expected  from  its  ef- 
fects. "  I  know  every  inch  of  Fickens."  he  caid, 
"  for  I  ha))pened  to  ])e  stationed  there  as  soon  as 
I  left  West  Foint,  and  I  don't  tliink  there  is  a 
stone  in  it  that  1  am  not  as  well  acquainted  with 
as  Harvey  Browne." 

His  staff,  consisting  of  four  intelligeni  young 
men,  two  of  them  lately  belonging  to  the  United 
States  army,  sup])ed  with  ns,  and  after  a  very 
agreeable  evening,  horses  were  ordered  round  to 
the  door,  and  I  returned  to  the  navy  yard  at- 
tended by  the  General's  orderly,  and  provided 
with  a  ])ass  and  countersign.  As  a  m'lrk  of 
complete  confidence,  tiieneral  Bragg  told  ne,  for 
my  private  ear,  that  he  had  no  ))resent  inreiition 
wh.  cever  of  oj)ening  fire,  and  that  his  batteries 
were  far  from  being  in  a  state,  either  as  regards 
armament  or  ammunition,  which  would  justify 
him  in  meeting  the  fire  of  the  forts  and  the  ships. 

And  so  we  bade  good-by.  "To-morrow," 
saic'  the  General,  "I  will  send  down  one  of  my 
best  horses  and  Mr.  Ellis,  my  aide-de-camp,  to 
take  you  over  all  the  works  and  batteries."  As 
I  rode  honic  with  my  honest  orderly  beside  in- 
stead of  behind  me,  for  he  was  of  a  conversa- 
tional turn,  I  was  much  perplexed  in  my  mind, 
endeavouring  to  determine  which  was  right  and 
which  was  wrong  in  this  quarrel,  and  at  last,  as 
at  Miuitgomery,  I  was  forced  to  ask  myself  if 
right  and  wrong  were  geographical  expressions 
depending  for  extension  or  limitation  on  certain 
conditions  of  climate  and  lines  of  latitude  and 
longitude.  Here  was  the  General's  orderly  be- 
side me,  an  intelligent  middle-aged  man,  who 
had  come  to  do  battle  with  as  much  sincerity — 
aye,  and  religious  confidence — as  ever  actuated 
old  John  Brown  or  any  New  England  puritan  to 
make  war  against  slavery.  "I  have  left  my  old 
woman  and  the  children  to  the  care  of  the  nig- 
gers; I  have  turned  up  all  my  cotton  land  and 
)ilantod  it  with  corn,  and  I  don't  intend  to  go 
back  alive  till  I've  seen  the  back  of  the  hist  Yaa- 


82 


MY  DIAKY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


kce  in  our  Southern  States."  "And  are  wife 
and  children  alonu  with  the  negroes?"  "Yes, 
sir.  There's  only  one  white  man  on  the  jihin- 
tation,  an  overseer  sort  ofclia|i."  "Are  not  you 
afraid  of  tlie  slaves  risinj,'?"  "They're  ignoraiit 
poor  creatures,  to  he  sure,  but  as  yet  tiiey'.e 
faiilifiii.  Any  way,  I  i>'t  my  trust  in  God,  i-nd 
1  know  He'll  watch  over  the  >ioum-  while  I'm 
away  lighting!;  for  th;>  t;j  •  I  'jj.sc!"  This  man 
came  in>m  Missis^,I  ;;i,  iifiu  had  twenty -five 
slaves,  which  reprci'  ted  a  money  value  of  at 
least  i,T)()00.  He  was  heyond  the  age  of  enthu- 
siasm, and  was  actuated,  no  doubt,  by  strong 
principles,  to  him  umiuestionable  and  sacred. 

JNlv  pass  and  countersign,  which  were  only 
onct^  demanded,  took  me  through  the  sentries, 
and  I  got  on  !)oaril  the  schooner  shortly  before 
midnight,  and  found  nearly  all  the  party  on  deck, 
enchanted  wii  h  their  reception.  More  tlian  once 
we  were  awoke  by  tlie  vigilant  sentries,  who 
would  not  let  what  Americans  call  "  rlic  bal- 
ance" of  our  frien«Js  'ni  board  till  they  had  seen 
my  authority  to  receive  them. 


CHAPTER  XXVIII. 

Bit  tors  l)i'f()vo  biciikfiist— An  olil  (  linicnn  noquaintaiicp — 
Kartlnvorkrt  iiiid  Imt tiM'ii's' — Kstitnnte  of  cimnoii.-i — Mag- 
iiziiie.''. —  lliispilalily — lOngliHli  and  Americnii  iiitrodur- 
fidiiH  and  Icavi'-takintss — I'ort  I'ickfiiH;  its  intcrioi- — 
Hctiini  towards  Mobile — l'iMv\icd  by  a  strange  i'ail — 
Kuniiing  tlic  blockade — Landing  at  Mobile. 

Mm/  M'tt/i. — The  reveille  of  the  Zouaves,  note 
for  note  the  same  as  that  which,  in  ihe  Crimea, 
so  often  woke  up  poor  fellows  who  slejit  the  long 
slec])  ere  nightfall,  roused  us  this  morning  early, 
anil  then  the  clang  of  trumiiels  and  the  roll  of 
drums  beating  French  calls  summoned  the  vol- 
unteers to  early  parade.  As  there  was  a  he  vy 
dew,  and  many  winged  ♦^hings  about  last  nip  it, 
I  tiu'ned  in  to  my  ber  ii  below,  where  four  hu- 
man beings  were  snp])osed  to  lie  in  layers,  like 
mummies  beneath  a  j)yramid,  and  there,  after 
contention  with  cockroaches,  sank  to  rest.  No 
wonder  I  was  rather  puzzled  to  know  where  1 
was  now ;  for  in  addition  to  the  music  and  the 
familiar  sounds  outside,  I  was  somewhat  jierturb- 
cd  in  my  mental  calcula'iions  by  bringing  my 
head  sliarjjly  in  contact  with  a  beam  of  the  deck, 
which  hatl  the  best  of  it ;  but,  at  last,  facts  ac- 
complisiied  themselves  and  got  into  place,  much 
aided  by  the  ajjpcarance  of  the  negro  cook  wIlIi 
a  cup  of  coffee  in  his  hand,  who  asked, "  Mosieu  ! 
Capitaiiie  vant  to  ax  vedder  yon  take  some  bit- 
ter, sar!  Lisbon  bitter,  sar."  I  saw  the  cap- 
tain on  deck  busily  engaged  in  the  manufacture 
of  a  liquid  which  i  was  adjured  by  all  the  party 
on  deck  to  take,  if  1  vi!hed  to  make  a  Kedan  or 
a  JlalakhofV  of  my  ;.V'.ii)ach,  and  accordingly  I 
swailoweil  n  }>t!il  voi-t  of  a  very  .strong,  intens'!- 
ly  bitter  pre})aration  of  brandy  and  .■>.  ie  roots, 
sweetened  with  sugar,  for  which  Mobile  is  famou'^. 

The  noise  of  ot^r  arrival  hul  gime  abroad; 
haply  the  re])ort  of  the  good  things  with  which 
tlie  men  of  Mobile  bad  laden  t!u>  craft,  fo,'  a  few 
orticers  came  aboard  even  at  that  early  hour,  and 
we  a.'-ked  two  who  wt  re  known  to  our  friends  to 
stay  for  breakfast.  Tliat  mcd,  to  wl.ich  lin!  ue- 
Rro  cook  applied  his  whole  iniuil  and  all  the  gal- 
ley, consisted  of  an  ugly-looking  but  well-flavor- 
ed tisli  from  tlie  waters  outside  us, ;  ied  h-.'ni  and 
onions,  biscuit,  coffee,  iced  water  and  Bordeaux, 


served  with  charming  simplicity,  and  no  way 
calculated  to  move  the  ire  of  Horace  by  a  dis- 
play of  I'ersic  apparatus. 

A  more  greasy,  oniony  meal  was  iiever  bettci 
enjoyed.  One  of  our  guests  wiis  a  jolly  York- 
shire farmer-looking  man,  up  to  a!)out  K!  stone 
weight,  witii  any  hounds,  ilressed  in  a  tunic  of 
green  baize  or  frieze,  with  scarlet  worsted  braid 
down  the  front,  gold  lace  on  the  cufl's  and  collar, 
and  a  felt  wide-awake,  with  a  bunch  of  feathers 
in  it.  He  wiped  the  sweat  off  his  brow,  and 
swore  that  he  would  never  give  in.  and  that  the 
whole  of  the  company  o"  riflemen  whom  he  com- 
manded, if  not  as  heavy,  were  quite  as  jiatriotic. 
Ho  was  evidently  a  kindly  atfectionate  man, 
without  a  trace  of  malice  in  his  conii)osition,bnt 
his  sentiments  were  (juite  fi^rocious  when  he  came 
to  speak  of  the  Yankees.  He  was  a  large  slave- 
owner, and  therefore  a  man  of  ibrtune,  and  he 
spoke  with  all  the  fervour  of  a  capitalist  mcn- 
acetl  by  a  set  of  Red  Rejiublicans. 

His  companion,  who  wore  a  jilain  blue  uni- 
form, spoke  sensibly  about  a  matter  with  which 
sen.se  has  rarely  anything  to  do  —  namely  uni- 
form. Many  of  the  United  States  volunteers 
adopt  the  same  grey  colours  so  much  in  vofcuc 
among  the  Confederates.  The  ofhcers  of  both 
armies  were  similar  distinguishing  marks  of  rank, 
and  he  was  quite  right  in  sujiposing  that  in  night 
marches,  or  in  serious  actions  on  a  large  scale, 
much  confusion  and  loss  would  be  caused  by  men 
of  the  same  army  firing  on  each  other,  or  mis- 
taking enemies  for  frieiuis. 

Whilst  we  were  talking,  large  shoals  of  mullet 
and  othei  fish  were  flying  before  the  porpoises, 
reu  fish,  and  other  enemies,  in  the  tide-way 
astern  of  the  schooner.  Once,  as  a  large  white 
fish  came  leajdng  up  to  the  surface,  a  gleam  of 
something  still  whiter  shot  through,  the  waves, 
and  a  boiling  whirl,  tinged  with  crimson,  which 
gradually  melted  off  in  the  tide,  marked  whcie 
the  fish  had  been. 

"There's  a  ground  shcfi-K  as  has  got  his  break- 
fast," quoth  the  Skipper,  "  Tiiere's  quite  a  many 
of  them  about  here."  •on  and  then  a  turtle 
showed  his  head,  excitir;  ;  rsidfrinm  tarn  cm-i 
capitis,  above  the  envied  nood  which  he  honour- 
ed with  his  jirescnce. 

Far  away,  towards  Pensacola,  flopted  three 
British  ensigns,  from  as  many  merchantmen, 
whtc'-.  .is  yet  had  fifteen  days  to  clear  out  from 
the  blockaded  jiort.  P'ort  rickens  had  hoisted 
the  stars  and  stripes  to  the  wind,  and  Fort  M'Rac, 
as  if  to  irritate  its  neighbour,  displayed  a  Hag  al- 
most identical,  but  for  the  "lone  star,"  which 
the  glass  detected  instead  of  the  ordinary  galaxy 
— the  star  of  Florida. 

Lieutenant  Ellis,  General  Eragg's  aide-de- 
camp, catne  on  board  at  an  early  hour,  in  order 
to  take  me  round  the  works,  and  I  was  soon  on 
the  back  of  the  General's  charger,  safely  en- 
sconced between  the  raised  jnimmel  and  cantlc 
of  a  gi^at  brass-bound  saddle,  with  enildazoncd 
s:<.dd'  .eloth  and  mighty  stirrups  of  brass,  fit  for 
tiic  tattcst  luarshal  that  ever  led  an  army  of 
Fr;ince  to  victory  ;  but  General  Bragg  is  longer 
in  the  leg  than  the  Duke  of  Malakludfor  Marshal 
Canrobcrt,  and  all  my  efforts  to  toucl'.  with  my 
loc  the  wonderful  supports  which,  in  consonance 
with  tlie  American  idea,  dangled  far  beneath, 
were  ineffectual. 
As  our  roud  lay  by  head-quarters,  the  aidc- 


de-r.imp  t( 

"Orderly; 

dier-'ike  yc 

three  holes 

od  his  cap  i 

J  often  saw 

i'l  *lie  lltli 

1  liva  he  Wi 

iind  Cajitui 

by  .1  round 

cape  on  foo 

h"  reinaine 

Russia,  till  I 

the  close  of 

g'anrs  who 

he  left  the  s 

said  I,  "sol 

iug  as  an  ore 

hut  1  c.imo 

as  some  of 

broke  out,  a 

their  cavalry 

would  just  Ij 

here  I  am  n( 

orderly.      H, 

good,  but  tin 

know  what  ii 

man's  name 

father  lived  ' 

ty-one  miles 

s.iid  he  was  ; 

soldier. 

From  hea( 
tour  (jf  ins[)c 
aflything  mo 
in  American 
I  had  been  1 
of  the  most 
hundreds  of 
ten,  tens  won 
I  visited  tei 
General  Braj 
'!iis.     I  saw- 
whole  of  the 
pieces   with 
may  be  aboi 
which  desciil 
three  miles  i 
tance  of  a  mi 
tcrested  witii 
iards  long  a; 
weakly  arnie 
mand'fiom  t! 

In  all  the 
ies  in  the  re; 
and  called 
structor.s  as  . 
sliell  from  1' 
the  rat-hole 
conducive  to 
all  likely  to 
Tlie  working 
unteers   from 
long-hearded 
cd  hats,  unifo 
ed  arms  ai-d 
among  the  v_ 
their  complet 
Considerni 
of  o.\p,cutioi} 
agreed  as  to 
Jit  the  wheel 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


88 


aklc- 


tle-rr'inp  took  ine  into  the  court  and  called  out 
"Oiilcriy;"  and  ut  the  summons  a  smart  sol- 
dier'!ik(!  youn^  I;  l!<'tv  came  to  the  IVout,  took  me 
threi!  holes  up,  aa  I  a.i  I  nv;.,  riilinj;  away  touch- 
ed Ids  cap  and  s'ti'l,  'Thi-ij,  your  panlon,  sir,  but 
J  often  saw  ;  i'h,  la  the  Cilmea."  Me  had  hecn 
i'l  the  llth  Hussars,  and  on  the  day  of  !5ala- 
1  liva  he  was  foll()win<^  close  to  Lord  (Jardisjaii 
and  Captain  Nolan,  when  his  hurse  was  killed 
by  a  round  shot.  As  he  was  endeavouring  to  es- 
cape on  foot  the  Cossacks  took  him  prisoner,  and 
he  remained  for  eleven  montlis  in  captivity  in 
Russia,  till  he  was  exchanged  at  Odessa,  towards 
the  close  of  the  war ;  then,  being  one  of  two  .ser- 
g 'ants  who  were  permitted  to  get  their  discharge, 
he  left  the  service.  "But  here  you  are  again," 
said  I,  "soldiering  once  more,  and  merely  act- 
ing as  an  orderly  !"  "  Well,  that's  true  enough  ; 
hut  I  c.\me  over  here,  thinking  to  better  myself 
as  some  of  our  fellows  did,  and  then  the  war 
broke  out,  and  I  entered  one  of  what  they  called 
their  cavalry  regiments — Lord  bless  you,  sir,  it 
woidd  just  break  your  heart  to  see  them  —  and 
here  I  am  now,  and  the  general  has  m.ade  me  an 
orderly.  He  is  a  kind  man,  sir,  and  the  pay  is 
gootl,  but  they  are  not  like  the  old  lot ;  I  do  not 
know  what  my  lord  would  think  of  them."  The 
man's  name  w.is  Montague,  and  he  told  me  his 
father  lived  "at  a  place  called  Windsor,"  twen- 
ty-one miles  from  London.  Lieutenant  Ellis 
s.'iid  he  was  a  very  clean,  smart,  well-conducted 
soldier. 

From  head-quarters  wc  started  on  our  little 
tour  of  inspection  of  the  batteries.  Certainly, 
anything  more  calculated  to  shake  confidence 
in  American  journalism  could  not  be  seen;  for 
I  had  been  led  to  believe  that  the  works  were 
of  the  most  formidal)le  description,  mounting 
hundreds  of  guns.  W^here  hundreds  was  writ- 
ten, tens  would  have  been  nearer  tiie  truth. 

J  visited  ten  out  of  tlie  thirteen  batteries  which 
General  Bragg  has  erected  against  Fort  Pick- 
'!ns.  1  saw  but  five  heavy  siege  guns  in  the 
wliole  of  tlie  works  among  the  fifty  or  fifty-five 
pieces  with  wliich  they  were  armed.  There 
may  be  about  eighty  altogether  on  the  lines, 
which  describe  an  are  of  1'6')  degrees  for  about 
tlireo  miles  round  Fickens,  at  an  average  dis- 
tance of  a  mile  and  one-third.  I  was  rather  in- 
terested with  Fort  Barrancas,  built  by  the  Span- 
iards long  ago — an  old  work  on  the  old  plan, 
weakly  armed,  bift  possessing  a  tolerable  com- 
mand from  the  face  of  fire. 

In  all  the  batteries  there  were  covered  galler- 
ies in  the  rear,  connected  with  the  magazines, 
and  called  "rat-holes,"  intended  by  the  con- 
structors as  a  refuge  for  the  men  whenever  a 
shell  from  Pickens  dropjKjd  in.  The  rush  to 
th(i  rat-hole  docs  not  inijiress  one  as  being  very 
conducive  to  a  sustained  and  heavy  fire,  or  at 
all  likely  to  improve  the  morale  of  the  gunners. 
The  wbrking  parties,  as  they  were  called — vol- 
untoers  from  IMississipjji  and  Alabama,  great 
long-bearded  fellows  in  fl 'nnel  -shirts  and  slouch- 
ed hats,  iiniformless  ir  all  .. ive  brightly  burnisli- 
cd  arms  a;d  resolute  }  ar/.'se--  .'ere  lying  about 
among  the  works,  or  contrilm  iiig  languidly  to 
their  completion. 

Considerai)le  improvcn.rut,,  were  in  the  course 
of  execution ;  but  the  ofiieers  vero  not  always 
agreed  as  to  the  work  to  be  do-'c.  Captain  A,, 
at  the  wheelbnrrowB ;    "Now  aien,  you  men, 


wheel  up  these  sandbags,  and  range  ihom  just 
fu  ill  is  corner."  Major  B.  :  "  My  good  Captain 
A.,  v.hnt  do  you  want  the  bags  there  for?  Did 
I  not  tell  you,  these  merlons  were  not  tn  bo  fin- 
ished till  we  had  completed  tiie  parapi't  on  the 
front?"  Captain  A.:  "Well,  MM.,<n-,  to  you 
di.'.  and  your  ord  >r  mudc  me  tliink  you  know 
darned  liiile  about  your  business;  and  io  I  am 
going  to  do  a  little  engineering  of  my  own." 

Altogether,  I  was  quite  satisfied  (-.eneral 
Bragg  was  ]ierfectly  correct  in  refusing  to  open 
his  fire  on  Fort  Pickens  and  on  the  fieet.  which 
ought  certainly  to  have  knocked  his  works  about 
his  ears,  in  spite  of  his  advantages  of  ))Osition, 
and  of  some  well-placed  mortar  batteries  among 
the  brushwood,  at  distances  from  Pickens  of 
2r)00  and  2800  yards.  The  magazines  of  the 
batteries  I  visited  did  not  contain  ammunition 
for  more  than  one  day's  ordinary  firing.  The 
shot  were  badly  cast,  with  jjrojccting  flanges 
from  the  mould,  which  would  be  very  injurious 
to  soft  metal  ginis  in  firing.  As  to  men,  as  in 
gunSj  the  Southern  papers  had  lied  consumedly. 
I  could  not  say  how  many  were  in  Pensacola  it- 
self, for  I  did  not  visit  the  camp :  at  the  outside 
guess  of  the  numbers  there  was  2000.  I  saw, 
however,  all  the  camps  here,  and  I  doubt  ex- 
ceedingly if  General  Bragg — wi,.)  at  this  time 
is  represented  to  have  any  number  from  30,000 
to  00,000  men  under  his  command — has  8000 
troops  to  support  his  batteries,  or  10,000,  in- 
cluding Pensacola,  all  told. 

If  hospitality  consists  in  the  most  liberal  par- 
ticii)ation  of  all  the  owner  has  with  his  visitors, 
here,  indeed,  Philemon  has  his  ty|)e  in  every 
tent.  As  we  rode  along  through  every  battery, 
by  every  officer's  quarters,  some  gre.'si  Mississip- 
jiian  or  Alabaniian  came  forward  with  "  Captain 
Ellis,  I  am  glad  to  see  yow,"  "Colonel,"  to 
me,  "won't  you  get  down  and  have  a  drink?' 
Mr.  Ellis  duly  introduces  me.  The  Colonel 
with  eft'usiun  grasps  my  hand  .and  says,  ns  if  he 
hail  just  gained  the  particular  object  of  his  ex- 
istence, "Sir,  I  am  very  glad  to  know  you.  I 
hope  you  have  been  pretty  well  since  you  ha^■e 
been  in  our  country,  sir.  Here,  I'ompey,  take 
the  colonel's  horse.  Step  in,  sir,  and  have  a 
drink."  Then  comes  out  the  great  big  whisky 
bottle,  and  an  immense  amount  of  adhesion  to 
the  first  law  of  nature  is  reqinred  o  get  yon 
oH"  with  less  than  half  a  jjint  of  "Bourbon;" 
but  the  most  trying  thing  to  a  stranger  is  the 
fact  that  when  he  is  going  away,  the  officer, 
who  has  been  so  delighted  to  see  him,  does  not 
seem  to  care  a  farthing  for  his  guest  or  his 
health. 

Tlic  truth  is,  these  introductions  are  ceremo- 
nial observances,  and  compliances  with  the  uni- 
versal curiosity  of  Americans  to  know  j)eople 
they  meet.  The  Englishman  bows  frigidly  to 
his  acquaintance  on  the  first  introduction,  and 
if  he  likes  him  shakes  hands  with  him  on  leav- 
ing— a  niiich  more  sensible  and  justifiable  pro- 
ceeding. The  American's  warmth  at  the  first 
interview  must  be  artificial,  and  the  inditi'erence 
at  jjarting  is  ill-bred  and  in  bail  taste.  I  had 
already  ol)served  this  on  many  occasions,  espe- 
cially at  Montgomery,  where  I  noticed  it  to  Col- 
onel" Wigfall,  but  the  custom  is  not  incompatible 
with  the  most  profuse  hospitality,  nor  with  the 
desire  to  render  service. 

On  mv  return  to  head-quarters  I  found  Gen- 


84 


MY  DIARY  x.ORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


eral  Bragg  in  his  room,  engaged  writing  nn  of- 
ficiiil  letter  in  reply  to  my  request  to  he  permit- 
ted to  visit  Fort  I'ickens,  in  wliich  he  gave  me 
full  ])erniission  to  do  as  I  pleased.  Not  only 
this,  hut  he  had  jicpared  a  number  of  letters 
of  introduetion  to  the  military  authorities,  and 
to  his  personal  fricn-l;,  at  New  Orleans,  request- 
ing tiiem  to  give  me  every  faeility  and  friendly 
assistance  in  their  ])o\ver.  He  asked  me  my 
opinion  about  the  batteries  and  their  arma- 
ment, which  I  freely  gave  him  quantum  vakat. 
"Well,"  he  said,  "I  think  your  eonclusions 
are  pretty  just ;  but,  nevertheless,  some  fine  day 
I  shall  he  forced  to  try  the  mettle  of  onr  friends 
on  the  opjiosite  side."  All  I  could  say  was, 
"May  God  defend  the  right."  "A  good  say- 
ing, to  which  I  say,  Amen.  And  drink  with 
you  to  it." 

There  was  a  room  outside,  full  of  generals  and 
colonels,  to  whom  I  was  duly  introduced ;  but 
the  time  for  dejjarture  had  come,  and  I  bade 
good-by  to  the  general  and  rode  down  to  the 
wharf  I  had  always  heail.  during  my  brief 
sojourn  in  the  North,  that  tiie  Southern  people 
were  exceedingly  illiterate  and  ignorant.  It 
may  be  so,  but  I  am  bound  to  say  that  I  ob- 
served a  large  proportion  of  the  soldiers,  on  their 
way  to  the  navy  yard,  engaged  in  reading  ncws- 
pajiers,  though  they  did  not  neglect  the  various 
drinking  bars  and  exclianges,  whiih  were  only 
too  numerous  in  the  vicinity  of  the  camps. 

The  schooner  was  all  ready  for  sen,  but  the 
Mobile  gentlemen  had  gone  oft"  to  l*ensacola, 
and  as  I  did  not  desire  to  invite  them  to  visit 
Fort  rickens — where,  indeed,  they  woulu  have 
most  likely  met  with  a  refusal — I  resolved  to 
sail  without  them  and  to  return  to  the  r;ivyyard 
in  the  evening,  in  order  to  take  them  back  ■)n 
our  liome^.ard  voyxge.  "Now  then,  captaiit, 
cast  li  .isj :  wc  .ire  going  to  Fort  Pickens."' 
The  wortliv  "^raman  had  by  this  time  become  ut- 
terly at  sea,  and  did  not  a))pear  to  know  wheth- 
er he  belonged  to  the  Confederate  States,  Abr.a- 
ham  Line  )ln,  or  the  British  navy.  But  this  or- 
der roused  him  a  little,  and  looking  at  me  with 
all  his  eyes,  he  exclaimed,  ""Why,  you  don't 
mean  to  say  you  are  going  to  make  me  bring  the 
Diana  alongside  that  darned  Yankee  Fort!" 
Our  tablech  ti;,  somewhat  maculated  with  gravy, 
was  hoisted  once  more  to  the  ])eak,  and,  after 
some  forms  lilies  between  the  guardians  ct  the 
jetty  and  ourselves,  the  schooner  cpiit.'d  round 
in  the  tideway,  and  with  a  fine  lighi  1 1  eeze  run 
dt)wn  towards  the  stars  and  stripes. 

AVhat  magical  i)Ower  there  is  in  the  colours 
of  a  ])icce  of  bunting  !  My  companions,  I  dar' 
say,  felt  as  proud  of  their  flag  as  if  their  ances- 
tors had  fought  nnder  it  at  Acre  or  Jerusalom. 
And  yet  how  fictitious  its  influence  !  Deatii, 
and  dishonor  worse  than  death,  to  desert  it  one 
day!  Patriotism  and  glory  to  '/.ave  it  in  tn:' 
dust,  and  fight  under  its  rival,  the  next !  How 
indignant  would  George  Wash rti con  have  been, 
if  the  Frenchman  at  Fort  Du  Quesne  had  asked 
him  to  abandon  the  old  rag  which  Braddock 
held  aloit  in  the  wilderness,  and  to  sciTe  under 
the  yovy  fteur-de-li/s  which  the  same  great  George 
hailed  with  so  much  joy  but  a  few  years  after- 
wards, when  it  was  advanced  to  the  front  at 
York  Town,  to  win  one  of  its  few  victories  over 
the  Lions  and  the  Harp.  And  in  this  Confed- 
erate tiag  there  is  a  meaning  whieh  cannot  die 


— it  marks  the  birthplace  of  a  new  nalionalitv, 
and  its  place  mw^i  know  it  for  ever.  Even  the 
flag  of  a  rebclliou  leaves  "  uleliblo  colours  in  the 
political  atmosiihere.  The  hopes  that  sustained 
it  may  vanish  in  the  gloom  of  night,  but  the  na- 
tional faitii^still  believes  that  its  sun  will  rise  on 
some  glorious  morrow.  Hard  must  it  be  for  this 
race,  so  arrogant,  so  great,  to  see  stripe  md  star 
torn  from  the  fair  standard  with  which  they 
would  fain  have  shadowed  all  the  kingdoms  of 
the  world ;  but  their  great  continent  is  large 
enough  for  many  nations. 

"And  now,"  said  the  skipper,  "I  think  we'd 
best  lie  to — them  cussed  Yankees  on  the  beach 
is  shouting  to  us."  And  so  they  were.  A  sen- 
try on  the  end  of  u  wooden  jetty  sung  out, 
"Hallo  you  there  !  Stand  oft'  or  I'll  fire,"  and 
"drew  a  bead-lino  on  us."  At  the  same  time 
the  skip])er  hailed,  "Please  to  send  a  boat  oft"  to 
go  ashore."  "  No,  sir !  Come  in  your  own  boat !" 
cried  the  officer  of  the  guard.  Our  own  boat ! 
A  very  skiff  of  Charon  !  Leaky,  rotten,  lop- 
sided. We  were  a  hundred  yards  from  the 
beach,  and  it  was  to  be  hoped  that  with  all  its 
burthen,  it  could  not  go  down  in  such  a  short 
row.  As  I  stepjied  in,  however,  followed  by  my 
two  companions,  the  water  flew  in  as  if  forced  by 
a  jnimp,  and  when  the  sailors  came  after  us  the 
skij)per  said,  through  a  mouthful  of  juice,  "Dee- 
vid !  pull  your  hardest,  for  there  an't  a  more 
terrible  place  for  shearks  along  the  whole  coast." 
Deevid  and  his  friend  pulled  like  men,  and  oiu" 
hopes  rose  with  the  water  in  the  boat  and  the 
decreasin,i;  distance  to  shore.  They  worked  like 
Doggett's  badgers,  and  in  five  miraites  we  were 
out  of  "sheark"  depth  and  alongside  the  jetty, 
where  Major  "Vogdos,  Mr.  "Hrown,  of  the  Orient- 
al, and  an  officer,  introduced  as  Captain  Barry 
of  the  United  States  artillery,  were  waiting  to 
receive  us.  Major  Vogdcs  said  that  Colonel 
Brown  would  most  gliuUy  permit  me  to  go  over 
the  fort,  but  that  he  could  not  receive  any  of  the 
other  gontkmen  of  the  ])arty  ;  they  were  permit- 
fed  to  wander  about  at  their  discretion.  Some 
f' lends  \.honi  they  picked  up  amongst  the  offi- 
cers took  them  on  a  ride  along  the  island,  which 
is  merely  a  sand-bank  covered  with  coarse  veg- 
etatioji,  a  few  trees,  and  pools  of  brackish  water. 

If  I  were  selecting  a  summer  habitation  I 
should  certainly  not  choose  Fort  Pickens.  It  is, 
like  all  other  American  works  I  have  seen, 
strong  on  the  sea  faces  an(f  weak  towards  the 
i.^nd.  Tlie  outer  gate  was  closed,  but  at  a  talis- 
inanic  knock  from  Captain  Barry,  the  wicket 
Svas  thrown  open  by  the  guard,  and  we  f)assed 
thr'.igh  a  vaulted  gallery  into  the  parade-ground, 
whi'-h  was  full  of  men  engaged  in  strengthening 
the  ;  'ace,  and  digging  deep  pits  in  the  centre  as 
shell  traps.  The  men  were  United  States  regu- 
lars, not  com])arable  in  pliysicjue  to  the  Southern 
volunteers,  but  infinitely  superior  in  cleanliness 
and  soldierly  smartness.  The  offi(!cr  on  duty 
led  me  to  one  of  the  angles  of  the  fort  and  turn- 
ed in  to  a  covered  way,  which  hail  been  ingen- 
iously contrived  by  tilting  uj)  the  gun  platforms 
and  beams  of  wood  at  an  angle  against  the  wall, 
and  piling  earth  and  sand  banks  against  them 
for  several  feet  in  thickness.  The  ca.semntcs, 
which  otherwise  would  have  been  exjiosed  to  a 
phmging  fire  in  the  rear,  were  thus  eflfectually 
protected. 

Emerging  from  this  dark  passage  I  entered 


MY  DIARY  NOliTII  AND  SOUTH. 


85 


ono  of  the  bomb-proofs,  fitted  np  as  a  bod-room, 
and  thenct;  proceeded  to  the  casemate,  in  wliicli 
Colonel  Ilurvey  Browne  has  his  head-quarters. 
After  some  conversation,  he  took  me  out  upon 
the  j)arapct  and  went  all  over  the  defences. 

Fort  Pickens  is  an  oblicpie,  and  somcwiiat  nar- 
row jjaralielogram,  with  one  obtuse  an{^le  facing 
the  sea  and  the  otiier  towards  tlic  land.  Tiie 
bastion  at  the  acute  angle  towards  Barrancas  is 
the  weakest  jjart  of  tiic  work,  anti  men  were  en- 
gaged in  throwing  up  an  extenijiore  glacis  to 
cover  the  wall  and  the  casemates  from  fire. 
The  guns  were  of  what  is  considered  small  cali- 
bre in  these  days,  ;}2  and  42  pounders,  with  four 
or  five  heavy  columbiads.  An  immense  amount 
of  work  has  been  ibmo  witiiin  the  last  three 
weeks,  but  as  yet  the  preparations  are  by  no 
means  comi)lete.  From  tiie  walls,  which  are 
made  of  a  hard-baked  brick,  nine  feet  in  thick- 
ness, there  is  a  good  view  of  tiie  enemy's  posi- 
tion. There  is  a  broad  ditch  round  the  work, 
now  dry,  and  j)robably  not  intended  for  water, 
'i'lie  cuvette  has  lately  been  cleared  out,  and  in 
proof  of  the  agreeable  nature  of  the  locality,  tlic 
officers  told  me  that  sixty  very  fine  rattlesnakes 
were  killed  by  the  workmen  during  the  ojiera- 
tion. 

As  I  was  looking  at  the  works  from  the  wall, 
Ca])tain  Vogdcs  made  a  sly  remark  now  and 
then,  blinking  his  eyes  and  looking  closely  at  my 
face  to  sec  if  he  could  extract  any  information. 
"There  are  the  quarters  of  your  friend  General 
Bragg ;  ho  pretends,  we  hear,  that  it  is  an  hos- 
pital, but  we  will  soon  have  him  out  when  we 
open  fire."  "  Oh,  indeed."  "That's  their  best 
battery  beside  the  lighthouse  ;  wc  can't  well 
make  out  whether  there  are  ten,  eleven,  or  twelve 
guns  in  it."  Then  Captain  Vogdes  became 
quite  meditative,  and  thought  aloud,  "Well,  I'm 
sure,  Colonel,  they've  got  a  strong  entrenched 
camp  in  that  wood  bi'liind  their  mortar  batter- 
ies. I'm  (juite  sure  of  it — we  must  look  to  that 
with  our  long-range  guns."  What  the  engineer 
saw,  must  have  been  certain  absurd  little  fur- 
rows in  tlie  sand,  which  the  Confederates  have 
thrown  up  about  tiiree  tV'Ct  in  front  of  tiieir  tents, 
but  whetiier  to  carry  oif  or  to  hold  rain  water, 
or  as  cover  for  rattlesnakes,  the  best  judge  can- 
not determine. 

The  Confederates  have  been  greatly  delighted 
with  the  idea  that  I'iekcns  will  bo  almost  un- 
tenable during  the  summer  for  the  United  IStatcs 
troops,  on  account  of  the  heat  and  mus(piitoes, 
not  to  speak  of  yellow  fever ;  but  in  fact  they 
are  far  better  off  than  the  troops  on  the  shore — 
the  casemates  are  exceedingly  well  ventilated, 
light  and  airy.  Musquitoes,  yellow  fever,  and 
dys(mtery  will  make  no  distinction  between  Tro- 
jan and  Tyrian.  On  the  whole,  I  should  pre- 
fer being  inside,  to  being  outside  of  Pickens,  in 
case  of  a  bombardment ;  and  there  can  be  no 
doubt  the  entire  destruction  of  the  navy  yard 
and  station  by  the  Federals  can  be  accomplislied 
whenever  they  please.  Colonel  Browne  pointed 
out  the  tall  chimney  at  Warrington  smoking 
away,  and  said,  "There,  sir,  is  the  whole  reason 
of  Bragg's  forbearance,  as  it  is  called.  Do  you 
see? — they  are  cas^ting  shot  and  shell  there  as 
fast  as  they  can.  They  know  well  if  they  opened 
a  gun  on  us  I  could  lay  that  yard  and  all  their 
works  there  in  ruin;"  and  Cidonel  Harvey 
Browne  seems  quite  the  man  for  the  work — a 


resolute,  energetic  veteran,  animated  by  the  ut- 
most dislike  to  secession  and  its  leaders,  aiul  full 
of  what  are  called  "  Union  Principles,"  which 
are  rapidly  becoming  the  mere  cxpnssion  of  a 
desire  to  destroy  life,  liberty,  property,  anything 
ill  fact  which  (jjiposes  itself  to  the  consolidation 
of  th'  Federal  government. 

Probably  no  jierson  has  ever  been  permitted  to 
visit  two  hostile  canqis  within  sight  of  each  other 
save  myself.  I  was  neithe'*  spy,  herald,  nor  am- 
bassador ;  and  both  sides  trusted  to  me  fully  on 
the  understanding  that  I  would  not  make  use  of 
any  information  liere,  i)Ut  that  it  might  be  com- 
niunicated  to  the  world  at  the  other  side  of  the 
Atlantic. 

Apropos  of  this,  Colonel  Browne  told  me  an 
iimusiiig  story,  which  shows  that 'cuteness  is  not 
altogether  confined  to  the  Yankees.  Some  days 
ago  a  gentleman  was  found  wandering  about  the 
ijland,  who  stated  he  was  a  correspondent  of  a 
New  York  i)aper.  Colonel  Browne  was  not  sat- 
isti(;d  with  the  account  he  gave  of  himself,  and 
sent  liim  on  board  one  of  the  shijjs  of  the  fleet, 
to  be  cunilned  as  a  jirisoner.  Soon  afterwards  a 
flag  of  truce  came  over  from  the  Confederates, 
carrying  a  letter  from  General  Bragg,  reqiu'st- 
ing  Colonel  Browne  to  give  nj)  the  jjrisoner,  as 
he  had  escaped  to  the  island  after  committing  a 
felony,  and  enclosing  a  warrant  signed  by  a  just- 
ice of  the  peace  for  his  arrest.  Colonel  Browne 
laughed  at  the  rase,  and  keeps  his  prisoner. 

As  it  was  apjiroaching  evening  and  I  had  seen 
everything  in  the  fort,  the  hospital,  casemates, 
magazines,  bakehouses,  ta.sted  the  raticms,  and 
drank  the  whisky,  I  set  out  for  the  schooner, 
accompanied  by  Colonel  Browne  and  Cajjtain 
Barry  and  other  officers,  and  picking  up  my 
friends  at  the  bakehouse  outside. 

Having  bidden  our  acquaintances  good-by,  wc 
get  on  board  the  Diana,  which  steered  towards 
the  Warrington  navy  yard,  to  take  the  rest  of  the 
party  on  board.  The  sentries  along  the  beach 
and  on  the  batteries  grounded  arms,  and  stared 
with  surprise  as  the  Diana,  with  her  tablecloth 
flying,  crossed  over  from  Fort  Pickens,  and  ran 
slowly  along  the  Confederate  works.  Whilst  we 
were  spying  for  the  Mobile  gentlemen,  the  mate 
took  it  into  his  head  to  take  up  the  Confederate 
bunting,  and  wave  it  over  the  quarter.  "  Hollo, 
what's  that  you're  doing?"  "  It's  only  a  signal 
to  the  gentlemen  on  shore."  "  Wave  some  oth- 
er flag,  if  you  please,  when  we  are  in  these  wa- 
ters, with  a  flag  of  truce  flying." 

After  standing  off"  and  on  for  some  time,  the 
Mobilians  at  last  boarded  us  in  a  I  .t.  They 
were  full  of  excitement,  (piite  eager  to  stay  and 
see  the  bombardment,  which  must  come  off  in 
twenty-four  hours.  Before  we  had  left  Mobile 
harbour  I  had  made  a  bet  for  a  small  sum  that 
neither  side  would  attack  within  tb.e  next  few 
days;  but  now  I  could  not  even  shake  my  head 
one  way  or  the  oth(>r,  and  it  required  tlie  utmost 
self-possession  and  artifice  of  which  I  was  mas- 
ter to  evade  the  acute  inquiries  and  suggestions 
of  my  good  friends.  I  was  determined  to  go — 
they  were  eijually  bent  upon  remaining  ;  and  so 
we  parted  after  a  short  but  very  pleasant  cruise 
together. 

We  had  arranged  with  .Mr.  Brown  that  we 
would  look  out  for  him  on  leaving  the  liarbour, 
and  a  bottle  of  wine  was  prnt  in  the  remmmts  of 
our  ice  to  drink  farewell ;  but  it  was  almost  dark 


8G 


MY  DIAUY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


as  tlie  T)inna  shot  out  seawards  between  Pickens 
and  M'Uae;  and  for  some  anxious  minutes  wc 
were  doubtful  wliich  would  be  the  first  to  take  a 
sliot  at  us.  Our  tablecloth  still  iluttercd ;  but 
the  colour  mij^ht  be  invisible.  A  lantern  was 
hoisted  astern  hy  my  order  as  soon  as  the  schoon- 
er was  clear  of  the  forts ;  and  w:ith  a  cool  sea- 
breeze  we  glided  out  into  the  niKht,  the  black 
form  of  the  I'owhatan  being  just  visible,  the  rest 
of  the  squadron  lost  in  the  darkness.  We  strained 
our  eves  for  the  (>iijntal,  but  in  vain;  and  it 
occurred  to  us  tiiat  it  would  scarcely  be  a  very 
s.ife  i)rocccdinK  to  stanil  from  the  ('onfederate 
forts  down  toward  the  guardship,  uidess  nndor 
the  convoy  of  the  Oriental.  It  seemed  (|uite  cer- 
tain she  must  be  cruising  some  way  to  the  west- 
ward, waiting  fur  us. 

Tiic  wind  wms  from  the  north,  on  the  best 
point  for  our  return;  and  the  Diana,  heeling 
over  in  the  smooth  water,  proceeded  on  her  way 
towards  Mobile,  running  •<o  close  to  the  shore 
tliat  I  could  shy  a  biscuit  on  the  sand.  Slie 
seemed  to  breathe  the  wind  through  her  sails, 
and  (lew  with  a  crest  of  flame  at  her  bow,  and  a 
bubbling  wake  of  meteor-like  streams  ilowing 
astern,  as  though  liquid  metal  were  flowirig  from 
a  furnace. 

The  night  was  exceedingly  lovely,  but  after 
the  heat  of  the  day  the  horizon  was  somewhat 
hazy.  "No  sign  of  the  Oriental  on  our  lee- 
bow?"  "Nothing  at  all  in  sight,  sir,  ahead  or 
astern."  Sharks  and  large  fish  ran  off  from  the 
sliallows  ns  we  passed,  and  rushed  out  seawards 
in  runs  of  brilliant  liglit.  The  Perdida  was  left 
far  astern. 

On  sjjcd  the  Diana,  but  no  Oriental  came  in 
view.  I  felt  exceedingly  tired,  heated,  and 
fugged  ;  had  been  up  early,  ridden  in  a  broiling 
sun,  gone  through  batteries,  examined  forts, 
sailed  backwards  and  forwartis,  so  I  was  glad  to 
tiun  in  out  of  the  night  dew,  and  leaving  injunc- 
tions to  the  captain  to  kcej)  a  bright  Ic,  il.-out  for 
the  Federal  boarding  schooner,  I  went  to  sleep 
witliout  the  smallest  notion  that  I  had  seen  my 
last  of  Mr.  IJrown. 

I  had  been  two  or  three  hours  asleep  when  I 
was  awoke  by  the  negro  cook,  who  was  leaning 
over  the  berth,  and,  with  teeth  chattering,  said, 
"Monsieur!  nous  somnies  pcrdus  !  nnbatiment 
de  guerre  nous  poursuit  —  il  va  tircr  bientot. 
Nous  serons  coule' !  Oh,  Mon  Dion !  Oh,  Mon 
Dieul"  I  started  np  and  popjied  my  head 
througli  the  hatchway.  The  skii)per  himself 
was  at  the  hel  in,  glancing  from  the  compass  to  the 
quivering  reef-points  of  the  mainsail.  "  What's 
the  matter,  captain."  "Waal,  sir,"  said  the 
captain,  si)eakiug  very  slowly,  "there  has  been 
a  something  a  running  after  ns  for  nigh  the  last 
two  hours,  but  he  ain't  a  gaining  on  ns.  I  don't 
think  he'll  kitch  ns  nj)  nohow  this  time ;  if  the 
wind  holds  this  pint  a  leetle,  Diana  will  beat 
him  " 

The  confidence  of  coasting  captains  in  their 
own  craft  is  an  hallucination  which  no  risk  or 
danger  will  ever  prevent  them  from  cherishing 
most  tenderly.  There's  not  a  skipper  from 
Hartlepool  to  Whitstable  who  does  not  believe 
his  Maryanne  Smith  or  the  Two  Grandmothers 
is  able,  "on  certain  pints,"  to  bump  her  fat  bows, 
and  drag  her  coal-scuttle-shaped  stern  faster 
through  the  sea  than  any  clipper  afloat.  I  was 
once  told  by  the  captain  of  a  Margate  Billy  Boy 


he  believed  ho  coidd  run  to  windward  of  any 
frigate  in  IK-r  Mnjesty's  service. 

"  But,  good  heavens,  man,  it  may  be  the  (Ori- 
ental— no  dotd)t  it  is  Mr.  Brown  who  is  looking 
after  ns."  "Ah!  Waal,  may  be.  Whoever  it 
is,  he  creepcd  (juitc  close  u))  on  me  in  the  dark. 
It  give  me  quite  a  sterk  when  I  seen  him.  '  May 
be,'  says  I,  '  he  is  u  privateering — ]iirating — 
chap.'  So  I  runs  in  shore  as  close  as  I  could  ; 
gets  my  centre  board  in,  and,  says  1,  '  I'll  seo 
\>hat  you're  made  of,  my  hoy.'  And  so  we  goes 
on.     He  ain't  a  gaining  on  tis,  1  can  tell  you." 

I  looked  through  the  glass,  and  could  just 
make  out,  half  or  three-(]uarters  of  a  mile  ii'^tern, 
and  to  leeward,  a  vessel,  looking  quite  black, 
which  seemed  to  be  standing  on  in  pursuit  of  us. 
The  shore  was  .so  close,  wc  could  alnu)st  have 
leaped  into  the  surf,  for  when  the  centre  board 
was  u])  the  Diana  ilid  not  draw  much  more  than 
four  feet  water.  The  skipper  held  grimly  on. 
"You  had  better  shake  your  wind,  and  see  who 
it  is;  it  may  be  Mr.  Brown."  "No,  sir,  Mr. 
Brown  or  no,  I  can't  help  carrying  on  now; 
there's  a  bank  runs  all  along  (uitside  of  us,  and 
if  1  don't  hold  my  course  I'll  be  on  it  in  ono 
minute."  I  confess  I  was  rather  annoyed,  but 
the  cajjtain  was  master  of  the  situation.  Ho 
said,  that  if  it  had  been  the  Oriental  she  would 
have  fired  a  blank  gun  to  bring  ns  to  as  soon  as 
she  saw  us.  To  my  inquiries  why  he  did  not 
awaken  me  when  she  was  first  made  out,  be  in- 
nocently replied,  "You  was  in  such  a  i)eautiful 
sleep,  I  thought  it  would  be  regidar  cruelty  to 
disturb  you." 

By  creeping  c'osc  inshore  the  Diana  was  en- 
abled to  keep  to  windward  of  the  stranger,  who 
was  seen  once  or  twice  to  bump  or  strike,  for  her 
sails  shivered.  "There,  she's  struck  again." 
"  She's  off  once  more,"  and  the  chase  is  renew- 
ed. Every  moment  I  exi)ected  to  have  my  eyes 
blinded  by  the  flash  of  her  bow  gun,  but  for  somo 
reason  or  another,  j)Ossib!y  because  she  did  not 
wish  to  check  her  way,  the  Oriental — privateer, 
or  whatever  it  was — saved  her  powder. 

A  stern  chase  is  a  long  chase.  It  is  two  o'clock 
in  the  n)orning — the  skipper  grinned  with  de- 
light. "I'll  iead  him  into  a  pretty  mess  if  he 
follows  me  through  the  '  Swash,'  whoever  he  is." 
We  were  but  ten  miles  from  Fort  Morgan. 
Nearer  and  nearer  to  the  shore  creeps  the 
Diana. 

"Take  a  cast  of  the  lead,  John."  "Nino 
feet."  "Good.  Again."  "Seven  feet."  "Again." 
"F'ive  feet."  "  Charlie,  bring  the  lantern." 
We  were  now  in  the  "  Swash,"  with  a  boiling 
tideway. 

Just  at  the  moment  that  the  negro  uncovered 
the  lantern,  out  it  went,  a  fact  wliich  elicited  the 
most  remarkable  amount  of  im|)recations  car  ever 
heanl.  The  captain  went  dancing  mad  in  in- 
tervals of  deadly  calmness,  and  gave  his  com- 
mands to  the  crew,  and  strange  oaths  to  the 
cook  alternately,  as  the  mate  sung  out,  "Five 
feet  and  a  half."  "About  she  goes!  Confound 
you,  you  black  scoundrel,  I'll  teach  yon, "  &e.,  &c. 
"Six  feet!  Eight  feet  and  a  half!"  "About 
she  comes  again."  "Five  feet !  Four  feet  and 
a  half."  (Oh,  Lord  !  Six  inches  under  our 
keel !)  And  so  we  went,  with  a  measurement 
between  us  and  death  of  inches,  not  by  any  means 
agreeable,  in  which  the  captain  showed  remaik- 
able  coolness  and  skill  in  the  management  of  his 


craft,  conr 
towards  h 
It  was 

pot  i)a8t  t 
of  the  ch 
critical  n 
guished,  t\ 
we  were 
hundred  } 
centre  boi 
it  was  mo: 
as  i)ossibl( 
"It's  all  r 
the  mate 
mind  by  ( 
labouring 
about  fou; 
the  deck. 
For  the  w 
found  grei 
on  the  lia] 
shark  ovei 
forced  his 
lihadamai 
Oriental  a 
Charlie,  v 
movement 
soon  as  wc 
ed  in  blael 
The  Di: 
running  tl 
triumiih  a' 
Morgan,  a 
light  enou 
fort  and  o 
above  it. 
signal  Stat 
the  wails, 
us,  nor  die 
we  stood  ( 
to?     Thev 
])rcscntly.' 
that  foit," 
Down  w 
into  Mobil 
bevond  sIk 
shore.     T 
Mobile, 
into  our  te 
a  few  mile 
All  the 
one  low  sli 
which  loo 
the  |>leasui 
view,  east 
northiu; 
the  i)ositio 
sun  roastii 
out  of  the  I 
The  gre 
counter  wi 
voluntary 
crew  said 
or  being  e 
rent.     He 
to  he  so  ut 
have  come 
of  us ;  but 
been  [)osit 
number  of 
Th.'  nex 
Charlie  on 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


87 


her 


craft,  combined  with  a  most  unseemly  animosity 
towards  his  unlbrniiiaU!  cook. 

It  was  very  little  short  of  a  miracle  that  we 
got  1)1181  the  "  Kll)ow,"as  the  most  narrow  part 
of  the  channel  is  ealljil,  for  it  was  just  at  the 
critical  moment  the  hinnacle  linht  was  extin- 
gnisheil,  an.l  went  out  with  a  splutter,  and  there 
wo  were  left  iu  darkness  in  a  eliaiinel  not  one 
hundred  yards  wide  and  only  six  t'lct  deep.  The 
centre  board  also  ^jot  jammed  once  or  twice  when 
it  was  most  im|)ortant  to  lie  as  close  to  the  ivind 
as  y)ossil)Ie ;  but  at  last  the  captain  shouted  out, 
"It's  all  ri^^'ht,  we're  in  deej)  water,"  and  calliiii^ 
the  mate  to  tlu;  helm,  proceeded  to  relieve  his 
mind  by  chasing  Charlie  into  a  corner  ai.d  be- 
labouring him  with  a  dead  shark  or  dog-fish, 
about  four  feet  long,  wiiieh  he  ])ieked  up  from 
the  deck,  as  the  handiest  weapon  he  could  tiiid. 
For  the  whole  morning,  hcucefortii,  the  ca|)tain 
fouiul  great  comfort  in  making  constant  charges 
on  the  hapless  cook,  who  at  last  slyly  threw  the 
shark  overboard  at  a  favourable  opportunity,  and 
forced  his  master  to  resort  to  other  varieties  of 
Rhudamantiiie  implemeiils.  IJut  where  was  the 
Oriental  all  this  time?  No  one  could  say ;  but 
Charlie,  wiiv/  seemed  an  authority  as  to  her 
movements,  averred  she  put  her  helm  round  as 
soon  as  we  entered  the  "  Swash,"  and  disai)i)ear- 
ed  in  black  night. 

The  Diana  had  thus  distinguished  herself  by 
running  the  blockade  of  I'ensaeola,  but  a  new 
triumidi  awaited  her.  As  we  ai>proaehed  Fort 
Morgan,  a  grey  streak  in  the  East  just  offered 
light  enough  to  distingiiis'.i  the  outlines  of  the 
fort  and  of  the  Confec'.oratc  tlag  which  waved 
above  it.  A  fair  breeze  carried  us  abreast  of  the 
signal  station,  one  solitary  light  gleamed  from 
the  wails,  but  neither  guard  boat  put  off  to  board 
us,  nor  did  sentry  hail,  nor  was  gun  fired — still 
we  stood  on.  "Cajitaiu,  had  3'oii  not  better  lie 
to?  Tiiey'll  be  sending  .1.  round  sliot  after  us 
])rcscntly."  "  No,  air.  They  are  all  asleep  in 
that  foit,"  replied  the  indomitable  skipper. 

Down  went  his  helm,  and  away  ran  the  Diana 
into  Mobile  I?ay,  and  was  soon  safe  in  the  haze 
beyond  shot  or  shell,  running  towards  the  o})posite 
shore.  This  was  glory  enough  for  the  Diana  of 
Mobile.  The  wind  blew  straight  from  the  North 
into  our  teeth,  and  at  bright  sunrise  she  was  only 
a  few  miles  inside  the  bay. 

All  the  livehjiig  day  was  spent  in  tacking  from 
one  low  shore  to  auoiii'r  low  shore,  through  water 
which  looked  like  pea  ^'Mip.  We  had  to  be  sure 
the  jileasure  of  seeing  Mobile  from  every  point  of 
view,  east  and  west,  with  all  the  varieties  between 
northing  and  southing,  and  numerous  changes  in 
the  position  of  ^teeples,  sandhills,  avid  villas,  the 
sun  roasting  us  all  the  time  and  boiling  the  \ntch 
out  of  the  seams. 

The  greatest  excitement  of  the  day  was  an  en- 
counter with  a  young  alligator,  making  an  in- 
voluntary voyage  out  to  sea  in  the  tiile-way.  The 
crew  said  he  was  drowning,  having  lost  his  way 
or  being  exhausted  by  struggling  with  the  cur- 
rent. He  was  about  ten  feet  long,  and  apjicared 
to  be  so  utterly  done  up  that  he  would  willingly 
have  come  aboard  as  he  passed  within  two  yards 
of  us ;  but  desponding  as  he  was,  it  would  have 
been  [lositivc  cruelty  to  have  added  him  to  the 
number  of  our  party. 

The  next  event  of  the  day  was  dinner,  in  wliieh 
Charlie  outrivalled  himself  by  a  tremendous  fry 


of  onions  and  sliced  Bologna  sausage,  and  a  piece 
of  pig,  which  had  not  decided  whether  it  was  to 
be  pork  or  bacon. 

I  laving  been  fourteen  hours  beating  some  twen- 
ty-seven miles,  I  was  landed  at  last  at  a  wharf  in 
the  suburbs  of  the  town  about  five  o'clock  iu  the 
evening.  On  my  way  to  the  IJattle  House  I  met 
;-even  distinct  companies  nmrching  through  the 
streets  to  drill,  and  the  air  was  filled  with  sounds 
of  bugling  and  drumming.  In  the  evening  a 
number  of  gentlemen  ciillcd  upon  me  to  iu(piire 
what  I  thought  of  Fort  Tiekens  and  I'ensueola, 
and  I  had  some  difliciilty  in  jiarrying  their  very 
home  ouestions,  but  at  last  adopted  a  formula 
which  ajipeared  to  i)leasc  them — I  assnretl  my 
friends  I  thought  it  would  be  an  exceedingly 
tough  business  whenever  the  bombardment  took 
place. 

One  of  the  most  important  stejis  which  I  have 
yet  heard  of  has  excited  little  attention,  namely, 
the  refusal  of  the  oiHeer  comniaiiding  Fort  Mac 
Henry,  at  Baltimore,  to  obey  the  writ  of  habeas 
ror/nis  issued  by  a  judge  of  that  city  for  the  per- 
son of  a  soldier  of  his  garrison.  This  military 
officer  takes  upon  himself  to  aver  there  is  a  state 
of  civil  war  in  Baltimore,  which  he  considers  suf- 
ficient legal  cause  for  tlic  suspension  of  the  writ. 


C II AFTER  XXIX. 

Judge  r'amplicU— Dr.  Nntt— Slavery— Dopftrturn  for  New 
Orlpnna— Ddwii  the  river— !"ear  of  Uriiisers — Approach 
to  New  OrleariH— DueUins- Streets  of  New  Orleaiiri — 
Unhciiltliinesrt  of  the  city — Public  opinion  a.s  to  the  war 
— Utippy  and  contented  negroes. 

^[uy  ]Sth.  —  An  exceedingly  hot  day,  which 
gives  bad  jiromise  of  comfort  for  thelFederal  sol- 
diers, who  are  coming,  as  the  Washington  Gov- 
ernment asserts,  t)  put  down  the  rebellion  in  these 
quarters.  The  miisqnitoes  are  advancing  in  num- 
bers and  force.  The  day  I  first  came  I  asked  the 
waiter  if  they  were  numerous.  "  I  wish  they 
were  a  hundred  times  as  many,"  said  he.  On 
inquiring  ff  he  had  any  possible  reason  for  such 
an  extraordinary  asjiiration,  he  said,  "Because 
we  would  get  rid  of  these  darned  black  re])ubli- 
cans  out  of  Fort  Fickens  idl  the  sooner."  The 
man  scepied  to  infer  they  would  not  bite  the  Con- 
federate soldiers. 

I  dined  at  Dr  Nott's,  and  met  Judge  Camp- 
bell, who  has  resigned  his  high  post  as  one  of 
the  Judges  of  the  Supreme  Court  of  the  United 
States,  and  explained  his  reasons  for  doing  so  in 
a  letter,  charging  Mr.  Seward  with  treachery, 
dissimulation,  and  falsehood.  He  seemed  to  me 
a  great  casuist  rather  than  a  profound  lawyer, 
and  to  delight  in  subtle  distinctions  and  teclini 
cal  abstractions;  but  I  had  the  advantage  ot 
hearing  from  him  at  great  length  the  whole  his- 
tory of  the  Dred  Scot  case,  and  a  rera])itulation 
of  the  arguments  used  on  both  sides,  the  force  of 
which,  in  his  opinion,  was  irresistibly  in  favor  of 
the  decision  of  the  Court.  Mr.  Forsyth,  Colonel 
Hardee,  and  others  were  of  the  company. 

To  me  it  was  very  painful  to  hear  a  sweet  ring- 
ing silvery  voice,  issuing  from  a  very  pretty  mouth, 
"I'm  so  delighted  to  hear  that  the  Yankees  in 
Fortress  Mtuiroe  have  got  typhus  fever.  I  hojjc 
it  may  kill  them  all."  Tliis  was  said  by  one  of 
the  most  charming  young  persons  possible,  and 
uttered  with  uumistakeablo  sincerity,  just  as  if 
she  had  said,  "I  hear  all  the  snakes  in  Virginia 


88 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


nre  dvin;:;  of  poison."  I  fear  tlie  young  Indy  did 
not  tiiiiik  vt-ry  lii^'lily  of  mo  for  refusing  to  sym- 
l)iitliisc  with  I'liT  wislifs  in  tliiU  iiiirticiiliir  form. 
Hut  ;ill  tiu!  ladies  in  Moiiiiu  k-lonK  to  "  Tiie 
Yiiuiiiic  KnuuKMpiition  Society."  They  spend 
tlieir  days  sewing;  eaiiridnes,  carding  lint,  pre- 
paring Imndages,  and  I'm  not  quite  sure  that 
they  don't  fill  .shells  and  fuses  as  well.  Their 
zeal  and  energy  will  go  far  to  sustain  the  South 
in  the  forthconling  struggle,  und  nowhere  is  the 
inlluenee  of  women  greater  than  in  America. 

As  to  Dr.  Nott,  his  studies  have  induced  him 
to  take  a  jiurely  nniterialist  view  of  the  question 
of  shivery,  and,  according  to  him,  (piestions  of 
morals  and  ethics,  pertaining  tit  its  consideration, 
ought  to  he  referred  to  the  euhie  capacity  of  the 
human  cranium — the  head  that  can  take  the 
largest  charge  of  snipe-shot  will  eventually  dom- 
inate in  some  form  or  other  over  the  head  of  in- 
ferior ca]iacity.  Dr.  Nott  detests  slavery,  but  he 
docs  not  see  what  is  lo  be  done  with  the  slaves, 
and  how  the  four  millions  of  negroes  arc  to  be 
jirevented  from  becoming  six,  eight,  or  ten  mill- 
ions, if  their  growth  is  stimulated  by  high  prices 
for  Southern  produce. 

There  is  a  good  deal  of  force  in  the  observa- 
tion which  I  have  heard  more  than  once  down 
here,  that  Great  Ihitain  could  not  have  emanci- 
pated her  negroes  had  they  been  dwelling  with- 
in her  border,  say  in  Lancashire  or  Yorkshire. 
No  inconvenience  was  experienced  by  the  En- 
glish ])eoi)le;)cr  sp  in  ci)nsequence  of  the  eman- 
cipation, which  for  the  time  destnjyed  industry 
and  shook  society  to  pieces  in  Jamaica.  Whilst 
the  States  were  colonies,  Great  IJritaiu  viewed 
the  introduction  of  slaves  to  such  remoter  dejiend- 
encics  with  satisfaction,  and  when  the  Uniieil 
States  had  established  their  sovereignty  they 
found  the  institution  of  slavery  established  with- 
in their  own  borders,  and  an  important,  if  not 
essential,  stratum  in  their  social  system.  The 
Work  of  emancipation  would  have  then  been  coni- 
j)aratively  easy,  it  now  is  a  stupendous  ])ioblem 
which  no  human  being  has  offercil  to  solve. 

M<n/  Wil/i. — The  heat  out  of  doors  was  so  great 
that  I  felt  little  tcmitted  to  stir  out,  but  at  two 
o'clock  I\Ir.  Magec  drove  mc  to  n  pretty  ])lace, 
called  Spririg  Hill,  wliere  Mr.  Stein,  a  German 
merchant  of  the  city,  lias  his  country  residence. 
The  houses  of  Mobile  nierchanls  are  scattered 
around  the  rising  ground  in  that  vicinity;  they 
look  like  nnuble  at  a  distance,  but  a  nearer  ap- 
])roaeli  resolves  them  into  painted  wood.  Stone 
is  almost  unknown  on  all  this  seaboard  region. 
The  worthy  German  was  very  hospitable,  and  I 
enjoyed  a  cool  walk  before  dinner  under  the 
shade  of  his  grajies,  which  formed  pleasant  walks 
in  his  garden.  The  Seu})i)erining  grape,  which 
grew  in  jirofusion — a  native  of  North  Carolina- 
has  a  remarkable  ajipcarance  The  stalk,  which 
is  smooth,  and  covered  with  a  close-grained  grey 
bark,  has  not  the  charaeter  of  a  vine,  but  grows 
straight  and  stiff  like  the  branch  of  a  tree,  and 
ij  crowded  with  delicious  grapes.  Cherokee  phnn 
and  rose  trees,  and  magnificent  magnolias,  clus- 
tered round  his  house,  and  beneath  their  shadow 
1  listened  to  the  worthy  German  comparing  the 
Fatherland  to  his  adopted  country,  and  now  and 
then  letting  out  the  secret  love  of  his  heart  for 
the  old  place.  He,  like  all  the  better  classes  in 
the  South,  has  the  utmost  dread  of  universal  suf- 
frage, and  would  restrict  the  franchise  largely 
to-morrow  if  he  could. 


^ftn/  2O//1. — I  left  Mobile  in  tho  stcnmer  Flori- 
da for  New  Orleans  this  morning  at  eight  o'clock. 
She  was  crowded  with  passengers  in  tmiforni. 
In  my  cabin  was  a  notice  of  the  rules  and  regu- 
lations of  the  steamer.  No.  (!  was  as  Adlows : 
"  All  slave  vanfs  must  be  cleared  at  the  Cus- 
tom House.  I'assengers  having  slaves  will  please 
report  as  soon  as  they  come  on  board 

A  few  miles  from  Mobile  the  steamer,  tin'ning 
to  the  right,  entered  one  of  the  narrow  channels 
which  jierforate  the  whole  of  the  coast,  called 
"Grant's  Tass."  An  ingenious  iicixm  has  ren- 
dered it  navigable  by  an  artificial  cut ;  but  as  lit- 
was  not  an  universal  jihilanthrojiist,  ami  possibly 
nuiy  have  come  from  north  of  the 'i'wecd,  he  fur- 
ther erected  a  series  of  barriers,  which  can  ftnly 
be  cleared  by  means  of  a  little  pepjier-caslor  iron 
lighthouse;  and  he  charges  toll  on  all  jiassing 
vessels.  A  snuiH  island  at  tho  pass.  Just  above 
water-level,  about  twenty  yards  broad  and  one 
hundred  and  fifty  yards  long,  was  being  fortified. 
Some  of  our  military  friends  landid  here  ;  and  it 
required  .n  good  deal  of  jiatriotism  to  look  cheer- 
fully at  the  jirospect  of  remaining  coojied  up 
among  the  miL-iiuiloes  in  a  box.  on  this  miser- 
able sand-bank,  which  a  siudi  would  sullficc  to 
blow  into  atoms. 

Having  passed  this  channel,  our  steamer  pro- 
ceeded np  a  kind  of  internal  sea,  fornud  by  the 
shore,  on  the  right  hand  and  on  the  left  by  a 
chain  almost  nninterru]ited  of  reefs  covered  with 
sand,  and  exceedingly  narrow,  so  tliat  the  surf 
of  the  ocean  rollers  at  the  oilier  side  cmild  be 
seen  through  the  foliage  of  thejiinc  trees  which 
line  them.  On  our  right  the  endless  jtines  closed 
iq)  the  land  view  of  the  horizon;  the  beach  was 
jiierced  by  creeks  w  ithout  number,  cali  d  bayous ; 
and  it  was  curious  to  wan  h  the  w  bile  ^aiis  of  the 
little  schooners  gliding  in  and  out  among  tho 
trei  s,  along  the  green  meadows  that  seemed  to 
stretch  as  an  impassable  barrier  to  their  exit. 
Immense  troops  of  ])elicans  flajqted  over  the  sen, 
drojijiing  incessantly  on  the  fish  which  abounded 
in  the  inner  water;  and  long  rows  of  the  same 
birds  stood  digesting  their  jilcniiful  meals  on  the 
white  beach  by  the  ocean  foam. 

There  was  some  anxiety  in  the  jiasserigers' 
minds,  as  it  was  re])orted  that  the  United  States' 
cruisers  had  bein  seen  inside,  and  that  they  had 
even  burned  the  batteries  on  Ship  Island.  We 
saw  nothing  of  a  character  more  formidable  than 
coasting  craft  and  a  return  steamer  from  New 
Orleans  till  we  a]  jiroiiched  the  entrance  to  I'ont- 
Vhart'ain,  when  a  large  schooner,  which  sailed 
like  a  witch  and  was  crammed  with  men,  at- 
tracted our  attention.  Through  the  glass  I  could 
make  out  two  guns  on  her  deck,  auii  quite  rea- 
son enough  for  any  well-filled  merchantman  sail- 
ing under  the  Stars  and  Stripes  to  avoid  her 
close  comjianions'iij). 

The  a])proach  to  New  Orleans  is  indicated  by 
i  large  hamiets  and  scattered  towns  along  tlie  sea- 
!  shore,  hid  in  the  ))iney  woods,  which  offer  a  re- 
}  treat  to  the  merchants  and  their  families  from 
j  the  fervid  heat  of  the  unwholesome  city  in  sum- 
mer lime.     As  seen  from  the  sea.  tliese  sanitary 
settlements  have  a  picturesque  cfiect,  and  an  air 
of  charming  freshness  and  lightness.     There  are 
detached  villas  of  every  variety  of  architecture 
in  which  timi-^'r  can  be  constructed,  ])ainted  in 
the  brightest  inies — greens,  and  blues,  and  rose 
tints — each  embowered  in  magnolias  and  rho- 


MY  DIAUY  NOUTII  AND  SOUTH. 


89 


undcd 


(lodendrouf!.  From  every  (garden  a  very  long 
nnd  sli'iulcr  [lif-r,  tcnuintxted  by  a  liutliiiig-box, 
Hlretclics  into  tliu  shallow  soa;  and  tlif.  general 
nspcct  of  llu.'so  liouHcs,  with  the  li><ht  domes  and 
8|)iri!S  ofchiirrhes  rising  aliovo  the  lines  ofwiiite 
railiii;,'s  set  in  tiu-  daik  urccn  of  ihi;  pines,  is 
li^'ht  and  novel.  To  eaeh  of  these  ciiics  there  is 
a  jetly,  at  two  of  which  we  tonched,  and  landed 
ncwsimjiors,  rceeivod  or  discharged  a  few  bales 
of  goods,  nnd  were  olV  again. 

Ofthi-  little  crowd  assenil)led  on  caeh,  the  mn- 
jority  were  i)laeks — the  whites,  almost  witliout 
exception,  in  uniform,  and  armed.  A  nearer 
npproacli  di<l  not  indiiec  nie  to  think  tiiat  any 
agencies  less  powerful  tlnm  cpidetnies  and  sum- 
luer-heats  eould  reiuler  J'ascu,,'oula,  I'asscinis- 
tian,  Mississip|)i  City,  and  the  rest  of  these  set- 
tleiients  V(>ry  eligible  resideiux's  for  people  of  an 
uctivc  awn  of  mind. 

The  live-long  day  my  fellow-passciignrs  never 
ceased  talking  poliii(;s,  excej)!  when  they  were 
eating  and  drinking,  because  the  horrii)Ie  ciiew- 
ing  and  spitting  are  not  at  idl  ineoinpatible  with 
the  muintenaiiee  of  active  discussion.  The 
fiercest  of  them  all  was  a  thin,  fiery-eyed  little 
woman,  who  at  dinner  expressed  a  fervid  desire 
for  bits  of  "  Old  Abii" — Iiis  car,  his  hair;  but 
whether  for  the  purpose  of  eating  or  as  curious 
relitpies,  siie  did  not  enlighten  tiie  company. 

After  dinner  there  was  some  sligiit  ditliculty 
among  tlie  military  gentlemen,  though  whether 
of  a  political  or  personal  character  1  coidd  not 
determine;  but  it  was  much  aggravated  by  the 
appearance  of  a  six-shooter  on  the  scene,  which, 
to  my  no  small  jierturbation,  was  jiresentcd  in  a 
right  lino  with  my  b;'rth,  out  of  the  window  of 
which  I  was  looking  at  the  combatants.  I  am 
happy  to  say  the  immediate  delivery  of  the  lire 
was  avert'  d  by  an  amicable  arrangement  that 
the  disputants  should  meet  at  the  St.  Charles 
Hotel  at  12  o'clock  on  the  second  day  after  their 
arrival,  in  oriler  to  iix  time,  place,  and  condi- 
tions of  a  more  orthodox  and  regular  encounter. 

At  night  the  steamer  entered  a  dismal  canal, 
through  a  swamp  which  is  infamous  as  the  most 
muscpiito  haunted  jiLice  along  the  infested  shore  ; 
the  moutlis  of  the  ^lississippi  themselves  being 
quite  innocent,  compared  to  the  entrance  of 
Lake  I'ontchartrain.  When  I  woke  up  at  day- 
light, I  found  the  vessel  lying  alongside  a  wharf 
with  a  'ailwiiy  train  alongside,  which  is  to  take 
us  to  the  city  of  New  Orleans,  six  miles  distant. 

A  village  of  restaurants  or  "  rcstaurats"  as 
they  are  called  here,  and  of  bathing-boxes,  has 
grown  uj)  around  the  terminus ;  all  tlio  nair.cs 
of  the  owniM's,  the  notices  and  sign-boards,  being 
French.  Outside  the  settlement  the  railroad 
passes  through  a  swamji,  like  an  Indian  jungle, 
through  which  the  overllowings  of  the  Mississip- 
pi creep  in  black  currents.  The  sjiircs  of  New 
Orleans  rise  above  the  underwood  and  semi- 
tropieal  vegetation  of  this  swamp.  Nearer  to  the 
city  lies  a  marshy  plain,  in  which  flocks  of  cat- 
tle, up  to  the  belly  in  the  soft  earth,  are  floun- 
dering among  the  clumps  of  vegetation.  The 
nearer  ajjproach  to  New  Orleans  by  rail  lies 
through  a  suburb  of  exceedingly  broad  lanes, 
lined  on  each  side  by  rows  of  miserable  mean 
one-storied  houses,  inhabited,  if  I  am  to  judge 
from  the  specimens  I  saw,  by  a  miserable  and 
sickly  population. 
A  great  number  of  the  men  nnd  women  ha  1 


evident  traces  of  nogro  blood  in  their  veins,  nnd 
of  the  purer  blooded  whites  many  had  the  i)C- 
cnliar  look  of  the  tishy-tleshy  population  of  tlio 
Ijevaiitiiie  towns,  and  all  were  pale  and  lean. 
The  railway  terminus  is  marked  liv  a  dirty,  bar- 
racklike  shed  in  tlu;  city.  Selecting  inn;  of  the 
numerous  tumble-down  hackney  carriages  which 
crowiU'd  the  strciet  outside  tlu;  station,  I  directed 
the  mail  t(j  drive  me  to  tlu!  housi!  of  Mr.  JNIurc, 
the  Hritish  consul,  who  had  been  kind  enough  to 
invite  me  as  his  guest  for  the  perioil  of  my  stay 
in  New  ( )rleans. 

The  streets  arc  badly  piived,  as  those  of  most 
of  the  American  cities,  if  not  all  that  1  have  ever 
been  in,  but  in  other  respects  they  arc  more  wor- 
thy of  a  great  city  than  are  those  of  New  York. 
There  is  an  air  thoroughly  Kveneh  about  the  peo- 
l)le — cafes,  restaurants,  billiard  -  reoms  aboiiiul, 
with  oyster  and  lager-bier  saloons  iiitersiiersed. 
The  shops  are  all  mnt/nzuis ;  the  iicojile  in  the 
streets  are  speaking  French,  ]iarticularly  the 
negroes,  who  are  going  out  shopping  with  their 
masters  aiul  mistresses,  exceedingly  well  dressed, 
noisy,  and  not  unhappy  looking.  The  extent  of 
the  drive  gave  an  imposing  idea  of  the  size  of 
New  Orleans — the  richness  of  smnc  of  the  shops, 
the  vehicles  in  the  streets,  and  the  nuiltitudo  of 
well-dresscil  peojile  on  the  pavenuuts,  an  impres- 
sion of  its  wealth  and  the  comfort  of  the  iiihal)- 
itanis.  The  Cuiiiederate  flag  was  Hying  from 
the  public  buildings  and  from  many  jjrivate 
houses.  Military  comi)anies  ))ar:i(led  through 
the  streets,  and  a  large  projiortiou  of  the  men 
were  in  uniform. 

In  the  day  I  tlrovo  through  the  city,  delivered 
letters  of  introduction,  jiaid  visits,  and  examined 
the  shops  and  the  ])ublic  places;  but  there  is 
such  a  whirl  of  secession  and  ]iolitics  surround- 
ing one  it  is  impossible  to  discern  inucli  of  the 
outer  world. 

Whatever  may  be  the  number  of  the  unionists 
or  of  the  non-secessionists,  a  pressure  too  j)otent 
to  be  resisted  has  been  directed  by  the  pojinlar 
jiarty  against  the  friemls  of  the  Federal  govern- 
ment. The  agent  of  Brown  Brothers,  of  Liver- 
pool and  New  York,  has  closeil  their  oflie{!,  and 
is  going  away  in  consctpience  of  the  intimidation 
of  the  mob,  or  as  the  phrase  is  here,  the  "  excite- 
ment of  the  citizens,"  on  hearing  of  'he  subscrip- 
tion  made  by  the  firm  to  the  New  York  fund, 
after  Sumter  had  been  fired  upon.  Their  agent 
in  Mobile  has  been  compelled  to  adopt  the  same 
course.  Other  houses  follow  their  cxamjile,  but 
as  most  business  transactions  arc  over  for  the 
season,  the  icrcantile  comnuinity  hope  the  con- 
test will  be  ended  before  the  next  season,  by  the 
recognition  of  Southern  independence. 

The  streets  are  full  of  Turcos,  Zcuiaves,  Chas- 
seurs ;  walls  are  covered  with  jjlaciirds  of  volun- 
teer companies;  there  are  I'ickwiek  rifles,  La 
Favf'tte,  Beauregard,  Mac^Mahon  guards,  Irish, 
German,  Italian,  and  S|)anish,  and  native  volun- 
teers, among  whom  the  Meagher  rifles,  indignant 
with  the  gentleman  from  whom  they  took  their 
name,  because  of  his  adhesion  to  the  North,  are 
going  to  rebaptise  themselves  and  to  seek  glory 
under  one  more  auspicious.  In  fact.  New  Or- 
leans looks  like  a  suburb  of  the  camj)  at  Chalons, 
Tailors  are  busy  night  and  day  making  uniforms. 
I  went  into  a  shop  with  the  consul  for  some 
shirts — the  mistress  and  all  her  seamstresses  were 
busy  prejjaring  flags  as  hard  as  the  sewing  ma- 


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MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


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1,1 


chino  coiilJ  stitch  them,  and  could  attend  to  no 
business  for  the  present.  The  Irish  population, 
finding  themselves  unable  to  migrate  North- 
wards, and  being  without  work,  have  rushed  to 
arms  with  enthusiasm  to  support  Southern  insti- 
tutions, and  Mr.  John  Mitchell  and  Mr.  Meagher 
stand  opposed  to  each  other  in  hostile  camps. 

Afay  '22nd.— The  thermometer  to-day  marked 
95°  in  the  shade.  It  is  not  to  be  wondered  at 
that  New  Orleans  suffers  from  terrible  epidemics. 
At  the  side  of  each  street  a  filthy  open  sewer 
flows  to  and  fro  with  the  tide  in  the  blazing  sun, 
and  Mr.  Mure  tells  mo  the  city  lies  so  low  that 
he  has  been  obliged  to  go  to  his  office  in  a  boat 
along  the  streets. 

I  sat  for  some  time  listening  to  the  opinions 
of  the  various  merchants  who  came  to  talk  over 
the  news  and  politics  in  general.  They  were  all 
jKjrsuaded  that  Great  Britain  would  speedily  rec- 
ognise the  South,  but  I  cannot  find  that  any  of 
them  had  examined  into  the  effects  of  such  a 
recognition.  One  gentleman  seemed  to  think 
to-day  that  recognition  meant  forcing  the  block- 
ade ;  whereas  it  must,  as  I  endeavoured  to  sliow 
him,  merely  lead  to  the  recognition  of  the  rights 
of  the  United  States  to  establish  a  blockade  of 
ports  belonging  to  an  independent  and  hostile 
nation.  There  are  some  who  maintain  that 
there  will  be  no  war  after  all ;  that  the  North 
will  not  fight,  and  that  the  friends  of  the  South- 
em  cause  will  recover  their  courage  when  this 
tyranny  is  over.  No  one  imagines  the  South 
will  ever  go  back  to  the  Union  voluntarily,  or 
that  the  North  has  power  to  thrust  it  back  at  the 
point  of  the  bayonet. 

The  South  has  commenced  preparations  for 
the  contest  by  sowing  grain  instead  of  planting 
cotton,  to  compensate  for  the  loss  of  supi)lies 
from  the  North.  The  payment  of  debts  to  North- 
ern creditors  is  declared  to  be  illegal,  and  "stay 
laws"  have  been  adopted  in  most  of  the  seceding 
states,  by  which  the  ordinary  laws  for  the  recov- 
ery of  debts  in  the  States  themselves  re  for  the 
time  suspended,  which  may  lead  one  into  the  be- 
lief that  the  legislators  themselves  belong  to  the 
debtor  instead  of  the  creditor  class. 

May  2Srd. — As  the  mail  communication  has 
been  suspended  between  North  and  South,  and 
the  Express  Companies  are  ordered  not  to  carry 
letters,  I  sent  off*  my  packet  of  despatches  to-day 
by  Mr.  Ewell,  of  the  house  of  Dcnnistoun  &  Co. ; 
and  resumed  my  excursions  through  New  Or- 
leans. 

The  young  artist  who  is  stopping  at  the  St. 
Charles  Hotel,  came  to  me  in  great  agitation  to 
say  his  life  was  in  danger,  in  consequence  of  his 
former  connexion  with  an  abolition  paper  of 
New  York,  and  tliat  he  had  been  threatened  with 
death  by  a  man  with  whom  he  had  had  a  quar- 
rel in  Washington.  Mr.  Mure,  to  calm  his  ap- 
prehensions, offered  to  take  him  to  the  authori- 
ties of  the  town,  who  would,  no  doubt,  protect 
him,  as  he  was  merely  engaged  in  making  sketch- 
es for  an  English  periodical,  but  the  young  man 
declared  he  was  in  danger  of  assassination.  He 
entreated  Mr.  Mure  to  give  him  despatches  which 
would  serve  to  jnotcct  him,  on  his  way  North- 
ward ;  and  the  Consul,  moved  by  his  mental  dis- 
tress, promised  tliat  if  he  had  any  letters  of  an 
official  character  for  Washington,  he  would  send 
them  by  him,  in  default  of  other  opportunities. 

I  dined  with  Major  llanney,  the  ])residcnt  of 


one  of  the  railways,  with  whom  Mr.  Ward  was 
stopping.  Among  the  company  were  Mr.  Eus- 
tis,  son-in-law  of  Mr.  Slidell ;  Mr.  Morse,  the 
attorney-general  of  the  State ;  Mr.  Moise,  a  Jew, 
supposed  to  havf  considerable  influence  with  the 
governor,  and  a  vehement  politician  ;  Messrs. 
Hunt,  and  others.  The  table  was  excellent,  and 
the  wines  were  worthy  of  the  reputation  which 
our  host  enjoys,  in  a  city  where  Sallnsts  and  Lu- 
cuUi  are  said  to  abound.  One  of  the  slave  serv- 
ants who  waited  at  table,  an  intelligent  yellow 
"  boy,"  was  pointed  out  to  me  as  a  son  of  Gen- 
eral Andrew  Jackson. 

We  had  a  full  account  of  the  attack  of  the 
British  troops  on  the  city,  and  their  rci)ulse.  Mr. 
Morse  denied  emphatically  that  there  was  any 
cotton-bag  fonification  in  front  of  the  lines,  where 
our  troops  were  defeated ;  he  asserted  that  there 
were  only  a  few  bales,  I  think  seventy-five,  used 
in  the  construction  of  one  battery,  and  that  they 
and  some  sugar  hogsheads  constituted  the  sole 
defences  of  the  American  trench.  Only  one  citi- 
zen applied  to  the  state  for  compensation  on  ac- 
count of  the  cotton  used  by  Jackson's  troojjs,  and 
he  owned  the  whole  of  the  bales  so  a])pro])riated. 

None  of  the  Southern  gentlemen  have  the 
smallest  apprehension  of  a  servile  insurrection. 
They  use  the  universal  formula  "  our  negroes  arc 
the  haj)picst,  most  contented,  and  most  comfort- 
able peojile  on  the  face  of  the  earth."  I  admit 
I  have  been  struck  by  well-clad  and  good-hu- 
moured negroes  in  the  streets,  but  they  nre  in 
the  minority ;  many  look  morose,  ill-clad,  and 
discontented.  The  patrols  I  know  have  been 
strengthened,  and  I  heard  a  young  lady  the  other 
night  say,  "  I  shall  not  be  a  bit  afraid  to  go  back 
to  the  plantation,  though  mamma  says  the  ne- 
groes are  after  mischief." 


CHAPTER  XXX. 

The  first  blow  Btruck — Tlie  St.  (.Jliarles  hotel— Invasion  of 
Virginia  by  tlie  Federals — Death  of  Colonel  I'llUworth — 
Evening  at  Mr.  Slidell'a — I'liblic  com;  n.ts  on  tlie  wiir 
— Kichniond  the  capital  of  the  Oonfederacj' — Military 
preparations— General  society— Jewish  element — Visit 
to  a  battle-field  of  1816. 

May  2Ath, — A  great  budget  of  news  to-dny, 
which  with  the  events  of  the  week  may  be  brief- 
ly enumerated.  The  fighting  has  actually  com- 
menced between  the  United  Stated  steamers  off 
Fortress  Monroe,  and  the  Confederate  battery 
erected  at  Sewall's  point  —  both  sides  claim  a 
certain  success.  The  Confederates  declare  they 
riddled  the  steamer,  and  that  they  killed  and 
wounded  a  number  of  the  sailors.  The  cnptain 
of  the  vessel  says  he  desisted  from  want  of  am- 
munition, but  believes  he  killed  a  number  of  the 
rebels,  and  knows  he  had  no  loss  himself.  Bc- 
riah  MagoflSn,  governor  of  the  sovereign  state  of 
Kentucky,  has  warned  off  both  Federal  and  Con- 
federate soldiers  from  his  territory.  The  Con- 
federate congress  has  passed  an  act  authorizing 
persons  indebted  to  the  United  States,  exce|)t 
Delaware,  Maryland,  Kentucky,  Missouri,  and 
the  district  of  Columbia,  to  pay  the  amount  of 
their  debts  to  the  Confederate  tfcasuiy.  The 
State  Convention  of  North  Carolina  has  passed 
an  ordinance  of  secession.  Arkansas  has  sent 
its  delegates  to  the  Southern  congress.  Several 
Southern  vessels  have  been  made  prizes  by  the 
I  blockading  squadron ;  but  the  event  which  causes 


the  gr 

was    t 

States' 

the  Ur 

last  tvi 

In  tl 

Charlc 

ment, 

characi 

were  s( 

with  til 

hacks  c 

the  pap 

tic  and 

thing  b 

of  quiel 

cultics. 

was  the 

filibuste 

The  y 

seclusioi 

when  I 

spate  hes 

night,  h 

off  nort 

more. 

At  hai 
terminus 
is  the  N( 
wich,  an 
an  Engli 
leans  law 
worthy  o 
The  tern 
parable,  j 
The  crca 
a  small  u 
the  mam 
small  boil 
nail-like 
amongst 
to  look  u 
tionable, 
mendatio 
hly,  the  p 
an  imusiu 
mirable  q 
The  pleas 
a  most  gl 
through  a 
which  thr 
was  perfc 
beetles, 
the  open  \ 
es.     At  hi 
drawn  by 
May  2r>i 
by  the  Fei 
It  is  impo 
rage  of  tl 
consolatioi 
in  eommar 
was  shot  I 
inn   in   th 
Ellsworth, 
exandria, 
flag,  whicl 
dent's  win 
cut  it  from 
down  stairf 
levelling  a 
Ellsworth 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


91 


to-day, 
)e  l)riet- 
ly  coni- 
nicrs  off 
battery 
claim  a 
lare  they 
lied  and 
cnptain 
It  of  am- 
icr  of  the 
ilf.     Be 
state  of 
and  Con- 
he  Con- 
thorizinp 
,  cxcopt 
luri,  and 
nount  of 
Tho 
s  passed 
has  sent 
Several 
es  by  tho 
ch  causes 


ly- 


tho  greatest  excitement  and  indignation  here, 
was  the  seizure,  on  Monday,  by  the  United 
States'  marshals,  in  every  large  city  thoughout 
the  Union,  of  the  telegraphic  despatches  of  the 
last  twelve  months. 

In  the  course  of  tho  day,  I  went  to  the  St. 
Charles  Hotel,  which  is  an  enormous  establish- 
ment, of  the  American  type,  with  a  Southern 
character  about  it.  A  number  of  gentlemen 
were  seated  in  the  hall,  and  front  of  the  office, 
with  their  legs  up  against  tho  wall,  and  on  the 
backs  of  chairs,  smoking,  spitting,  and  reading 
the  papers.  OtHcers  crowded  the  bar.  The  bus- 
tle and  noise  of  tho  place  would  make  it  any- 
thing but  an  agreeable  residence  for  one  fond 
of  quiet ;  but  tliis  hotel  is  famous  for  its  difK- 
culties.  Not  tho  least  disgraceful  among  them 
was  the  assault  committed  by  some  of  Walker's 
filibusters  upon  Captain  Aldham,  of  the  II.  Navy. 

The  young  artist,  who  has  been  living  in  great 
seclusion,  was  fastened  up  in  his  room  ;  and 
when  I  informed  him  that  Mr.  Mure  had  de- 
spatches, which  he  might  take,  if  he  liked,  that 
night,  he  was  overjoyed  to  excess.  He  started 
off  north  in  the  evening,  and  I  saw  him  no 
more. 

At  half-past  four,  I  went  down  by  train  to  the 
terminus  on  tho  lake  where  I  had  landed,  which 
is  the  New  Orleans  Richmond,  or  rather,  Green- 
wich, and  dined  with  Mr.  Eustis,  Mr.  Johnson 
an  English  merchant,  Mr.  Josephs  a  New  Or- 
leans lawyer,  and  Mr.  Hunt.  The  dinner  was 
worthy  of  the  reputation  of  the  French  cook. 
The  terrapin  soup  excellent,  though  not  com- 
parable, as  Americans  assert,  to  the  best  turtle. 
Tiie  creature  from  wliich  it  derives  its  name,  is 
a  small  tortoise,  the  flesh  is  boiled  somewhat  in 
the  manner  of  turtle,  but  the  soup  abounds  in 
small  bones,  and  the  black  paws  with  the  white 
nail-like  stumps  projecting  from  them,  found 
amongst  the  disjecta  membra,  are  not  agreeable 
to  look  upon.  Tho  bouillabjiisse  was  unexcep- 
tionable, the  soft  crab  worthy  of  every  com- 
mendation, but  the  best  dish  was,  unquestiona- 
bly, the  pompinoe,  an  odd  fish,  something  like 
an  imusually  ugly  John  Dory,  but  possessing  ad- 
mirable qualities  in  all  that  makes  fish  good. 
The  pleasures  of  the  evening  were  enhanced  by 
a  most  glorious  sunset,  which  east  its  last  rays 
through  a  wilderness  of  laurel  roses  in  full  bloom, 
which  thronged  the  garden.  At  dusk,  tho  air 
was  perfectly  alive  with  fire-flies  and  strange 
beetles.  Flies  and  coleopters  buzzed  in  through 
the  open  windows,  and  flopped  among  the  glass- 
es. At  half-past  nine  we  returned  home  in  cars 
drawn  by  horses  along  the  rail. 

May  2.5M. — Virginia  has  indeed  been  invaded 
by  the  Federals.  Alexandria  has  been  seized. 
It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  excitement  and 
rage  of  the  people;  they  take,  however,  some 
consolation  in  the  fact  that  Colonel  Ellsworth, 
in  command  of  a  regiment  of  New  York  Zouaves, 
was  shot  by  J.  T.  Jackson,  the  landlord  of  an 
inn  in  the  city,  called  the  Marshal  House. 
Ellsworth,  on  the  arrival  of  his  regiment  in  Al- 
exandria, proceeded  to  take  down  the  secession 
flag,  which  had  been  long  seen  fron\  the  Presi- 
dent's windows.  He  went  out  upon  the  roof, 
cut  it  from  the  staff,  and  was  proceeding  with  it 
down  stairs,  when  a  man  rushed  out  of  a  room, 
levelling  a  double-barrelled  gun,  shot  Colonel 
Ellsworth  dead,  and  fired  the  other  barrel  at  one 


of  his  men,  who  had  struck  at  tho  piece  when 
the  murderer  presented  it  at  the  Colonel.  Al- 
most instantaneously,  the  Zouave  shot  Jackson 
in  the  head,  and  as  lie  was  falling  dead  thrust  his 
sabre  bayonet  through  his  body.  Strange  to  say, 
the  people  of  New  Orleans  consider  Jackson  was 
completely  right  in  shooting  the  Federal  colo- 
nel, and  maintain  that  the  Zouave,  who  shot 
Jackson,  was  guilty  of  murder.  Their  theory  is 
that  Ellsworth  had  como  over  with  a  horde  of 
ruffianly  abolitionists,  or,  as  the  Richmond  Jixum- 
iner  has  it,  ' '  the  band  of  thieves,  robbers  and  as- 
sassins, in  the  pay  of  Abraham  Lincoln,  com- 
monly known  as  the  United  States'  Army,"  to 
violate  the  territory  of  a  sovereign  state,  in  order 
to  execute  their  bloody  and  brutal  pui^joses,  and 
that  he  was  in  the  act  of  committing  a  robbery, 
by  taking  a  flag  which  did  not  belong  to  him, 
when  he  met  his  righteous  fate. 

It  is  curious  to  observe  how  passion  blinds 
man's  reason  in  this  quarrel.  More  curious  still 
to  see,  by  the  light  of  this  event,  how  differently 
the  same  occurrence  is  viewed  by  Northerners 
and  Southerners  respectively.  Jackson  is  de- 
picted in  the  Northern  papers  as  a  fiend  and  an 
assassin;  even  his  face  in  death  is  declared  to 
have  worn  a  revolting  expression  of  rage  and 
hate.  The  Confederate  flag,  which  was  the  cause 
of  the  fatal  affray,  is  described  by  one  writer  as 
having  been  ])urifind  of  its  baseness  by  contact 
with  Ellsworth's  blotd.  The  invasion  of  Virginia 
is  hailed  on  all  sides  of  the  North  with  the  ut- 
most enthusiasm  "  Ellsworth  is  a  martyr  hero, 
whose  name  is  to  \ic  iield  sacred  forever." 

On  the  other  hand,  the  Southern  ])apcrs  de- 
clare that  the  invasion  of  Virginia'  is  "an  act 
of  the  Washington  tyrants,  which  indicates  their 
blootly  and  brutal  purpose  to  exterminate  the 
Southern  people.  The  Virginians  will  give  tho 
world  another  proof,  like  that  of  Moscow,  that 
a  free  people,  fighting  on  a  free  soil,  are  invin- 
cible when  contending  for  all  that  is  dear  to 
man."  Aga^n  —  "A  band  of  execrabji  cut- 
throats and  jail-])irds,  known  as  the  Zouaves  of 
New  York,  under  that  chief  of  all  scoundrels, 
Ellsworth,  broke  oj)en  the  door  of  a  citizen,  to 
tear  down  the  flag  of  the  house — the  courageous 
owner  met  the  favorite  hero  of  the  Yankees  in 
his  own  hall,  alone,  against  thousands,  and  shot 
him  through  the  heart — he  died  a  death  which 
emperors  might  envy,  and  his  memory  will  live 
through  endless  generations."  Desperate,  in- 
deed, must  have  been  the  passion  and  anger  of 
the  man  who,  in  the  fullest  certainty  that  imme- 
diate death  must  be  its  penalty,  committed  such 
a  deed.  As  it  seems  to  me.  Colonel  Ellsworth, 
however  injudicious  he  may  have  been,  was  act- 
ually in  the  performance  of  his  duty  when  tak- 
ing down  the  flag  of  an  enemy. 

In  the  evening  I  visited  Mr.  Slidoll,  whom  I 
found  at  home,  with  his  family,  Mrs.  Slidcll  and 
her  sister  Madame  Beauregard,  wife  of  the  gen- 
eral, two  ver)'  charming  young  ladies,  daughters 
of  the  house,  and  a  j)arlour  full  of  fair  compan- 
ions, engaged,  as  hard  as  they  could,  in  carding 
lint  with  their  fair  hands.  Among  the  compa- 
ny was  Mr.  Slidell's  son,  who  had  just  travelled 
from  school  at  the  North,  under  a  feigned  name, 
in  order  to  escape  violence  at  the  hands  of  the 
Union  mobs  which  are  said  to  be  insulting  and 
outraging  every  Southern  man.  The  conversa- 
tion, as  is  the  case  in  most  creolc  domestic  cir- 


i 


1 . 


92 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


n 


it 


cles,  was  carried  on  in  Frcnc'i.  I  rarely  met  a 
man  wliosc  features  have  a  greater  finesse  and 
lirniness  of  purpose  than  Mr.  Slidell's ;  liis  keen 
grey  eye  is  full  of  life,  his  thin,  fumly-set  lips 
ind'ieate  resolution  and  passion.  Mr.  Slidell, 
though  born  in  a  Northern  state,  is  perhaps  one 
of  the  most  determined  disuuionists  in  the  South- 
ern  confederacy ;  he  is  not  a  sjxjaker  of  note, 
nor  a  ready  stump  orator,  nor  an  able  writer ; 
but  he  is  an  excellent  judpe  of  mankind,  adroit, 
pcrseverinfr,  and  subtle,  full  of  device,  and  fond 
of  intrigue ;  one  of  those  mon  who,  unknown 
almost  to  the  outer  world,  organises  and  sustains 
a  faction,  and  exalts  it  into  the  jjosition  of  a  par- 
ty— wliat  is  called  here  a  "wire-puller."  Mr. 
Slidell  is  to  the  South  something  greater  than 
Mr.  Tliurlow  Weed  has  been  to  his  party  in  the 
North.  He,  like  eveiy  one  else,  is  convinced 
that  recognition  must  come  soon;  but,  under 
any  circumstances,  he  is  quite  satisfied  the  gov- 
ernment and  independence  of  the  Southern  con- 
federacy are  as  completely  established  as  those 
of  any  power  in  the  world.  Mr.  Slidell  and  the 
members  of  his  family  possess  naiveU,  good  sense, 
and  agreeable  manners ;  and  the  regrets  I  heard 
expressed  in  Washington  society  at  their  absence 
had  eveiy  justification. 

I  supped  at  the  club,  which  I  visited  every  day 
since  I  was  made  an  honorary  member,  as  all 
the  journals  arc  there,  and  a  great  number  of 
planters  and  merchants,  well  acquainted  with 
the  state  of  affairs  in  the  South.  There  were 
two  Englishmen  present,  Mr.  Lingam  and  an- 
otlier,  the  most  detennined  secessionists  and  the 
most  devoted  advocates  of  slavery  I  have  yet 
met  in  the  course  of  my  travels. 

May  2iith. — The  heat  tc-day  was  so  great  that 
I  felt  a  return  of  my  old  Indian  experiences,  and 
was  unable  to  go,  as  I  intended,  to  hear  a  very 
eminent  preacher  discourse  on  the  war  at  one 
of  the  ])rincipal  chapels. 

All  disposable  regiments  are  on  the  march  to 
Virginia.  It  was  bad  policy  for  Mr.  Jefferson 
Davis  to  menace  Washington  before  lie  could  se- 
riously carry  out  his  threats,  because  the  North 
was  excited  by  the  speech  of  his  Secretary  at  War 
to  take  extraordinary  measures  for  the  defence 
of  their  capital ;  and  General  Scott  was  enabled 
by  tlieir  enthusiasm  not  only  to  jn'ovide  for  its 
defence,  but  to  effect  a  lodgment  at  Alexandria, 
as  a  base  of  operations  against  the  enemy. 

When  the  Congress  at  Montgomery  adjourn- 
ed, the  other  day,  they  resolved  to  meet  on  the 
20th  of  July  at  Richmond,  which  thus  becomes 
the  capital  of  the  Confederacy.  The  city  is  not 
much  more  than  one  hundred  miles  south  of 
Washington,  with  which  it  was  in  communica- 
tion by  rail  and  river ;  and  the  selection  must 
cause  a  collision  between  the  two  armies  in  front 
of  the  rival  capitals.  The  seizure  of  the  Norfolk 
navy  yard  by  the  Confederates  rendered  it  nec- 
essiiry  to  reinforce  Fortress  Monroe  ;  and  for  the 
prcsi'ut  the  Potomac  and  the  Chesapeake  are  out 
of  danger. 

The  military  precautions  taken  by  General 
Scott,  and  the  movements  attributed  to  him  to 
hold  Baltimore  and  to  maintain  his  communica- 
tions between  Washington  and  the  North,  afford 
evidence  of  judgment  and  military  skill.  The 
Northern  papers  are  clamouring  for  an  immedi- 
ate advance  of  their  raw  levies  to  Richmond, 
which  General  Scott  resists. 


In  one  respect  the  South  has  shown  greater 
sagacity  than  the  North.  Mr.  Jefferson  Duvis 
having  seen  service  in  the  field,  and  having  been 
Secretary  of  War,  perceived  the  dangers  and  in- 
efficiency of  irregular  levies,  and  therefore  in- 
duced the  Montgomery  Congress  to  pass  a  bill 
which  binds  volunteers  to  serve  during  the  war, 
unless  sooner  discharged,  and  reserves  to  the 
President  of  the  Southern  Confederacy  the  ap- 
pointment of  staff"  and  field  officers,  the  right  of 
veto  to  battalion  officers  elected  by  each  com- 
pany, and  the  power  of  organising  companies  of 
volunteers  into  squadrons,  battalions,  and  regi- 
ments. Writing  to  the  Tiwes  at  this  date,  I  ob- 
served: "Although  immense  levies  of  men  may 
be  got  together  for  purposes  of  local  defence  or 
aggressive  operations,  it  will  be  very  difficult  to 
move  these  masses  like  regular  armies.  There 
is  an  utter  want  •  of  field-trams,  equipage,  and 
commissariat,  which  cannot  be  made  good  in  n 
day,  a  week,  br  a  month.  The  absence  of  cav- 
alry, and  the  utter  deficiency  of  artillery,  may 
prevent  either  side  obtaining  any  decisive  result 
in  one  engagement ;  but  there  can  be  no  doubt 
largo  losses  will  be  incurred  whenever  these 
masses  of  men  are  fairly  opposed  to  each  other 
in  the  open  field." 

Afai/  21th. — I  visited  several  of  the  local  com- 
panies, their  drill-grounds  and  parades ;  but  few 
of  the  men  were  present,  as  nearly  all  are  under 
orders  to  proceed  to  the  Camp  at  Tangipao  or  to 
march  to  Richmond.  Privates  and  officers  are 
busy  in  the  sweltering  streets  purchasing  neces- 
saries for  their  journey.  As  one  looks  at  the  res- 
olute, quick,  angry  faces  around  him,  and  hears 
but  the  single  theme,  he  must  feel  the  South  will 
never  yield  to  the  North,  unless  as  a  nation  which 
is  beaten  beneath  the  feet  of  a  victorious  enemy. 

In  every  state  there  is  only  one  voice  audible. 
Hereafter,  indeed,  statejealousies  may  work  their 
own  way ;  but  if  words  mean  anything,  all  the 
Southern  people  are  determined  to  resist  Mr. 
Lincoln's  invasion  as  long  as  they  have  a  man  or 
a  dollar.  Still,  there  are  certain  hard  facts  which 
militate  against  the  truth  of  their  own  assertions, 
"that  they  are  united  to  a  man,  and  prepared  to 
fight  to  a  man."  Only  15,000  arc  under  arms 
out  of  the  50,000  men  in  the  state  of  Louisiana 
liable  to  military  service. 

"Ciiarges  of  abolitionifm"  appear  in  the  re- 
ports of  police  cases  in  the  papers  every  morn- 
ing ;  and  persons  found  guilty  not  of  expressing 
opinions  against  slavery,  but  of  stating  their  be- 
lief that  the  Northerners  will  be  successful,  are 
sent  to  prison  for  six  months.  The  accused  are 
generally  foreigners,  or  belong  to  the  lower  or- 
ders, who  have  got  no  interest  in  the  support  of 
slavery.  The  moral  suasion  of  the  lasso,  of  tar- 
ring and  feathering,  head-shaving,  ducking,  and 
horse -ponds,  deportation  on  rails,  and  similar 
ethical  processes,  are  highly  in  favor.  As  yet  the 
North  have  not  arrived  at  such  an  elevated  view 
of  the  necessities  of  their  position. 

The  New  Orleans  papers  are  facetious  over 
their  new  mode  of  securing  unanimity,  and  high- 
ly laud  what  they  call  "  the  course  of  instruction 
in  the  humane  institution  for  the  amelioration  of 
the  condition  of  northern  barbarians  and  aboli- 
tion fanatics,  presided  over  by  Professor  Henry 
Mitchell,"  who,  in  other  words,  is  the  jailor  of 
the  workhouse  reformatory. 

I  dined  at  the  Lake  with  Mr.  Mure,  Grenerol 


MY  DIAllY  KOliTil  AND  SOUTH. 


93 


Lewis,  M.ijnr  Ranney,  Mr.  Duncan  Kcnner  a 
Mississipj.i  planter,  Mr.  Claiborne,  &c.,  and  visit- 
ed the  club  in  the  evening.  Every  niglit  since  I 
have  been  in  New  Orleans  there  have  been  one 
or  two  fires ;  to-night  there  were  three — one  a 
tremendous  conflagration.  When  I  inquired  to 
what  they  were  attributable,  a  gentleman  who 
sat  near,  bent  over,  and  looking  me  straight  in 
the  face,  said,  in  a  low  voice,  "The  slaves." 
Tiic  flues,  perhai)s,  and  the  system  of  stoves,  may 
also  bear  some  of  the  blame.  There  is  great  en- 
thusiasm among  the  townspeople  in  consequence 
of  the  Washington  artillery,  a  crack  corps,  fur- 
nished by  the  first  people  in  New  Orleans,  being 
ordered  off'  for  Virginia. 

May  28//i. — On  dropping  in  at  the  Consulate 
to-day,  I  found  the  skippers  of  several  English 
vessels  who  are  anxious  to  clear  out,  lest  they  be 
detained  by  the  Federal  cruisers.  The  United 
States  steam  frigates  Brooklyn  and  Niagara  have 
been  for  some  days  past  blockading  Pass  ^  I'outre. 
One  citizen  made  a  remarkable  proposition  to 
Mr.  Mure.  He  came  in  to  borrow  an  ensign  of 
the  Boyal  Yacht  Squadron  for  the  purpose,  he 
said,  of  hoisting  it  on  board  his  yacht,  and  run- 
ning down  to  have  a  look  at  the  Yankee  ships. 
Mr.  Mure  had  no  flag  to  lend ;  whereupon  he 
asked  for  a  description  by  which  he  could  get 
one  made.  On  being  applied  to,  I  asked  "  wheth- 
er tiie  gentleman  was  a  member  of  the  Squad- 
ron?" "Oh,  no,"  said  he,  "but  my  yacht  was 
built  in  England,  and  I  wrote  over  some  time 
ago  to  say  I  would  join  the  squadron."  I  ven- 
tured to  tell  him  that  it  by  no  means  followed  he 
was  a  member,  and  that  if  he  went  out  with  the 
flag  and  could  not  show  by  his  ])apers  he  had  a 
right  to  carry  it,  the  yacht  would  be  seized.  How- 
ever, he  was  quite  satisfied  that  he  had  an  En- 
glish yacht,  and  a  right  to  hoist  an  English  flag, 
and  went  off'  to  an  outfitter's  to  order  a.  facsimile 
of  the  Squadron  ensign,  and  subsequently  cruised 
among  the  blockadinr  vessels. 

We  hear  Mr.  Evveli  was  attacked  by  an  Union 
mob  in  Tennessee,  his  luggage  was  broken  open 
and  plundered,  and  he  naiTcwly  escaped  personal 
injury.  Per  contra,  "cha.  tcs  of  abolitionism" 
continue  to  multiply  here,  auvl  ^.re  almost  as  nu- 
merous as  the  coroner's-  inquests,  not  to  speak 
of  the  difficulties  which  sometimes  attain  the 
magnitude  of  murder. 

I  dined  Avith  a  large  party  at  the  Lake,  who 
had  invited  me  as  their  guest,  among  whom  were 
^tr.  Slidell,  Governor  Hebert,  Mr.  Hunt,  Mr. 
Norton,  Mr.  Fellows,  and  othera.  I  observed  in 
New  York  that  every  man  had  his  own  solution 
of  the  cause  of  the  present  diflSculty,  and  contra- 
dicted ])lumply  his  neighbor  the  moment  he  at- 
tempted to  propound  his  own  theory.  Here  I 
found  every  one  agreed  as  to  the  righteousness 
of  the  quarrel,  but  all  difl'ered  as  to  the  best  mode 
of  action  for  the  South  to  pursue.  Nor  was  there 
any  approach  to  unanimity  as  the  evening  waxed 
older.  Incidentally  we  had  wild  tales  of  South- 
ern life,  some  good  songs,  curiously  intermingled 
with  political  discussions,  and  what  the  North- 
erns call  hifalutin  talk. 

When  I  was  in  the  Consulate  to-day,  a  tall 
and  well-dressed,  but  not  very  prepossessing- 
looking  man,  entered  to  speak  to  Mr.  Mure  on 
business,  and  was  introduced  to  mo  ai  his  own 
request.  His  name  was  mentioned  incidentally 
to-night,  and  I  heard  a  passage  in  his  life  not  of 


an  agreeable  character,  to  say  the  least  of  it.  A 
good  many  jcars  ago  there  was  a  ball  at  New 
Ojleans,  at  which  this  gentleman  was  ])resent ; 
he  paid  particular  attention  to  a  lady  who,  how- 
ever, preferred  the  society  of  one  of  the  com- 
pany, and  in  the  course  of  the  evening  an  alter- 
cation occurred  respecting  an  engagement  to 
dance,  in  which  violent  language  was  cxciianged, 
and  a  push  or  blow  given  l)y  tlie  favoured  jiart- 
ner  to  his  rival,  who  left  the  room,  and,  as  it  is 
stated,  proceeded  to  a  cutler's  shop,  wlierc  he 
procured  a  powerful  dagger-knife.  Armed  with 
this,  he  returned,  and  sent  in  a  message  to  the 
gentleman  with  whom  he  had  quarrelled.  Sus- 
pecting nothing,  the  latter  came  into  the  ante- 
chamber, the  assassin  rushed  upon  him,  stabbed 
him  to  the  heart,  and  left  him  weltering  in  his 
blood.  Another  version  of  the  story  was,  that 
ho  waited  for  his  victim  till  he  came  into  the 
cloak-room,  and  struck  him  as  he  was  in  the  act 
of  putting  on  his  overcoat.  After  a  long  delay, 
the  criminal  was  tried.  The  defence  i)ut  forward 
on  his  behalf  was  that  he  had  seized  a  knife  in 
the  heat  of  the  moment  when  the  quarrel  took 
place,  and  had  slain  his  adversary  in  a  moment 
of  passion ;  but  evidence,  as  I  imdcrstand,  went 
strongly  to  i)rovo  that  a  considerable  interval 
elapsed  between  the  time  of  the  dispute  and  the 
commission  of  the  murder.  The  prisoner  had 
the  assistance  of  able  and  ingenious  counsel ;  he 
was  acquitted.  His  acquittal  was  mainly  due  to 
the  judicious  disposition  of  a  large  sum  of  money ; 
each  juror,  when  he  retired  to  dinner  previous  to 
consulting  over  the  verdict,  was  enabled  to  find 
the  sum  of  1000  dollars  under  bis  jjlate;  nor 
was  it  clear  that  the  judge  and  sheriff'  had  not 
participated  in  the  bounty;  in  fact,  I  lieard  a 
dispute  as  to  the  exact  amount  which  it  is  sup- 
posed the  murderer  had  to  pay.  JIc  now  occu- 
pies, under  the  Confederate  Government,  the  post 
at»New  Orleans  which  he  lately  held  as  represent- 
ative of  the  Government  of  the  United  States. 

After  dinner  I  went  in  company  of  some  of 
my  hosts  to  the  Boston  Club,  which  has,  I  need 
not  say,  no  connection  with  the  city  of  that 
name.  More  fires,  the  tocsin  sounding,  and  so 
to  bed. 

May  29^/i. — Dined  in  the  evening  with  M. 
Aristide  Milten-berger,  where  I  met  His  Ex- 
cellency Mr.  Moore,  the  Governor  of  Louisiana, 
his  military  secretaiy,  and  a  small  party. 

It  is  a  strange  country,  indeed ;  one  of  the 
evils  which  afflicts  the  Louisianians,  they  say,  is 
the  preponderance  and  influence  of  South  Caro- 
linian Jews,  and  Jews  generally,  such  as  Moisc, 
Mordecai,  Josc])hs,  and  Judah  Benjamin,  and 
others.  The  subtlety  and  keenness  of  the  Cau- 
casian intellect  give  men  a  high  place  among  a 
people  who  admire  ability  and  dexterity,  and 
are  at  the  same  time  reckless  of  means  and 
averse  to  labour.  Tiie  Governor  is  supixtsed  to 
be  somewhat  under  the  influence  of  the  He- 
brews, but  he  is  a  man  quite  competent  to  think 
and  to  act  for  himself— a  plain,  sincere  ruler  of 
a  slave  state,  and  an  upholder  of  the  patriarchal 
institute.  After  dinner  we  accompanied  Mad- 
ame Milten-berger  (who  affords  in  her  own  per- 
son a  very  complete  refutation  of  the  dogma 
that  American  women  furnish  no  examples  of 
the  charms  which  surround  their  Englisli  sisters 
in  the  transit  from  the  prime  of  life  toward  mid- 
dle age),  in  a  drive  along  the  shell  roi'.d  to  the 


![5 


1f ' 


04 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


1 
W 


III  •■'\ 


r:, 


liikc  nnd  cnnnl ;  the  most  remarkable  object  be- 
ing a  long  wall  lined  with  a  glorious  growth  of 
orungo  trees:  clouds  of  musquitocs  effectually 
interfered  with  an  enjoyment  of  the  drive. 

May  'Mtfi. — Wrote  in  the  heat  of  the  day,  en- 
livened by  my  neighbour,  a  wonderful  mocking- 
bird, whose  songs  and  imitations  would  make 
liis  fortune  in  any  society  capable  of  appreciat- 
ing native-born  genius.  His  restlessness,  cour- 
age, activity,  and  talent  ought  not  to  be  con- 
lined  to  Mr.  Mure's  cage,  but  he  s.^ems  content- 
cd  and  happy.  I  dined  with  Madame  and  M. 
Milten-berger,  and  drove  out  with  them  to  visit 
the  scene  of  our  defeat  in  1815,  which  lies  at 
the  distance  of  some  miles  down  the  river. 

A  dilapidated  farmhouse  surrounded  by  trees 
nnd  negro  huts  marks  the  spot  where  Pakenham 
was  buried,  but  his  body  was  subsequently  ex- 
humed ami  sent  home  to  England.  Close  to 
the  i)oint  of  the  canal  which  constitutes  a  por- 
tion of  tho  American  defences,  a  negro  guide 
came  forth  to  conduc*  uu  round  the  place,  but 
he  knew  as  little  as  most  guides  of  the  incidents 
of  the  fight.  The  most  remarkable  testimony 
to  the  severity  of  the  fire  to  which  the  British 
were  exposed,  is  afforded  by  the  trees  in  the 
neighbourhood  of  the  tomb.  In  one  live  oak 
there  are  no  less  than  eight  round  i^hot  embed- 
ded, others  contain  two  or  three,  and  many  arc 
lopped,  rent,  and  scarred  by  the  flight  of  can- 
non ball.  The  American  lines  exteuded  nearly 
three  miles,  and  were  covered  in  the  front  by 
swamjis,  marshes,  and  water-cuts ;  their  batteries 
and  the  vessels  in  the  river  enfiladed  the  British 
as  they  advanced  to  the  attack. 

Among  the  prominent  defenders  of  the  cot- 
ton-bales was  a  notorious  pirate  nnd  murderer 
named  Lafitte,  who  with  his  band  was  released 
from  prison  on  condition  that  he  enlisted  in  the 
defence,  and  did  substantial  service  to  his  friends 
and  deliverers. 

Without  knowing  all  the  circumstances  of  the 
case,  it  would  be  rash  now  to  condemn  the  offi- 
cers who  directed  the  assault ;  but  so  far  as  one 
could  judge  from  the  present  condition  of  the 
ground,  the  position  must  have  been  very  for- 
mi»iable,  and  should  not  have  been  assaulted  till 
the  enfilading  fire  was  subdued,  nnd  a  very  heavy 
covering  fire  directed  to  silence  the  guns  in  front. 
The  Americans  are  naturally  very  proud  of  their 
victory,  which  was  gained  at  a  most  triflin,;  loss 
to  themselves,  which  they  erroneously  coi^ceive 
to  ')e  a  proof  of  their  gallantry  in  resisting  the 
assault.  It  is  one  of  the  events  which  have  cre- 
ated a  fixed  idea  in  their  minds  that  they  are 
able  to  "whip  the  world." 

On  returning  from  my  visit  I  went  to  the  club, 
where  I  had  a  long  conversation  with  Dr.  Rush- 
ton,  who  is  strongly  convinced  of  the  impossi- 
bility of  carrying  on  government,  or  conducting 
municipal  afi'airs,  until  universal  suffrage  is  put 
down.  He  gave  many  instances  of  the  terror- 
ism, violence,  and  assassinations  which  prevail 
during  election-times  in  New  Orleans.  M.  Mil- 
ten-berger, on  the  contrary,  thinks  matters  are 
very  well  as  they  are,  and  declares  all  these  sto- 
ries are  fanciful :  Incendiarism  rife  again.  All 
the  club  windows  crowded  with  men  looking  at 
a  tremendous  fire,  which  burned  down  three  or 
four  stores  and  houses. 


CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Carrying  arms— Now  OrlcaoR  Jail— Dcnperatc  charactern— 
Kxecutions — Fcmalo  nianiacg  and  prifioncrB — The  river 
and  levte— Climnto  of  New  Orlcnnfl— Population— Oen- 
eral  distress— Pressure  of  the  bloclcade— Money— Plii- 
loHopliy  of  ubatruct  rinlits— Tlic  doctrine  of  state  rights 
— Tlieuretical  defect  in  tlio  constitution. 

Mai/  3lst. — I  went  with  Mr.  Mure  to  visit  the 
jail.  We  met  the  sheriff,  according  to  appoint- 
ment, at  the  police  court.  Something  like  a 
sheriff— a  great,  big,  burly,  six-foot  man,  with 
revolvers  stuck  in  his  belt,  and  strength  and 
arms  quite  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  execute 
his  office  in  its  highest  degree.  Speaking  of  the 
numerous  crimes  committed  in  New  Orleans,  he 
declared  it  was  a  perfect  hell  upon  earth,  nnd 
that  nothing  would  ever  put  an  end  to  murders, 
manslaughters,  and  deadly  assaults  till  it  was 
made  penal  to  carry  arms;  but  by  law  every 
American  citizen  may  walk  with  an  armoury 
round  his  waist  if  he  likes.  Bar-rooms,  cock- 
tails, mint  juleps,  gambling-houses,  political  dis- 
cussions, and  imperfbct  civilization  do  the  rest. 

The  jail  is  a  square  white-washed  building, 
with  cracked  walls  and  barred  windows.  In 
front  of  the  open  door  were  seated  four  men  on 
chairs,  with  their  legs  cocked  against  the  wall, 
smoking  and  reading  newspapers.  •'  Well,  what 
do  you  want  ?"  said  one  of  them,  without  rising. 
"To  visit  the  prison."  "Have  you  got  friends 
inside,  or  do  you  carry  an  order  ?"  The  neces- 
sary document  from  our  friend  the  sheriff  was 
produced.  We  entered  through  the  doorway, 
into  a  smnll  hall,  at  the  end  of  which  was  an 
iron  grating  and  door.  A  slightly-built  young 
man,  who  was  lolling  in  his  shirt  sleeves  on  n 
chair,  rose  nnd  examined  the  order,  and,  taking 
down  a  bunch  of  keys  from  a  hook,  and  intro- 
ducing himself  to  us  as  one  of  the  warder.', 
opened  the  iron  door,  and  preceded  us  through 
a  small  passage  into  a  square  court-yard,  formed 
on  one  side  by  a  high  wall,  and  on  the  other 
three  by  windowed  walls  and  cells,  with  doors 
opening  on  the  court.  It  was  filled  with  a  crowd 
of  men  and  boys ;  some  walking  up  rnd  down, 
others  sitting,  and  groups  on  the  pavement; 
some  moodily  apart,  smoking  or  chewing ;  one 
or  two  cleaning  their  clothes  or  washing  at  a 
small  tank.  W^e  walked  into  the  midst  of  them, 
nnd  the  wnrder,  smoking  his  cignr  and  looking 
coolly  about  him,  pointed  out  the  most  despe- 
rate criminals. 

This  crowded  and  most  noisome  place  was 
filled  with  felons  of  every  description,  as  well  ns 
with  poor  wretches  merely  guilty  of  larceny. 
Hardened  murderers,  thieves,  and  assassins  were 
here  associated  with  boys  in  their  teens  who 
were  undergoing  imprisonment  for  some  trifling 
robbery.  It  was  not  pleasant  to  rub  elbows  with 
miscreants  who  lounged  past,  almost  smiling  de- 
fiance, whilst  the  slim  warder,  in  his  straw  hat, 
shirt  sleeves,  nnd  drawers,  told  you  how  such  a 
fellow  had  murdered  his  mother,  how  another 
had  killed  a  policeman,  or  a  third  had  destroyed 
no  less  than  three  persons  in  a  few  moments. 
Here  were  seventy  murderers,  pirates,  burglars, 
violaters,  and  thieves  circulating  among  men 
who  had  been  proved  guilty  of  no  offence,  but 
were  merely  waiting  for  their  trial. 

A  verandah  ran  along  one  side  of  the  wall, 
above  a  row  of  small  cells,  containing  truckle- 
beds  for  the  inmates.  "  That's  a  desperate  chap, 
I  can  tell  you,"  said  the  warder,  pointing  to  a 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


M 


one 


but 


man  who,  naked  to  his  shirt,  was  sitting  on  the 
floor,  witii  lieavy  irons  on  liis  legs,  wliich  tiiey 
c-hafbd  notwithstanding  tlie  bloody  rags  around 
them,  engaged  in  jdaying  cards  with  a  fellow- 
prison(M-,  ami  smoking  with  an  uir  of  supreme 
contentment.  The  prisoner  turned  at  the  words, 
and  gave  a  kind  of  grunt  and  chuckle,  and  then 
j)layed  his  next  card.  "That,"  said  the  war- 
der, in  the  proud  tone  of  a  menagerie  keeper 
exhibiting  his  fiercest  wild  beast,  "  is  a  real  des- 
perate character ;  his  name  is  Gordon  :  I  guess 
lie  comes  from  your  country  ;  he  made  a  most 
miraculous  attcmi>t  to  escape,  and  all  but  suc- 
ceeded ;  and  you  would  never  believe  nie  if  I 
told  you  that  he  hooked  on  to  that  little  sjjout, 
climbed  up  the  angle  of  that  wall  there,  and 
managed  to  get  across  to  the  ledge  of  that  win- 
dow over  the  outside  wall  before  he  was  discov- 
ered." And  indeed  it  did  require  the  corrobora- 
tive twinkle  in  the  fellow's  eye,  as  ho  heard  of 
his  own  exploit,  to  make  me  believe  that  the  feat 
thus  indicated  could  bo  jwrformed  by  mortal  man. 

"  There's  where  we  hang  them,"  continued  he, 
pointing  to  a  small  black  door,  let  into  the  wall, 
about  18  feet  from  the  ground,  with  some  iron 
hooks  above  it.  "They  walk  out  on  the  door, 
which  is  shot  on  a  bolt,  and  when  the  rope  is 
round  their  necks  from  the  hook,  the  door's  let 
flop,  and  tliey  swing  over  the  court-yard."  The 
prisoners  are  shut  up  in  their  cells  during  the 
execution,  but  they  can  see  what  is  passing,  at 
least  those  who  get  good  places  at  the  windows. 
"Souic  of  them,"  added  the  warder,  "do  die 
very  brave  indeed.  Some  of  them  abuse  as  you 
never  heard.  But  most  of  them  don't  seem  to 
like  it." 

Passing  from  the  yard,  we  proceeded  upstairs 
to  the  first  floor,  where  were  the  debtors'  rooms. 
These  were  tolerably  comfortable,  in  comparison 
to  the  wretched  cells  we  had  seen;  but  the  poorer 
debtors  were  crowded  together,  three  or  four  in 
a'rooni.  As  far  as  I  could  ascertain,  there  is  no 
insolvency  law,  but  the  debtor  is  free,  after  ninoty 
days'  imprisonment,  if  his  board  and  lodging  be 
paid  for.  "  And  what  if  they  are  not  ?"  "  Oh, 
well,  in  that  case  we  keep  them  till  all  is  paid, 
adding  of  course  for  every  day  they  are  kept." 

In  one  of  these  rooms,  sitting  on  his  bed,  look- 
ing wicked  and  gloomy,  and  with  a  glare  like 
that  of  a  wild  beast  in  his  eyes,  was  a  Doctor 
Withers,  who  a  few  days  ago  murdered  his  son- 
in-law  and  his  wife,  in  a  house  close  to  Mr.  Mure's. 
lie  was  able  to  pay  for  this  privilege,  and  "  as 
he  is  a  respectable  man," said  tlie  warder,  "per- 
haps he  may  escape  the  worst." 

Turning  from  this  department  into  another 
gallery,  tlie  warder  went  to  an  iron  door,  above 
which  was  painted  a  death's  head  and  cross-bones, 
beneath  were  the  words  "condemned  cell." 

He  opened  the  door,  which  led  to  a  short,  nar- 
row covered  gallery,  one  side  of  which  looked 
into  a  court-yard,  admitting  light  into  two  small 
chambers,  in  which  were  pallets  of  straw  covered 
with  clean  counterpanes. 

Six  men  were  walking  up  and  down  in  the 
passage.  In  the  first  room  tlicre  was  a  table,  on 
which  were  placed  missals,  neatly  bound,  and 
very  clean  religious  books,  a  crucifix,  and  Agnus 
Dei.  The  whitewashed  wall  of  this  chamber  was 
covered  wiih  most  curions  drawings  in  charcoal 
or  black  chalk,  divided  into  compartments,  and 
representing  scenes  in  the  life  of  the  unhappy 


artist,  a  Frenchman,  execute,  some  years  ogo 
lor  murdering  his  mistress,  depicting  his  tempta- 
tions— his  gradual  full  from  innocence — his  soci- 
ety witii  nbaiidoned  men  and  woineu — inter- 
mingled witli  Scrijitural  subjects,  Christ  walking 
on  tlie  waters,  and  holding  out  liis  bund  to  the 
culjtrit — tlie  murderer's  corpse  in  tlie  grave — 
angels  visiting  and  lamenting  over  it; — finally, 
the  resurrection,  iii  which  ho  is  seen  ascending 
to  heaven ! 

Aly  attcnticm  was  attracted  from  this  extraor- 
dinary room  to  an  open  gallery  at  the  other  side 
of  the  courtyard,  in  which  were  a  number  of 
women  with  dishevelled  hair  and  torn  clothes, 
some  walking  up  and  down  restlessly,  others 
screaming  loudly,  while  some  with  indecent  ges- 
tures were  yelling  to  the  wretched  men  oj)])osito 
to  them,  as  they  were  engaged  in  their  misera- 
ble promenade. 

Shame  and  horror  to  a  Christian  land!  These 
women  were  maniacs !  They  are  kept  here  until 
there  is  room  for  them  at  the  Slate  Lunatic 
Asylum.  Night  and  day  their  terril)le  cries  and 
ravings  echo  through  the  dreary,  waking  hours 
and  tli2  fitful  slumbers  of  the  wretched  men  so 
soon  to  die. 

Two  of  those  who  walked  in  that  gallciy  arc 
to  die  to-morrow. 

What  a  mockery — the  crucifix  ! — the  Agnus 
Dei! — the  holy  books!  I  turned  with  sickness 
and  loathing  from  the  dreadful  place.  "But," 
said  the  keeper,  apologetically,  "  there's  not  one 
of  them  believes  he'll  bo  hanged." 

>•>         *         <ii         >i<         IK         )t(         « 

We  next  visited  the  women's  gallery,  where 
female  critnifials^  all  classes  are  huddled  to- 
gether indiscriminately.  On  opening  the  door, 
the  stenclj^from  the  open  verandah,  in  which  the 
pcisoners  were  sitting,  was  so  vile  tiiat  I  could 
not  proceed  further-;  but  I  saw  enough  to  con- 
vince me  that  the  poor,  erring  woman  who  was 
jmt  in  there  for  some  trifling  offence,  and  placed 
in  contact  with  the  beings  who  were  uttering 
such  language  as  we  heard,  might  indeed  leave 
hope  behind  her'. 

The  prisoners  have  no  beds  to  sleep  upon,  not 
even  a  blanket,  and  are  thrust  in  to  lie 'as  they 
please,  five  in  each  small  cell.  It  may  be  im- 
agined what  the  tropical  heat  produces  under 
such  conditions  aa  these ;  but  as  the  surgeon  was 
out,  I  could  obtain  no  information  respecting 
the  rates  of  sickness  or  mortality. 

I  next  proceeded  to  a  yard  somewhat  smaller 
than  that  appropriated  to  serious  offenders,  in 
which  were  confined  prisoners  condemned  for 
short  sentences,  for  such  offences  as  drunken- 
ness, assault,  and  the  like.  Among  the  prison- 
ers were  some  English  s.ailors,  confined  for  as- 
saults on  their  officers,  or  breach  of  articles ;  all 
of  whom  had  complaints  to  make  to  the  Consul, 
as  to  arbitrary  arrests  and  unfounded  charges. 
Mr.  Mure  told  me  that  when  the  port  is  full  ho 
is  constantly  engaged  inquiring  into  such  cases  ; 
and  I  am  sorry  to  learn  that  the  men  of  our 
commercial  marine  occasion  a  good  deal  of 
trouble  to  the  authorities. 

I  left  the  prison  in  no  very  charitable  mood 
towards  the  people  who  sanctioned  such  a  dis- 
graceful institution,  and  proceeded  to  complete 
my  tour  of  the  city. 

The  "Levee,"  which  is  an  enormous  embank- 
ment to  prevent  the  inundation  of  the  river,  is 


i, 


IH- 


n 


96 


MY  DIAItY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


r 


now  ncftrly  deserted  except  by  tlic  river  stcnm- 
crs,  mid  those  which  iiiive  been  unable  to  run 
the  blockade.  As  New  Orleans  is  on  an  nvcr- 
ngc  three  feet  bilow  the  level  of  the  river  at  high 
water,  this  work  requires  constant  supervision; 
it  is  not  less  than  lifteen  feet  broad,  and  rises 
Ave  or  six  feet  above  the  level  of  the  adjacent 
street,  and  it  is  continued  in  an  almost  unbroken 
line  for  several  hundreds  of  miles  up  the  course 
of  the  Mississij)pi.  When  the  bank  cives  way, 
or  a  "crevasse,"  as  it  is  technically  called,  oc- 
curs, the  damage  done  to  the  jilantations  has 
sometimes  to  be  calculated  by  millions  of  dollars. 
When  the  river  is  very  low  there  is  a  new  form 
of  danger,  in  what  is  called  the  "caving  in"  of 
the  bank,  which,  left  without  the  su])port  of  the 
water  pressure,  slides  into  the  bed  of  the  giant 
river. 

New  Orleans  is«called  the  "crescent  city"  in 
consequence  of  its  being  built  on  a  curve  of  the 
river,  which  is  here  about  tlie  breadth  of  the 
Thames  at  Gravcscnd,  and  of  great  depth.  Enor- 
mous cotton  presses  are  erected  near  the  banks, 
where  the  bales  are  compressed  by  machinery 
before  stowage  on  shipboard,  at  a  heavy  cost  to 
the  planter. 

The  custom-house,  the  city  hall,  and  the  Uni- 
ted States  mint,  are  fine  buildings,  of  rather  pre- 
tentious architecture.  The  former  is  the  largest 
building  in  the  States,  next  the  capitol.  I  was 
informed  that  on  the  levee,  now  almost  deserted, 
there  is  during  the  cotton  and  sugar  season  a 
scene  of  activity,  life,  and  noise,  the  like  of  which 
is  rot  in  the  world.  Even  Canton  docs  not  show 
BC  r.i  vv  boats  on  the  river,  not  to  speak  of  steam- 
en  '\ijs,  flat-boats,  and  the  like;  and  it  may  be 
,  -  /  imagined  that  such  is  the  case,  when  we 
know  that  the  value  of  the  cotton  sent  in  the 
year  from  this  poit  alone  exceeds  twenty  millions 
sterling,  and  that  the  other  exports  arc  of  the 
value  of  at  least  fifteen  millions  sterling,  whilst 
the  imports  amount  to  nearly  four  millions. 

As  the  city  of  New  Orleans  is  nearly  1700 
miles  south  of  New  York,  it  is  not  surprising 
that  it  rejoices  in  o  semi-tropical  climate.  The 
squares  are  surrounded  with  lemon-trccs,  orange- 
groves,  myrtle,  and  magnificent  magnolias.  Pal- 
mettocs  and  peach-trees  arc  found  in  all  the  gar- 
dens, and  in  the  neighbourhood  are  enormous 
cypresses,  hung  round  with  the  everlasting  Span- 
ish moss. 

The  streets  of  the  extended  city  are  different 
in  character  from  the  narrow  chausse's  of  the  old 
town.,  and  the  general  rectangular  arrangement 
common  in  the  United  States,  Kussia,  and  Brit- 
ish Indian  cantonments  is  followed  as  much  as 
possible.  The  markets  are  excellent,  each  mu- 
nicipalitj',  or  grand  division,  being  provided  with 
its  own.  They  swarm  with  specimens  of  the 
composite  races  which  inhabit  the  city,  from  the 
thorough-bred,  woolly-headed  negro,  who  is  sus- 
piciously like  a  native-born  African,  to  the  Cre- 
ole wiio  boasts  that  every  drop  of  blood  in  his 
veins  is  purely  French. 

I  was  struck  by  the  absence  of  any  whites  of 
the  labouring  classes ;  and  when  I  inquired  what 
had  become  of  the  men  who  work  on  the  levee 
and  at  the  cotton  presses  in  competition  with  the 
negroes,  I  was  told  that  they  had  bcm  enlisted 
for  the  war. 

I  forgot  to  mention  that  among  the  criminals 
in  the  prison  there  was  one  Mr,  Bibb,  a  respect- 


able citizen,  who  had  a  little  affair  of  his  own  on 
Sunday  morning. 

Mr.  Bibb  was  coming  from  market,  ami  had 
secured  an  early  copy  of  a  morning  paper. 
Three  citizens,  anxious  for  news,  or,  as  Bibb 
avows,  for  bis  watch  and  purse,  came  up  and  in- 
sisted that  he  should  read  the  paper  for  them. 
Bibb  declined,  whereupon  the  three  citizens,  in 
the  full  exercise  of  their  rights  as  n  majority, 
proceeded  to  coerce  him  ;  but  Bibb  had  a  casual 
revolver  in  his  pocket,  and  in  a  moment  he  shot 
one  of  hts  literary  assailants  dead,  and  wounded 
the  two  others  severely,  if  not  mortally.  The 
paper  which  narrates  the  circumstances,  in  stat- 
ing that  the  successful  combatant  had  been  com- 
mitted  to  prison,  adds,  "great  sympathy  is  felt 
for  Mr.  Bibb."  If  the  Southern  minority  is 
equally  successful  in  its  resistance  to /'orre  ma- 
jeure as  this  eminent  citizen,  the  fate  of  the  Con- 
federacy cannot  long  be  doubtful. 

June'lst. — The  respectable  people  of  the  city 
arc  menaced  with  two  internal  evils  in  conse- 
quence of  the  destitution  caused  by  the  stoppage 
of  trade  with  the  North  and  with  Europe.  The 
municipal  authorities,  for  want  of  funds,  threat- 
en to  close  the  city  schools,  and  to  disband  the 
police  ;  at  the  same  time,  employers  refuse  to 
pay  their  workmen  on  the  ground  of  inability. 
The  British  Consulate  was  thronged  to-day  by 
Irish,  English,  and  Scotch,  entreating  to  be  sent 
North  or  to  Europe.  The  stories  told  by  some 
of  these  poor  fellows  were  most  pitiable,  and 
were  vouched  for  by  facts  and  papers;  but  Mr. 
Mure  has  no  funds  at  his  disposal  to  enable  him 
to  comply  with  their  prayers.  Nothing  remains 
for  them  but  to  enlist.  For  the  third  or  fourth 
time  I  heard  cases  of  British  subjects  being  for- 
cibly carried  off  to  fill  the  ranks  of  so-called  vol- 
unteer companies  and  regiments.  In  some  in- 
stances they  have  been  knocked  down,  bound, 
and  confined  rn  barracks,  till  in  dc.njjair  they 
consented  to  >jerve.  Those  who  have  friends 
aware  of  their  condition  were  relieved  by  the  in- 
terference of  the  Consul ;  but  there  are  many, 
no  doubt,  thus  coerced  and  placed  in  involuntary 
servitude  without  his  knowledge.  Mr.  Mure  has 
acted  with  energy,  judgment,  and  success  on  these 
occasions ;  but  1  much  wish  he  could  have,  from 
national  sources,  assisted  the  many  distressed 
English  subjects  who  thronged  his  office. 

The  great .  ummercial  community  of  New  Or- 
leans, which  now  feels  the  pressure  of  the  block- 
ade, depends  on  the  interference  of  the  European 
Powers  next  October.  They  have  among  them 
men  who  refuse  to  pay  their  debts  to  Northern 
houses,  but  they  deny  that  they  intend  to  repu- 
diate, and  promise  to  pay  all  who  are  not  black 
Republicans  when  the  war  is  over.  Kcpudia- 
tion  is  a  word  out  of  favour,  as  they  feel  the 
character  of  the  Southern  States  and  of  Mr. 
Jefferson  Davis  himself  has  been  much  injui'cd 
in  Europe  by  the  breach  of  honesty  and  honour 
of  which  they  have  been  guilty ;  but  I  am  as- 
sured on  all  sides  that  every  State  will  eventual- 
ly redeem  all  its  obligations.  Meantime,  money 
here  is  fa.st  vanishing.  Bills  on  New  Yoik  are 
worth  nothing,  and  bills  on  England  are  at  18 
per  cent,  discotint  from  the  par  value  of  gold ; 
but  the  people  of  this  city  will  endure  all  this  and 
much  more  to  escape  from  the  hated  rule  of  the 
Yankees. 

Through  the  present  gloom  come  the  rays  of 


a  gloric 

coiifcile 

swellitif, 

pcake,  \ 

and  a  n 

much  (it 

land  an 

selves,  ii 

world. 

ami  cou 

Ih!  deriv 

forward 

humiliat 

England 

rious  rivi 

and  ruin 

enmity  I 

raged  an 

tionists  a 

Th«  a 

rest  till  c 

Men  of  1; 

"Theyvv 

may  as  ft 

they  ma} 

streets  of 

those  of 

are  guarj 

the  SoutI 

dull  I'hilli 

enant  witl 

The  doi 

ently  advi 

but  by  tliu 

ed  there  v 

ment  of  n 

contendin, 

had  hithe 

artful  com 

cos,  which 

coin. 

There  m 
publican  e 
widening 
height  an 
authors  of 
but  left  to 
and  guard 
ington  him 
and  he  loc 
sixty  or  se 
he  contriht 
must  cor.io 
well  addre: 
tion  would 
ties  excitec 
sions  arisir 
now  that  tl 
in  the  Cons 
the  broken 
It  is  ren 
New  York, 
intelligent  i 
judge,  regn 
confiscation 
mortal  disc 
night,  as  I 
cussion  in 
Thugs  in  th 
leans,  who  a 
ly  to  shoot 
Pying  positi( 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


97 


wn  on 

iii  had 
jtnper. 
i  Hibb 
ind  in- 

tlicm. 
ens,  in 
ijority, 

casual 
lie  shot 
oundcd 
.  The 
in  stttt- 
.■n  com- 
y^  is  felt 
ority  is 
rre  ma- 
hc  Con- 

the  city 
1  conse- 
itoppago 
e.     The 
,  threat- 
land  the 
•efiisc  to 
nubility, 
j-dny  by 
0  be  sent 
by  some 
ible,  and 

but  Mr. 
able  him 
;  remains 
or  fourth 
)cing  for- 
alled  vol- 

sonie  in- 
1,  bound, 

tair  they 

Ic   friends 

ly  the  in- 

e  many, 
|\oluntary 

iluro  has 
is  on  these 
iftve,  from 

distressed 
le. 

New  Or- 

hti  block- 
uropean 

long  them 

Northern 

.  to  rcpu- 

not  black 

Rcpudia- 
feel  the 

il  of  Mr. 

|h  injured 

id  honour 
I  nm  as- 
cventual- 

lio,  money 
York  are 

lare  at  18 
of  gold ; 

.1  this  and 
ule  of  the 

rays  of 


a  gl«)rious  future,  which  shnli  sec  n  grand  slave 
confi'deracy  enclosing  the  Vt\\\f  in  its  arms,  and 
swelling  tu  the  sliurcs  of  the  rotoinuQ  and  Chesa- 
peake, ^  >  the  entire  control  of  the  Mississippi 
and  u  mi.  ipidy  of  the  groat  staples  on  which  so 
much  of  the  manufactures  and  conuneree  of  Eng- 
land and  France  depend.  They  believe  them- 
selves, in  fact,  to  bo  masters  of  the  destiny  of  the 
world.  (Cotton  is  king — not  alone  king,  but  czar , 
and  eoupli^d  witli  the  gratilieuti«n  an.t  i)roflt  to 
be  derived  from  this  mighty  agency,  they  look 
forward  with  intouso  satisfaction  to  the  com]>lctc 
humiliation  of  their  hated  enemies  in  the  New 
England  States,  to  the  destruction  of  their  usu- 
rious rival  New  York,  and  to  the  impoverishment 
and  ruin  of  the  states  whjtrh  have  excited  their 
enmity  by  j)ersonal  liberty  bills,  and  have  out- 
raged and  insulted  them  by  harbouring  aboli- 
tionists and  an  anti-slavery  press. 

The.  al)olitionists  '"vve  said,  "Wo  will  never 
rest  till  every  s'uve  is  free  in  the  United  States." 
Men  of  larger  views  than  tlioso  have  declared, 
"  They  will  never  rest  from  agitation  until  a  man 
may  as  freely  express  his  opinions,  be  they  what 
they  may,  on  slavery,  or  anything  else,  in  the 
streets  of  Charleston  or  of  Now  Orleans  as  in 
those  of  Boston  or  New  York."  "Our  rights 
are  guaranteed  by  the  Constitution,"  exclaim 
the  South.  "The  Constitution,"  retorts  Wen- 
dell I'hillips,  "is  a  league  with  the  devil — r.  cov- 
enant witli  hell." 

Tiie  doctrine  of  State  Rights  has  been  consist- 
ently advocated  not  only  by  Southern  statesmen, 
but  by  the  great  party  who  have  ever  maintain- 
ed there  was  danger  to  liberty  in  the  establish- 
ment of  a  strong  central  Government ;  but  the 
contending  interests  and  opinions  on  both  sides 
had  hitherto  been  kept  from  ojien  collision  by 
artful  compromises  and  by  ingenious  contrivan- 
ces, which  ceased  with  the  election  of  Mr.  Lin- 
coln. 

There  was  m  the  very  corner-stone  of  the  re- 
publican edinco  a  small  fissiu'c,  which  has  been 
widening  as  the  grand  structure  increased  in 
height  and  weight.  The  early  statesmen  and 
authors  of  the  Republic  knew  of  its  existence, 
but  left  to  posterity  the  duty  of  dealing  with  it 
and  guarding  against  its  consequences.  Wash- 
ington himself  was  perfectly  aware  of  the  danger ; 
and  he  looked  forward  to  a  duration  of  some 
sixty  or  seventy  years  only  for  the  great  fabric 
he  contributed  to  erect.  He  was  satisfied  a  crisis 
must  coHiG,  when  the  States  whom  in  his  fare- 
well address  ho  warned  against  rivalry  and  fac- 
tion would  be  unable  to  overcome  the  animosi- 
ties excited  by  diftbrent  interests,  and  the  pas- 
sions arising  out  of  adverse  institutions ;  and 
now  that  the  separation  has  come,  there  is  not, 
in  the  Constitution,  or  out  of  it,  power  to  cement 
the  broken  fragments  together. 

It  is  remarkable  that  in  New  Orleans,  as  in 
New  York,  the  opinion  of  the  most  wealthy  and 
intelligent  men  in  the  community,  so  far  as  I  can 
judge,  regards  universal  suftVago  as  organised 
confiscation,  legalised  violence  and  corruption,  a 
mortal  disease  in  the  body  politic.  The  other 
night,  as  I  sat  in  the  club-house,  I  heard  a  dis- 
cussion in  reference  to  the  operations  of  the 
Thugs  in  this  city,  a  band  of  native-born  Amer- 
icans, who  at  election-times  were  wont  deliberate- 
ly to  shoot  down  Irish  and  German  voters  occu- 
pying positions  as  leaders  of  their  mobs.  These 
G 


Thugs  were  only  suppressed  by  an  armed  vigi- 
lance committee,  of  which  a  physician  who  sat 
at  table  was  one  of  the  memlH3rs. 

Having  made  some  purchases,  and  ])aid  all 
my  visits,  I  returned  to  prepare  for  my  voyage 
up  the  Mississi|)pi  and  visits  to  several  plant(!rH 
on  its  banks — my  first  being  to  Governor  Roman. 


CHAPTER  XXXII. 

I'p  the  MlH8iHf>lpi)l  —  Kreo  iii,'(,'I"<'Oh  and  Knglieti  policy  — 
Miiiiotdiiy  of  tlio  rivur  Kceiiury  —  Vinlt  lu  .M.  Koiimn  — 
Sliive  i|imrtors--A  slnvo  dniioo — Slnve  cliililron — Negro 
hoiipitnl  —  Gcnurul  upliiiuu  —  Cuufidoncu   iu  JulTcrduu 

IJllvlrt. 

Jtint  2nd. — My  good  friend  the  Consul  was  up 
early  to  see  me  otV;  and  we  drove  together  to 
the  steamer  J.  L.  Gotten.  The  people  were  go- 
ing to  mass  ns  we  })assed  through  the  streets; 
and  it  was  pitiable  to  see  the  children  dressed 
out  as  Zouaves,  with  tin  swonls  and  all  sorts  of 
pseudo-military  tomfoolery ;  streets  crowded  with 
military  comi)anies  ;  bands  playing  on  all  sides. 

IJeforo  we  left  the  door  a  j)oor  black  sailor 
came  uj)  to  entreat  Mr.  Mure's  interference.  He 
had  been  sent  by  Mr.  Magec,  the  Consul  at  Mo- 
bile, by  land  to  New  Orleans,  in  the  hojjc  that 
Mr.  Mure  would  be  able  to  procure  him  a  free 
l)assagc  to  some  British  jmrt.  He  had  served  in 
the  Royal  Navy,  and  had  received  a  wound  in  the 
Russian  war.  The  moment  he  arrived  in  New 
Orleans  he  had  been  seized  by  the  p(flicc.  On 
his  stating  that  he  was  a  free-born  British  sub- 
ject, the  authorities  ordered  him  to  be  taken  to 
Mr.  Mure  ;  he  could  not  be  allowed  to  go  at  lib- 
erty on  account  of  his  colour ;  the  laws  of  tiie 
State  forbad  such  dangerous  experiments  on  the 
feelings  of  the  slave  popniation  ;  and  if  the  Con- 
sul did  not  j)rovi(lc  for  him,  he  would  bo  arrest- 
ed and  kept  in  i)rison,  if  no  worse  fate  befell  him. 
He  was  suffering  from  the  effect  of  Jus  wound, 
and  was  evidently  in  ill  health.  Mr.  Mure  gave 
him  a  letter  to  the  Sailors'  Hospital,  and  some 
relief  out  of  his  own  pocket.  Tiie  police  came 
as  far  as  the  door  with  him,  and  remained  out- 
side to  arrest  him  if  the  Consul  did  not  afford 
him  protection  and  provide  for  him,  so  that  he 
should  not  be  seen  at  large  in  the  streets  of  the 
city.  The  other  day  a  New  Orleans  privateer 
captured  three  northern  brigs,  on  board  which 
were  ten  free  negroes.  The  captain  handed 
them  over  to  the  Recorder,  who  applied  to  the 
Confederate  States'  Marshal  to  take  charge  of 
them.  The  Marshal  refused  to  receive  them, 
whereupon  the  Recorder,  as  a  magistrate  and  a 
good  citizen,  deciiled  on  keeping  them  in  jail,  as 
it  would  be  a  bad  and  dangerous  policy  to  let 
them  loose  upon  the  community. 

I  cannot  help  tliinking  that  the  position  taken 
by  England  in  reference  to  the  question  of  her 
coloured  subjects  is  humiliating  and  degrading. 
People  who  live  in  London  may  esteem  this  ques- 
tion a  light  matter ;  but  it  has  not  only  been  in- 
consistent with  the  national  honour ;  it  has  so 
degraded  us  in  the  opinion  of  Americans  them- 
selves, that  they  are  encouraged  to  indulge  in  an 
insolent  tone  and  in  violent  acts  towards  us, 
which  will  some  day  le.ive  Great  Britain  no  al- 
ternative but  an  appeal  to  arms.  Free  coloured 
persons  are  liable  to  seizure  by  the  police,  and 
to  imprisonment,  and  may  be  sold  into  servitude 
under  certain  circumstances. 


Iff 


98 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


if^ 


On  arriving  at  tho  Btcnmcr  I  found  a  consitl- 
ernhlc  party  ofcitizcnM  nMst-nihliv'  to  sec  ott'tiicir 
iViendH.  Uovornor  Hoiniin's  son  apologised  to 
mo  for  liiii  inability  to  accompany  mo  up  the  riv- 
or, as  ho  was  giiin'tj  t"  t''"  ''''"  "^  ''•*  company 
of  volunteers.  Several  other  gentlemen  were  in 
uniform ;  and  when  wo  had  pasHcd  tho  houses 
of  tiiu  city,  I  observed  companies  and  troops  of 
horse  exorcising  on  both  sides  of  tiio  banks.  On 
board  were  Mr.  Unrnside,  a  very  extensive  pro- 
prietor, and  Mr.  Forstal,  agent  to  Messrs.  Har- 
ing,  who  claims  descent  from  an  Irish  family 
near  Uochestown,  though  he  speaks  our  vernac- 
ular with  difficulty,  and  is  much  more  French 
than  British.  He  is  considered  one  of  tho  ablest 
flnanciers  and  economists  in  the  United  States, 
and  is  certainly  very  ingenious,  and  well  cram- 
med with  facts  and  figures. 

Tho  aspect  of  New  Orleans  from  tho  river  is 
marred  by  the  very  poor  houses  lining  tho  quays 
on  tlie  leveo.  Wide  streets  open  on  long  vistas 
bordered  by  tho  most  paltry  little  domiciles  ; 
and  the  great  conceptions  of  those  who  planned 
them,  notwithstanding  the  prosperity  of  the  city, 
have  not  been  realised. 

As  we  were  now  floating  nine  feet  higher  than 
tho  level  of  the  streets,  wo  could  look  down  upon 
a  sea  of  flat  roofs  and  low  wooden  houses,  jjaint- 
ed  white,  pierced  by  the  domes  and  spires  of 
churches  and  public  buildings.  Grass  was  grow- 
ing  in  many  of  these  streets.  At  tho  other  side 
of  tho  riter  there  is  a  smaller  city  of  shingle- 
roofed  houses,  with  a  background  of  low  timber. 

Tho  steamer  stopped  continually  at  various 
points  along  tho  levee,  discharging  commissariat 
stores,  parcels,  and  passengers ;  and  after  a  time 
glided  up  into  tho  open  coi'ntry,  which  sjjrend 
beneath  us  for  several  miles  at  each  side  of  the 
banks,  with  a  continuous  background  of  forest. 
All  this  part  of  tho  river  is  called  the  Coast,  and 
the  country  adjacent  is  remarkable  for  its  fertil- 
ity. The  sugar  plantations  are  bounded  by  lines 
drawn  at  right  angles  to  the  banks  of  tho  river, 
and  extending  through  the  forest.  Tho  villas 
of  the  proprietors  are  thickly  planted  in  the 
midst  of  the  green  fields,  with  the  usual  porti- 
coes, pillars,  verandahs,  and  green  blinds ;  and 
in  tho  vicinity  of  each  are  rows  of  whitewashed 
huts,  which  are  the  slave  quarters.  These  fields, 
level  as  a  billiard-table,  are  of  the  brightest  green 
with  crops  of  maize  and  sugar. 

But  few  persons  were  visible ;  not  a  boat  was 
to  be  seen ;  and  in  the  course  of  sixty-two  miles 
we  met  only  two  steamers.  No  shelving  banks, 
no  pebbly  shoals,  no  rocky  margins  mark  the 
course  or  diversify  tho  outline  of  the  Mississippi. 
The  dead,  uniform  lino  of  tho  levee  compresses 
it  at  each  side,  and  the  turbid  waters  flow  with- 
out let  in  a  current  of  uniform  breadth  between 
the  monotonous  banks.  The  gables  and  summit 
of  one  house  resemble  those  of  another ;  and  but 
for  the  enormous  scale  of  river  and  banks,  and 
the  black  faces  of  the  few  negroes  visible,  a  pas- 
senger might  think  he  was  on  board  a  Dutch 
"  treckshuyt."  In  fact,  the  Mississippi  is  a  huge 
trench-like  canal  draining  a  continent. 

At  half-past  three  p.m.  the  steamer  ran  along, 
side  the  levee  at  the  right  bank,  and  discharged 
me  at  "Cahabanooze,"in  the  Indian  tongue,  or 
"The  ducks'  sleeping-place,"  together  with  an 
English  merchant  of  New  Orleans,  M.  La  Ville 
Beaufevre,  son-in-law  of  Governor  Roman,  and 


his  wife.  The  Governor  was  waiting  to  rcccivo 
lis  in  the  levee,  and  led  the  way  through  a  gate 
in  the  paling  which  separated  his  ground  from 
tho  roadside,  towards  tho  house,  a  snbNtuiitial, 
square,  two-storied  numsion,  with  a  verandah  all 
round  it,  embosomed  amid  venerable  trees,  and 
surrounded  by  magnolias.  By  way  of  explain- 
ing the  proximity  of  his  house  to  the  river,  M. 
Roman  told  me  that  a  considerable  portion  of 
the  garden  in  front  had  a  short  time  ago  been 
carried  off  by  tho  Mississipjii ;  nor  is  ho  at  all 
sure  tho  house  itself  will  not  share  the  same 
fate  ;  I  hope  sincerely  it  may  not.  My  quarters 
were  iii  a  detached  house,  complete  in  itself, 
containing  four  bedrooms,  library,  and  sitting- 
room,  closo  to  the  mansion,  and  surrounded,  like 
it,  by  fine  trees. 

After  wo  had  sat  for  some  time  in  the  shado 
of  the  finest  group,  M.  Roman,  or,  as  ho  is  call- 
ed, the  Governor — once  a  cajitain  always  a  cap- 
tain— asked  me  whether  I  would  like  to  visit  tho 
slave  quarters.  I  assented,  and  the  Governor 
led  tho  way  to  a  high  paling  at  the  back  of  tho 
house,  inside  which  tho  scraping  of  the  fiddles 
was  audible.  As  wo  passed  the  back  of  tho  man> 
sion  some  young  women  flitted  past  in  snow- 
whito  dresses,  crinolines,  pink  sashes,  and  gau- 
dily coloured  handkerchiefs  on  their  heads,  who 
were,  the  Governor  told  me,  the  domestic  bci-v- 
ants  going  off  to  a  dance  at  the  sugar-house  ;  ho 
lets  his  slaves  dnnco  every  Sunday.  The  Amer- 
ican planters  who  are  not  Catholics,  although 
they  do  not  make  tho  slaves  work  on  Sunday  ex- 
cept there  is  something  to  do,  rarely  grant  them 
tho  indulgence  of  n  dance,  but  a  few  permit 
them  some  hours  of  relaxation  on  each  Saturday 
afternoon. 

Wo  entered,  by  a  wicket  gate,  a  square  en- 
closure, lined  with  negro  huts,  built  of  wood, 
something  like  tljose  which  came  from  Malta  to 
the  Crimea  in  tho  early  ])art  of  the  campaign. 
They  are  not  furnished  with  windows — a  wood- 
en slide  or  grating  admits  all  tho  air  a  negro  de- 
sires. There  is  a  partition  dividing  the  hut  into 
two  departments,  one  of  which  is  used  as  tho 
sleeping-room,  and  contains  a  truckle  bedstead 
and  a  mattress  stuffed  with  cotton  wool,  or  tho 
hair -like  fibres  of  dried  Spanish  moss.  The 
wardrobes  of  the  inmates  hang  from  nails  or 
pegs  driven  into  the  wall.  Too  other  room  is 
furnished  with  a  dresser,  on  which  are  arranged 
a  few  articles  of  crockery  and  kitchen  utensils. 
Sometimes  there  is  a  table  in  addition  to  the 
plain  wooden  chairs,  more  or  less  dilapidated, 
constituting  the  furniture — a  hearth,  in  connec- 
tion with  a  brick  chimney  outside  the  cottage,  in 
which,  hot  as  the  day  may  bo,  some  embers  are 
sure  to  be  found  burning.  The  ground  round 
the  huts  was  covered  with  litter  and  dust,  heaps 
of  old  shoes,  fragments  of  clothing  and  feathers, 
amidst  which  pigs  and  poultry  were  recreating. 
Curs  of  low  degree  scampered  in  and  out  of  tho 
shade,  or  around  two  huge  dogs,  citiens  de  garde, 
which  are  let  loose  at  night  to  guard  the  i)re- 
cincts ;  belly  deep,  in  a  pool  of  stagnant  water, 
thirty  or  forty  mules  were  swinking  in  tho  sun 
and  enjoying  their  day  of  rest. 

The  huts  of  the  negroes  engaged  in  the  house 
are  separated  from  those  of  the  slaves  devoted  to 
field-labour  out  of  doors  by  a  wooden  paling..  I 
looked  into  several  of  the  houses,  but  somehow 
or  other  I  felt  a  repugnance,  I  dare  say  unjust!- 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


M 


fmblo,  to  oxnmino  tlio  ponotriilia,  although  in- 
vitoil — iiitlofd,  (irned  to  ilo  so  liy  tlio  CJovcrnor. 
It  was  nut  thiit  I  cxiKiCtutl  t(  •oiiio  upon  ariy- 
thinn  (Iniii.lfiil,  but  I  coiiKl  not  divest  myself  of 
8oni()  rcgiird  for  tlio  foelings  of  the  poor  creii- 
tiiP'S,  siiivcs  though  they  were,  who  stood  liy, 
shy,  curtseying,  and  silent,  as  I  broke  in  upon 
their  family  circle,  felt  their  beds,  uud  turned 
over  their  clothing.    What  right  had  I  to  do  so? 

Swarms  of  flies,  tin  cooking  utensils  nttructing 
them  by  remnants  of  molasses,  crockery,  l)roken 
and  old,  on  the  dressers,  more  or  less  old  clothes 
on  the  wall,  these  varied  over  and  over  again, 
wore  found  in  all  the  iiuts ;  wot  a  sign  of  orna- 
ment or  decoration  was  visible  ;  not  tho  most 
tawdry  print,  image  of  Virgin  or  Saviour ;  not  a 
praycrbook  or  printed  volume.  Tho  slaves  are 
not  encouraged,  or  indeed  permitted  to  read,  and 
some  communities  of  slave-owners  punish  heav- 
ily those  attempting  to  instruct  them. 

All  tho  slaves  seemed  resjicctful  to  their  mas- 
ter; dressed  in  their  best,  they  curtseyed,  and 
came  up  to  shake  hands  with  him  and  with  me. 
Among  them  were  seme  very  old  men  and  wom- 
en, tho  canker-worms  of  the  estate,  who  were 
dozing  away  into  eternity,  mindful  only  of  hom- 
iny, and  pig,  and  molasses.  Two  negro  fiddlers 
wore  working  their  bows  with  energy  in  front  of 
one  of  tho  huts,  and  a  crowd  of  little  children 
were  listening  to  the  music,  together  with  a  few 
grown-up  persons  of  colour,  some  of  them  from 
the  adjoining  plantations.  The  children  are  gen- 
erally dressed  in  a  little  sack  of  coarse  calico, 
which  answers  all  reasonable  purposes,  even  if  it 
bo  not  very  clean. 

It  might  be  an  interesting  subject  of  inquiry 
to  the  natural  philosophers  who  follow  crinology 
to  determine  why  it  is  that  tho  hair  of  the  infant 
negro,  or  child,  up  to  six  or  seven  years  of  age, 
is  generally  a  fine  red  russet,  or  even  gamboge 
colour,  and  gradually  darkens  into  dull  ebon. 
These  little  bodies  were  mostly  large-stomached, 
well  fed,  and  not  less  happy  than  frecborn  chil- 
dren, although  much  more  valuable — for  if  once 
they  get  over  juvenile  dangers,  and  advance  to- 
ward nine  or  ten  years  of  age,  they  rise  in  value 
to  £100  or  more,  even  in  times  when  the  market 
is  low  and  money  is  scarce. 

The  women  were  not  very  well-favoured ;  one 
yellow  girl,  with  fair  hair  and  light  eyes,  whose 
child  wa^  quite  white,  excepted ;  the  men  were 
disguised  in  such  strangely  -  cut  clothes,  their 
hats,  and  shoes,  and  coats  so  wonderfully  made, 
that  one  could  not  tell  what  their  figures  were 
like.  On  all  faces  there  was  a  gravity  which 
must  bo  the  index  to  serene  contentment  and 
perfect  comfort,  for  those  who  ought  to  know 
best  declare  they  are  the  happiest  race  in  the 
world. 

It  struck  me  more  and  more,  however,  as  I  ex- 
amined the  expression  of  the  faces  of  tlie  slaves, 
that  deep  dejection  is  the  prijvailing,  if  not  uni- 
versal, characteristic  of  tho  race.  Here  there 
were  abundant  evidences  that  they  were  all  well 
treated  ;  they  had  good  clothing  of  its  kind,  food, 
and  a  master  who  wittingly  could  do  them  no 
injustice,  as  he  is,  I  am  sure,  incapable  of  it. 
Still,  they  all  looked  sad,  and  even  the  old  wo- 
man who  boasted  that  she  had  held  her  old  own- 
er in  her  arms  when  he  was  an  infant,  did  not 
smile  cheerfully,  as  the  nurse  at  home  would 
have  done  at  the  sight  of  her  ancient  charge. 


The  negroes  rear  domestic  birds  of  all  kinds, 
and  sell  eggs  and  poultry  to  their  masters.  Tlio 
money  is  Hpcnt  in  )iurehasing  tobacco,  molasses, 
clothes,  and  flour;  wlii-ky,  their  great  delight, 
they  must  not  have,  .somo  seventy  or  eighty 
hands  were  (|uartcred  in  this  part  of  tho  estate. 

Hefore  leaving  tho  enclosure  I  was  taken  to 
the  hospital,  which  was  in  charge  of  an  old  nc- 
gress.  Tho  naked  rooms  contained  several  tloek 
Ixjds  on  rough  stands,  and  tivo  patients,  three  of 
whom  were  women.  They  sat  listlessly  on  the 
beds,  looking  out  into  space  ;  no  books  to  amuse 
them,  no  conversation — nothing  but  their  own 
dull  thoughts,  if  they  had  any.  They  were  suf- 
fering from  pneumonia  and  swelling  of  the  glands 
of  tho  neck :  one  man  had  fever.  Their  medical 
attendant  visits  them  regularly,  and  each  planta- 
tion has  a  practitioner,  who  is  engaged  l>y  tho 
term  for  his  sen-ices.  If  tho  growth  of  sugar- 
cane, cotton,  and  corn  be  the  great  end  of  man's 
mission  on  earth,  and  if  all  masters  were  like 
Governor  Roman,  slavery  might  bo  defended  as 
a  natural  and  innocuous  institution.  Sugar  and 
cotton  are,  assuredly,  two  great  agencies  in  tiiis 
latter  world.  Tho  older  one  got  on  well  enough 
without  them. 

The  scraping  of  tho  fiddles  attracted  us  to  tho 
sugar-house,  where  the  juice  of  tho  cane  is  ex- 
pressed, boiled,  granulated,  and  prepared  for  tho 
refinery,  a  large  brick  building,  with  a  factory- 
looking  chimney.  In  a  space  of  the  floor  un- 
occupied by  machinery  some  fifteen  women  and 
aa  many  men  were  assembled,  and  four  couj)lcs 
were  dancing  a  kind  of  Irish  jig  to  the  music  of 
the  negro  musicians — a  double  shnflSe  in  a  thump- 
ing ecstasy,  with  loose  elbows,  pendulous  paws, 
angulated  knees,  heads  thrown  back,  and  backs 
arched  inwards — a  glazed  eye,  intense  solemnity 
of  mien. 

At  this  time  of  year  there  is  no  work  done 
in  tho  sugar-house,  but  when  the  crushing  and 
boiling  are  going  on  the  labour  is  intensely  try- 
ing, and  tho  hands  work  in  gangs  night  and 
day ;  and,  if  the  heat  of  the  fires  bo  superadded 
to  the  temperature  in  September,  it  may  be  con- 
ceded that  nothing  but  "involuntary  servitude" 
could  go  through  the  toil  and  suffering  rc<iuired 
to  produce  sugar. 

In  the  afternoon  the  Governor's  son  came  in 
from  the  company  which  ho  commands:  his 
men  are  of  the  best  families  in  the  country — 
planters  and  the  like.  We  sauntered  about  the 
gardens,  diminished,  as  I  have  said,  by  a  freak 
of  the  river.  The  French  Creoles  love  gardens ; 
the  Anglo-Saxons  hereabout  do  not  much  attect 
them,  and  cultivate  their  crops  up  to  the  very 
doorway. 

It  was  curious  to  observe  so  far  away  from 
France  so  many  traces  of  the  life  of  the  old  seign- 
eur— the  early  meals,  in  which  supper  took  the 
place  of  dinner — frugal  simplicity — and  yet  a  re- 
finement of  manner,  kindliness,  and  courtesy  not 
to  bo  exceeded. 

In  the  evening  several  officers  of  M.  Alfred 
Roman's  company  and  neighbouring  planters 
dropped  in,  and  we  sat  out  in  the  twilight,  under 
the  trees  in  the  verandah,  illuminated  by  tho 
flashing  fireflies,  and  talking  politics.  I  was 
struck  by  the  profoimd  silence  which  reigned  all 
around  us,  except  a  low  rushing  sound,  like  that 
made  by  the  wind  blowing  over  cornfields,  which 
came  from  the  mighty  river  before  us.    Nothing 


i 


100 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


r 


'f  f 


ell"'  wfts  nndihlr  bii'  the  bouiuI  of  our  own  voices 
aiivt  tlu  ilistaiit  hark  of  ii  do^.  AUlt  tlie  (tti'iim- 
cr  wliith  liori'  iiit  liiul  piiNNi-d  on,  I  <lo  not  Im-IIivo 
n  NJnKli'  iMint  tloattMi  up  or  down  tlio  ittn-ain,  and 
hut  one  m)litary  jilantcr,  in  his  j,'in  or  l)nnK'y, 
triiversfd  tlic  nmtl,  which  lay  Ik^iwccii  tiic  gar- 
den piilinKS  ftiid  tho  bank  of  the  nrvut  river. 

Our  friends  were  ail  crcole« — that  is,  natives 
of  Louisiana  —  of  French  or  Spanish  dcNccnt. 
They  are  kinder  and  hotter  nnistcrs,  according 
to  universal  repute,  than  native  Americans  or 
Si'()teh  ;  liuttlio  New  Kn^land  Yankee  is' reputed 
to  he  the  severest  of  nil  slave-owners.  All  these 
gentlemen  to  a  man  nro  rcsolntc  that  KiiKltiiid 
must  >{et  their  citton  or  perish.  She  will  take 
it,  tiiercfore,  by  force ;  but  an  the  South  is  de- 
termined never  to  let  n  Yankee  vessel  carry  any 
of  its  produce,  n  question  has  been  raised  by 
Monsieur  Haroche,  who  is  at  jiresent  looking 
arnimd  him  in  New  Orleans,  which  causes  some 
ditlieulty  to  the  astute  and  statistical  Mr.  Ft)r- 
stnll,  I'lie  French  economist  has  calculated  that 
if  the  Yankee  vessels  bo  cxchidcd  from  the  car- 
rying trade,  the  coinmerciul  marine  of  France 
and  Kngland  together  will  be  (piitc  inudequnto 
to  curry  Southern  produce  to  Euroitc. 

liul  Southern  faith  is  indomitable.  With  their 
faithful  negroes  to  raise  their  corn,  sugar,  and 
cotton,  whilst  their  young  men  arc  at  the  wars ; 
with  France  and  England  to  pour  gold  into  their 
lap  with  which  to  ))urcha8c  all  they  need  in  the 
contest,  they  belLevo  they  can  beat  all  the  ))ow- 
crs  of  tho  Northern  world  in  arms.  Illimitable 
fields,  tilled  by  multitudinous  negroes,  oiwii  on 
their  sight,  and  they  behold  the  empires  of  Eu- 
rope, with  their  manufactures,  their  industry,  and 
tlieir  wealth,  prostrate  at  the  base  of  their  throne, 
crying  out,  "Cotton !  More  cotton !  That  is  all 
we  ask !" 

Mr.  Forstall  maintains  the  South  can  raise  an 
enormous  revenue  by  a  small  direct  taxation ; 
whilst  the  North,  deprived  of  Southern  resources, 
will  refuse  to  pay  taxes  at  all,  and  will  accumu- 
late enormous  debts,  iicvitably  leading  to  its 
financial  ruin.  He,  like  every  Southern  man  I 
have  as  yet  met,  expresses  unbounded  confidence 
in  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis.  I  am  asked  invariably, 
as  the  second  question  from  a  stranger,  "Have 
you  seen  our  President,  sir?  don't  you  think 
him  a  very  able  man?"  This  unanimity  in  the 
estimate  of  his  character,  and  universal  confi- 
dence in  the  head  of  the  State,  will  prove  of  in- 
calculable value  in  a  civil  war. 


•  ■ 


CHAPTER  XXXIII. 

Kide  through  the  maizc-fieldR — Supar  pinntntion ;  negroes 
at  work — Use  of  the  lash — Feeling  towards  J'' ranee — Si- 
lence of  the  country — Negroes  and  doga — Theory  of 
Bluvery — Physical  formation  of  the  negro — Tl»e  defence 
of  slavery — Tho  massefl  for  negro  aoulH — Convent  of  the 
Sacru  CiBur — Ferry  house — A  large  landowner. 

June  3rd. — At  five  o'clock  this  morning,  hav- 
ing been  awakened  an  hour  earlier  by  a  wonder- 
ful chorus  of  riotous  mocking-birds,  my  old  ne- 
gro attendant  brought  in  my  bath  of  Mi.ssissip])i 
water,  which,  Nile  like,  casts  down  a  strong  de- 
posit, and  becomes  as  clear,  if  not  so  sweet,  after 
standing.  "Le  seigneur  vous  attend  ;"  and  al- 
ready I  saw,  outside  my  window,  the  Governor 
mounted  on  a  stout  cob,  and  a  nice  chestnut 
horso  waiting,  led  by  a  slave.     Early  as  it  was. 


the  sun  f«'lf  excessively  hot,  and  I  envied  tho 
(inventor  his  slouched  hat  as  we  rode  through 
the  fields,  crisp  with  <lew.  In  u  few  minutes 
our  horses  were  traver>iiig  narrow  alleys  be- 
tween the  fall  fields  tif  maize,  which  rose  far 
above  our  heads.  This  corn,  as  it  is  called,  is 
the  ]irincipal  fooil  of  the  nej.(N.'s;  and  every 
iilanter  lays  down  a  sulllcieu'  (piantity  to  afford 
iiim,  on  an  average,  a  supply  all  the  year  round. 
Outside  this  spread  vast  fields,  hcdgeless,  wall- 
less,  and  unfenced,  where  the  green  cane  was 
just  learning  to  wave  its  long  shoots  in  the  wind 
— a  lake  of  bright  green  sugar-sprouts,  along 
the  nnirgin  of  which,  in  the  distance,  rose  on  un- 
broken iKiundary  of  ft)rc8t,  two  miles  in  depth, 
u|t  to  the  swampy  morass,  all  to  bo  cleared  in  d 
turned  into  araldc  land  in  ])roccs8  of  time. 
From  the  river  front  to  this  forest,  the  fields  of 
rich  loam,  unfathomable,  and  yielding  from  one 
to  one  and  a  half  hogsheads  of  sugar  |)er  acre 
under  cultivation,  extend  for  a  mile  and  a  half 
in  depth.  In  tho  midst  of  this  exjianse  white 
dots  were  visildc  like  Sowars  seen  on  tho  early 
march,  in  Indian  fields,  many  a  time  and  oft. 
Those  arc  the  gangs  of  hands  at  w  ork — we  will 
see  what  they  are  at  jjrcsently.  This  little  remi- 
niscence of  Indian  life  was  further  heightened 
by  tho  negroes  who  ran  beside  us  to  whisk  llics 
from  the  horses,  and  to  open  tho  gates  in  the 
plantation  boundary.  AVhen  the  Indian  corn  is 
not  good,  i)eas  aro  sowed,  alteriuitely,  between 
tho  stalks,  and  are  considered  to  be  ot  iniuh  ben- 
efit; and  when  the  cane  is  bad,  corn  is  sowed 
with  it,  for  the  same  object.  Before  wo  came 
uj)  to  the  gangs  we  i)asse(l  a  cart  on  the  road 
containing  a  large  cask,  a  bucket  full  of  molas- 
ses, a  pail  of  hominy,  or  boiled  Indian  corn,  and 
a  quantity  of  tin  pannikins.  The  cask  contain- 
ed water  for  tho  negroes,  and  the  other  vessels 
held  the  materiahi  for  their  breakfast ;  in  addi- 
tion to  which,  they  generally  have  eoch  a  dried 
fish.  Tho  food  was  amjile,  and  looked  whole- 
some ;  such  as  any  labouring  man  would  be  well 
content  with.  Passing  along  through  mai/e  on 
one  side,  and  cane  at  another,  we  arrived  at  last 
at  a  patch  of  ground  where  thirty-six  men  and 
women  were  hoeing. 

Three  gangs  of  negroes  wcro  at  work :  one 
gang  of  men,  with  twenty  mules  and  ploughs, 
was  engaged  in  running  through  tlie  furrows 
between  tho  canes,  cutting  up  tho  weeds  ond 
clearing  away  the  grass,  which  is  tho  enemy  of 
the  growing  shoot.  The  mules  are  of  a  fine, 
large,  good-tempered  kind,  and  understand  their 
work  almost  as  well  as  the  drivers,  who  are  usu- 
ally the  more  intelligent  hands  on  the  ])lanta- 
tion.  The  overseer,  a  sharp-looking  creole,  on 
a  lanky  pony,  whip  in  hand,  superintended  tlieir 
labours,  and,  after  a  salutation  to  the  Governor, 
to  whom  he  made  some  remarks  on  the  condi- 
tion of  the  crops,  rode  oft"  to  another  part  of  the 
farm.  With  the  pxception  of  ciying  to  their 
mules,  the  negroes  kept  silence  at  their  work. 

Another  gang  consisted  of  forty  men,  who 
were  hoeing  out  the  grass  in  Indian  com.  The 
third  gang,  of  thirty-six  women,  were  engaged 
in  hoeing  out  cane.  Their  clothing  seemed 
heavy  for  the  climate;  their  shoes,  ponderous 
and  ill-made,  had  worn  away  the  feet  of  their 
thick  stockings,  which  hung  in  fringes  over  the 
ui)per  leathers.  Coarse  straw  hats  and  bright 
cotton  handkerchiefs  protected  their  heads  from 


MY  DIARY  NOHTII  AND  .SOUTH. 


101 


ork  :  one 
ploughs, 
furrows 
ccds  and 
enemy  of 
of  a  fine, 
land  their 


tho  mm.  Tho  nilcnro  which  I  hiVc  nh-ciidy  al- 
luded til  prcvaih'd  iinmnK  thcxe  Kiin;;s  alNo — nut 
n  Hoiind  ciiidd  hit  heard  hut  tlie  Mhwm  of  tlic  lioe 
on  tlifi  heavy  ilods.  In  llic  rear  of  each  nuiiK 
iitiiod  ft  lilack  overseer,  with  a  iieavy  -  tlion^'cd 
whip  over  his  shoidtU'r.  If  "  Ah  ilifaih!"  or 
"  I'oMipe""  were  called  <ait,  he  came  with  oiit- 
Htretelied  liaml  to  a^k  "  Mow  do  yoii  do,"  and 
then  returned  to  his  lahonr ;  hut  tho  ladies  were 
coy,  an<l  scarcely  looked  up  from  under  their 
flappin(<  chapeniix  <lc  /inillc.  at  their  visitors. 

Those  who  are  niotlicrs  lcav«  their  children  in 
the  ciiarnc  of  certain  old  women,  unfit  for  any- 
thing else,  and  "suckers,"  as  they  are  called,  arc 
permitted  to  ^o  home,  at  apjiointed  periods  in 
tlie  <lay,  to  give  tho  infants  th(!  hreast.  The 
ovni-seers  have  power  to  ^ive  ten  lashes ;  hut 
heavier  punishment  oui^lit  to  ho  reported  to  thn 
(lovernor ;  however,  it  is  not  likely  a  f^nnd  over- 
seer would  ho  chi'cked,  in  any  way,  l)y  his  mas- 
ter. Tiio  anxieties  attending  the  cultivation  of 
Hiinar  are  great,  and  so  mucli  depends  upon  the 
judicious  einj)loyment  of  labour,  it  is  scarcely 
possible  to  exaRgerate  the  importance  of  experi- 
ence in  directing  it,  and  of  power  to  insist  on  its 
application.  When  the  frost  comes,  the  cane  is 
rendered  worthless — one  touch  destroys  the  sur- 
ar.  liut  if  frost  is  the  enemy  of  the  white  plant- 
er, the  sun  is  scarcely  tho  friend  of  tho  hlack 
man.  Tho  sun  condemns  him  to  slavery,  he- 
cause  it  is  the  heat  which  is  the  barrier  to  the 
white  man's  labour.  Tho  Governor  told  me 
that,  in  August,  when  the  crops  are  close,  thick 
set,  and  liiKh,  and  tho  vertical  sun  heats  down 
on  the  lalK)urers,  nothinR  hut  a  hlack  skin  and 
head  covered  with  wool  can  enable  a  man  to 
walk  out  in  tho  open  and  live. 

Wc  returned  to  the  house  in  time  for  breakfast, 
for  which  our  early  cup  of  coffee  and  biscuit  and 
the  ride  had  been  good  jireparation.  Here  was 
old  Franco  again.  One  might  imagine  a  lord 
of  the  seventeenth  century  in  his  hall,  but  for 
the  black  faces  of  tho  servitors  and  the  strange 
dishes  of  tropical  origin.  There  was  the  old 
French  abundance,  the  numerous  dishes  and  ef- 
florescence of  napkins,  and  tho  long-necked  bot- 
tles of  Bordeaux,  with  a  steady  current  of  pleas- 
ant small  talk.  I  saw  some  numbers  of  a  paper 
called  La  Misachibt^  which  was  the  primitive 
Indian  name  of  the  grand  river,  not  imjiroved  by 
tho  addition  of  sibilant  Anglo-Saxon  syllables. 

The  Americans,  not  unmindful  of  the  aid  to 
which,  at  the  end  of  the  War  of  Independence, 
their  efforts  were  merely  auxiliary,  delight,  even 
in  the  North,  to  exalt  France  above  her  ancient 
rival ;  but,  as  if  to  show  the  innate  dissimilarity 
of  the  two  races,  the  BVeneh  Creoles  exhibit  to- 
wards the  New  Englanders  and  the  North  an 
animosity,  mingled  with  contempt,  which  argues 
badly  for  a  future  amalgamation  or  reunion.  As 
the  South  Carolinians  declare,  they  would  rather 
return  to  their  allegiance  under  the  English  mon- 
archy, so  the  Louisianians,  although  they  have 
no  sentiment  in  common  with  the  people  of  re- 
publican and  imperial  France,  assert  they  would 
far  sooner  seek  a  connection  with  the  old  coun- 
try than  submit  to  the  yoke  of  the  Yankees. 

After  breakfast,  the  Governor  drove  out  by  tho 
«ver-silent  levee  for  some  miles,  passing  estate 
after  estate,  where  grove  nodded  to  grove,  each 
alley  saw  its  brother.  One  could  form  no  idea, 
from  the  small  limited  frontage  of  these  planta- 


tions, that  tho  proprietors  were  men  of  many 
th(Misan<ls  a  year,  Itvcansu  the  estates  extend  on 
an  average  for  three  or  four  miles  hack  to  the 
forest.  The  absence  of  human  beings  on  tlie 
road  was  a  feature  wiiich  impressed  one  more 
and  more.  Hut  for  the  tall  chimneys  of  tlie  fac- 
tories and  the  sugar-houses,  one  might  believe 
tliatth(>sc  villas  had  bcien  erected  by  some  pleas- 
ure-loving people  who  IukI  all  Hcd  fiom  tho  river 
banks  for  fear  of  pestih-nce.  The  gangs  of  ne- 
groes at  work  wer»!  hidd<!n  in  the  de«'p  corn,  and 
their  (piarters  were  silent  and  desertetl.  We 
mt^t  huf  one  jilanter,  in  his  gig,  until  we  arrived 
at  tho  estate  of  Monsieur  I'oticr,  tho  (Jovornor's 
brother-in-law.  The  proprietor  was  at  home, 
and  received  us  very  kimlly,  though  suffering 
from  the  effects  of  a  recent  domestic  calamity. 
He  is  ft  grave,  earnest  man,  with  a  fftce  like  Je- 
rome llotmparte,  and  a  most  devout  Catholic  ; 
and  any  man  more  unfit  to  live  in  any  sort  of 
community  with  New  Kngland  Puritans' one  can- 
not  well  conccdve ;  for  eipml  intensity  of  pur|)<ise 
and  sincerity  of  conviction  on  their  j)art  could 
oidy  load  them  to  mortal  strife.  His  house  was 
like  a  French  chateau  erected  under  tropical  in- 
fluences, and  ho  led  us  through  a  handsome  gar- 
den laid  out  with  hothouses,  conservatories,  or- 
ange-trees, and  date-palms,  and  ponds  full  of  the 
magnificent  Victoria  Uegia  in  flower.  We  vis- 
itcd  his  refining  factories  and  mills,  but  the  heat 
from  the  boilers,  which  seemed  too  much  even  for 
the  all-but-naked  negroes  who  were  at  work,  did 
not  tempt  us  to  make  a  very  hmg  sojourn  inside. 
The  ebony  faces  and  polished  black  backs  of  the 
slaves  were  streaming  with  perspiration  as  they 
toiled  over  boilers,  vat,  and  centrifugal  driers. 
The  good  refiner  was  not  gaining  much  money 
at  i)resent,  for  sugar  has  been  rajtidly  falling  in 
New  Orleans, .and  the  300,000  barrels  jirodueed 
annually  in  tho  South  will  fall  short  in  tho  yield 
of  profits,  which  on  an  average  may  be  taken  at 
i;iL  a  hogshead,  without  counting  the  molasses 
for  the  planter.  Witii  a  most  perfect  faith  in 
States  Rights,  he  seemed  to  combine  either  in- 
difference  or  ignorance  in  respect  to  the  jjower 
and  determination  of  the  North  to  resist  seces- 
sion to  the  last.  All  the  planters  hereabouts 
have  sown  an  unusual  quantity  of  Indian  corn, 
to  have  food  for  the  negroes  if  the  war  la«ts,  with- 
out any  distress  from  inland  or  sea  blockade. 
The  absurdity  of  supposing  that  a  blockade  can 
injure  them  in  the  way  of  supjily  is  a  favourite 
theme  to  descant  upon.  They  may  find  out, 
however,  that  it  is  no  contemptible  means  of 
warfare. 

At  night,  there  are  regular  patrols  and  watch- 
men, who  look  after  the  love'e  and  the  negroes. 
A  number  of  dogs  are  also  loosed,  but  I  am  as- 
sured that  the  creatures  do  not  tear  the  negroes ; 
they  are  taught  "merely"  to  catch  and  mumble 
them,  to  treat  them  as  a  well-broken  retriever 
uses  a  wounded  wild  duck. 

At  six  A.M.,  Moise  came  to  ask  me  if  I  should 
like  a  glass  of  absinthe,  or  anything  stomachic. 
At  breakfast  was  Doctor  Laporte,  formerly  a 
member  of  the  Legislative  Assembly  of  France, 
who  was  exiled  by  Louis  Napoleon ;  in  other 
words,  he  wa«  ordered  to  give  in  his  adhesion  to 
the  new  nfyime,  or  to  take  a  passport  for  abroad. 
Hfi  preferred  the  latter  course,  and  now,  trne 
Frenchman,  finding  the  Emperor  has  aggran- 
dised France  and  added  to  her  military  rcputa- 


^ 


102 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


.m 


% 


tion,  ho  admires  the  man  on  whom  but  a  few 
years  ago  he  lavished  the  bitterest  hate. 

The  carriage  is  ready,  and  the  word  farewell 
is  spoken  at  last.  M.  Alfred  Roman,  my  com- 
panion, has  travelled  in  Europe,  and  learned 
pliilosophy ;  is  not  so  orthodox  as  many  of  the 
gentlemen  I  have  met  who  indulge  in  ingenious 
hypotheses  to  comfort  the  consciences  of  the  an- 
thropoproprietors.  The  negro  skull  won't  hold  as 
many  ounces  of  shot  as  the  white  man's.  Potent 
proof  that  the  white  man  has  a  right  to  s(i|ll  and 
to  ovn  the  creature  I  He  is  plantigrade,  and 
curved  as  to  the  tibia!  Cogent  demonstration 
that  he  was  made  expressly  to  work  for  the  arch- 
footed,  straight-tibiaed  Caucasian.  He  bas  a 
re.te  mucosum  and  a  coloured  pigment !  Surely 
he  cannot  have  a  soul  of  the  same  colour  as  that 
of  an  Italian  or  a  Spaniard,  far  less  of  a  flaxen- 
hairod  Saxon!  See  these  peculiarities  in  the 
frontal  sinus — in  sinciput  or  occiput!  Can  you 
doubt  that  the  being  with  a  head  of  that  shnpe 
was  made  only  to  till,  hoe,  and  dig  for  another 
race  ?  Besides,  the  Bible  says  that  he  is  a  son 
of  Ilnm,  and  prophecy  must  be  carried  out  in 
the  lice-swamps,  sugar-canes,  and  maize-fields 
of  the  Southern  Confederation.  It  is  flat  blas- 
phemy to  set  yourself  against  it.  Our  Saviour 
sanctions  slavery  because  he  does  not  say  a  word 
against  it,  and  it  is  very  likely  that  St,  Paul  was 
a  slave-owner.  Had  cotton  and  sugar  been 
ImQwn,  the  apostle  might  have  been  a  ])lanter ! 
Inrthermore,  the  negro  is  civilised  by  bciag  car- 
ried away  from  Africa  and  set  to  work,  instead 
of  idling  in  native  inutility.  What  hope  is  there 
of  Christianising  the  African  races,  except  by 
the  agency  of  the  apostles  from  New  Orleans, 
Mobile,  or  Charleston,  who  sing  the  sweet  songs 
of  Zion  with  such  vehemence,  and  clamour  so 
fervently  for  baptism  in  the  waters  of  the  "Jaw- 
dam  ?" 

If  these  high  physical,  metaphysical,  moral 
and  religious  reasonings  do  not  satisfy  you,  and 
you  arc  bold  enough  to  venture  still  to  be  un- 
convinced and  to  say  so,  then  I  advice  you  not 
to  come  within  reach  of  a  mass  meeting  of  our 
citizens,  who  may  be  able  to  find  a  rope  and  a 
tree  in  the  neighbourhood. 

As  we  jog  along  in  an  easy  rolling  carriage 
diawn  by  a  pair  of  stout  horses,  a  number  of 
white  people  meet  us  coming  from  the  Catholic 
chapel  of  the  parish,where  they  had  been  attend- 
ing the  service  for  the  repose  of  the  soul  of  a 
lady  much  beloved  in  the  neighbourhood.  The 
black  people  must  be  6upi)0sed  to  have  very  hap- 
py souls,  or  to  be  as  utterly  lost  as  Mr.  Shandy's 
homunculus  was  under  certain  circumstances, 
for  I  have  failed  to  find  that  any  such  services 
are  ever  considered  necessary  in  their  case,  al- 
though they  may  have  been  very  good  —  or, 
where  the  services  would  be  most  desirable — 
very  bad  CathoMcs.  The  dead,  leaden  uniform- 
ity of  the  scenery  forced  one  to  converse,  in  or- 
der to  escape  profound  melancholy:  the  Icvc'e 
on  the  right  hand,  above  which  nothing  was  vis- 
ible but  the  sky ;  on  the  left,  plantations  with  cy- 
press fences,  whitewashed  and  pointed  wooden 
gates  leading  to  the  planters'  houses,  and  rugged 
gardens  surrounded  with  shrubs,  through  wliich 
could  be  seen  the  slave  quarters.  M  making 
eighty  or  ninety  hogsheads  of  sugar  .1  a  year 
lived  in  most  wretched  tumble -down  wooden 
houses  not-  much  larger  than  ox-sheds. 


As  we  drove  on  the  storm  gathered  overhead, 
and  the  rain  fell  in  torrents  —  the  Mississijipi 
flowed  lifelessly  by — not  a  boat  on  its  broad  sur- 
face. 

At  last  we  reached  Governor  Manning's  place, 
and  went  to  the  house  of  the  overseer,  a  large, 
heavy-eyed  old  man. 

"  This  rain  will  do  good  to  the  corn,"  said  the 
overseer.  "The  niggers  has  had  sceeree  nothin' 
to  do  leetly,  as  they  'eve  clearied  out  the  fields 
pretty  well." 

At  the  ferry  house  I  was  attended  by  one  stout 
young  slave,  who  was  to  row  me  over.  Two  flat- 
bottomed  skifls  lay  on  the  bank.  The  negro 
groped  under  the  shed,  and  pulled  out  a  piece  of 
wood  like  a  large  spatula,  some  four  feet  long, 
and  a  small  round  pole  a  little  longer.  "What 
are  those  ?"  quoth  I.  "  Dem's  oars,  Massa,"  was 
my  sable  ferryman's  brisk  reply.  "  I'm  very  sure 
they  are  not ;  if  they  were  sjdiced  they  might 
make  an  oar  between  them."  "Golly,  and 
dat's  the  trute,  Massa."  "  Then  go  and  get 
oars, will  you?"  While  he  was  hunting  about 
we  entered  the  shed  at  the  ferry  for  shelter  from 
tiie  rain.  Wc  found  "  a  solitary  woman  sitting" 
smoking  a  i)ipe  l)y  the  ashes  on  the  hearth,  blear- 
eyed,  low-browed  and  morose — young  as  she  was. 
She  never  said  a  word  nor  moved  as  we  came  in, 
sat  and  smoked,  and  looked  through  her  gummy 
eyes  at  chickens  about  the  size  of  sparrows,  and 
at  a  cat  not  larger  than  a  rat  which  ran  about 
on  the  dirty  floor.  A  little  girl,  some  four  years 
of  age,  not  overdressed  —  indeed,  half  naked, 
"not  to  put  too  fine  a  point  upon  it" — crawled 
out  from  under  the  bed,  where  she  had  hid  on 
our  approach.  As  she  seemed  incapable  of  ap- 
preciating the  use  of  a  small  piece  of  silver  pre- 
sented to  her  —  having  no  precise  ideas  in  coin- 
age or  tofty — her  parent  took  the  obolus  in 
chai'ge,  with  unmistakeable  decision ;  but  still 
the  lady  would  not  stir  a  step  to  aid  our  guide, 
who  now  insisted  on  the  "key  ov  de  oar-house." 
The  little  thing  sidled  off  and  hunted  it  out  from 
the  top  of  the  bedstead,  and  when  it  was  found, 
and  the  boat  was  ready,  I  was  not  ?^ny  lO  quit 
the  company  of  the  silent  woman  in  L,.ack.  "Tlic 
boatman  pushed  his  skiff",  in  shape  a  snuffer- 
dish,  some  ten  feet  long  and  a  foot  deep,  into  the 
water — there  was  a  good  deal  of  rain  in  it.  I 
got  in  too,  and  the  conscious  waters  immediate- 
ly began  vigorously  spurting  through  the  cotton 
wadding  wherewith  the  craft  was  caulked.  Had 
we  gone  out  into  the  stream  we  shotild  have  had 
a  swim  for  it,  and  they  do  say  that  the  Missis- 
sippi is  the  most  dangerous  river  in  the  known 
world  for  that  healthful  exercisie.  "Why!  deuce 
take  you"  (I  said  at  least  that,  in  my  wi-ath), 
"don't  you  see  the  boat  is  leaky?"  "See  it 
now  for  true,  Massa.  Nobody  able  to  tell  dat 
till  Massa  get  in,  though."  Another  skiffs  proved 
to  be  more  staunch.  I  bade  good-bye  to  my 
friend  Roman,  and  sat  down  in  my  boat,  which 
was  lorced  by  the  negro  against  the  stream  close 
to  the  bank,  in  order  to  get  a  good  start  across 
to  ^he  other  side.  The  view  from  my  lonely  po- 
sit.-.i  was  curious,  but  not  at  all  picturesque. 
The  world  was  bounded  on  both  sides  by  a  high 
bank,  which  constricted  the  broad  river,  just  as 
if  one  were  sailing  down  an  open  sewer  of  enor- 
mous length  and  breadth.  Above  the  bank  rose 
the  tops  of  tall  trees  and  the  chimneys  of  sugar- 
houses,  and  that  was  all  to  be  seen  save  the  sky. 


4 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


103 


art  across 
lonely  po- 
:turc8que. 
by  a  high 
er,  just  as 
r  of  cnor- 
bank  rose 
of  supar- 
e  the  sky. 


A  quarter  of  an  hour>brought  us  to  the  levc'c 
on  the  other  side.  I  asceiuleJ  the  bank,  and 
across  the  road,  directly  in  front,  ajjpeared  a  car- 
riage K'it<5way  and  wickets  of  wood,  painted 
white,  in  a  line  of  park  palings  of  the  same  ma- 
terial, which  extended  up  and  down  the  roud  tar 
as  tlio  eye  could  see,  and  guarded  wide-spread 
fields  of  maize  and  sugar-cane.  An  avenue 
lined  with  trees,  with  branches  close  set,  droop- 
ing and  overarching  a  walk  paved  with  red 
biick,  led  to  the  house,  the  porch  of  which  was 
visible  at  the  extremity  of  tlie  lawn,  with  cluster- 
ing flowers,  rose,  jessamine,  and  creepers  cling- 
ing to  the  pillars  supporting  the  verandah.  The 
view  from  the  belvedere  on  the  roof  was  one  of 
the  most  striking  of  its  kind  in  the  world. 

If  an  English  agriculturist  could  see  six  thou- 
sand  acres  of  the  finest  land  in  one  field,  unbro- 
k'.m  by  hedge  or  boundary,  and  covered  with  the 
most  magnificent  crops  of  tasseling  Indian  corn 
and  sprouting  sugar-cane,  as  level  as  a  billiard- 
i.'ble,  he  would  surely  doubt  his  senses.  But 
herii  is  literally  such  a  sight — six  thousand  acres, 
bettor  tilled  than  the  finest  patch  i.i  all  the  Lo- 
thians,  green  as  Meath  pastures,  which  can  be 
turned  up  for  a  hundred  years  to  come  witliout 
requiring  manure,  of  depth  practically  unlimit- 
ed, and  yielding  an  average  profit  on  what  is 
sold  oil'  it  of  at  least  20/.  an  acre,  at  the  old 
prices  and  usual  yield  of  sugar.  Rising  up  in 
the  midst  of  the  verdure  are  the  white  lines  of 
the  negro  cottages  and  the  plantation  offices  and 
sugar-houses,  wliich  look  like  large  public  edi- 
fices in  the  distance.  My  host  was  not  ostenta- 
tiously proud  in  telling  me  that,  in  the  year 
1857,  he  had  purchased  this  estate  for  300,000/., 
and  an  adjacent  property,  of  8000  acres,  for 
150,000/.,  and  that  he  had  left  Belfast  in  early 
youth,  poor  and  unfriended,  to  seek  his  fortune, 
and  indeed  scarcely  knowing  what  fortune  meant, 
in  tlie  New  World.  In  fact,  ho  had  invested  in 
these  purchases  the  greater  part,  but  not  all,  of 
the  profits  arising  from  the  business  in  New  Or- 
leans, which  he  iuheritcd  from  his  master ;  of 
which  there  still  remained  a  solid  nucleus  in  the 
shape  of  a  great  woollen  magazine  and  country 
house.  He  is  not  yet  fifty  years  of  age,  and  his 
confidence  in  tiie  great  future  of  sugar  induced 
him  to  embark  this  enormous  fortune  in  an  estate 
which  the  blockade  has  stricken  with  paralysis. 
I  cannot  doubt,  however,  that  he  regrets  he 
did  not  invest  his  money  in  a  certain  great  es- 
tate in  the  Nortii  of  Ireland,  which  he  had  near- 
ly decided  on  buying ;  and,  had  he  done  so,  he 
would  now  be  in  tiic  position  to  which  his  unaf- 
fected good  sense,  modesty,  kindliness,  and  be- 
nevolence, always  adding  the  rental,  entitle  him. 
Six  thousand  acres  on  tiiis  one  estate  all  covered 
with  sugar-cane,  and  16,000  acres  more  of  In- 
dian corn,  to  feed  the  slaves  ; — these  were  great 
possessions,  but  not  less  than  18,000  acres  still 
remained,  covered  with  brake  and  forest,  and 
swampy,  to  bo  reclaimed  and  turned  into  gold. 
As  easy  to  persuade  the  owner  of  such  wealth 
that  slavery  is  iadefensible  as  to  have  convinced 
the  Norman  baron  that  the  Saxon  churl  who 
tilled  his  lands  ought  to  he  his  equal. 

I  found  Mr.  Ward  and  a  few  merchants  from 
New  Orleans  in  possession  of  the  bachelor's 
house.  The  service  was  performed  by  slaves, 
and  the  order  and  regularity  of  the  attendants 
were  worthy  of  a  well-regulated  English  man- 


sion.    In  Soutliern  houses  along  the  coast,  as 
the  Mississippi  above  New  Orleans  is  termed, 
beef  and  mutton  arc  rarely  met  with,  and  the 
more  seldom  the  better.     Fish,  also,  is  scarce, 
but  turkeys,  geese,  poultiy,  and  preparations  of 
pig,  excellent  vegetables,  and  wine  of  the  best 
quality,  render  tiio  absence  of  the  accustomed 
dishes  little  to  be  regretted. 
The  silence  which  struck  me  at  Governor  Ro- 
n's is  not  broken  at  Mr.  Burnside's;  and  when 
.10  last  thrill  of  the  mocking-bird's  song  has 
died  out  through  the  grove,  a  stillness  of  Avemi- 
an  profundity  settles  on  hut,  field,  and  river. 


CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Ncprocfl — Sugar-cano  plantations — The  negro  and  cheap 
labour — Mortality  of  blacica  and  whites — Irish  labour  in 
LouiHiana — A  siigar-hoiiso — Negro  cliildren — Want  of 
education — Negro  diet — Negro  hospital — Spirits  in  the 
morning  —Breakfast — More  slavea — Creole  planters. 

June  nth. — The  smart  negro  who  waited  on 
me  this  morning  spoke  English,  I  asked  him 
if  he  knew  how  to  read  and  write. — "We  must 
not  do  that,  sir."  "Where  were  you  born?" — 
''I  were  raised  on  the  plantation,  Massa,  but 
I  have  been  to  New  Orleens ;"  and  then  he  add- 
ed, with  an  air  of  pride,  "I  s'pose,  sir,  Massa 
Burnside  not  take  less  than  1500  dollars  for  me." 
Downstairs  to  breakfast,  the  luxuries  of  which 
are  fish,  prawns,  and  red  meat  which  has  been 
sent  for  to  Donaldsonville  by  boat  rowed  by  an 
old  negro.  Breakfast  over,  I  walked  down  to 
the  yard,  where  the  horses  were  waiting,  and 
proceeded  to  visit  the  saccharine  princijiality. 
Mr.  Seal,  the  overseer  of  tliis  portion  of  tlio  es- 
tate, was  my  guide,  if  not  philosopher  and  friend. 
Our  road  l.iy  through  a  lane  formed  by  a  cart- 
track,  between  fields  of  Indian  corn  just  begin- 
ning to  flower — as  it  is  called  technically,  to 
"tassel" — and  sugar-cane.  There  were  stalks 
of  the  former  twelve  or  fifteen  feet  in  height, 
with  three  or  four  ears  each,  round  whicii  the 
pea  twined  in  leafy  masses.  Tlie  mai/c  aff'ords 
food  to  the  negro,  and  the  husks  are  eaten  by 
the  horses  and  mules,  which  also  fatten  on  the 
peas  in  rolling  time. 

Tlie  wcaltii  of  the  land  is  incxhausti'jlo :  all 
the  soil  rei^uires  is  an  alternation  of  maize  and 
cane ;  and  the  latter,  when  cut  in  the  stalk, 
called  "rattoons,"  at  the  end  of  the  year,  pro- 
duces a  fresh  crop,  yielding  excellent  sugar. 
The  cane  is  grown  from  stalks  which  are  laid 
in  pits  during  the  winter  till  the  ground  has 
been  plouglied,  when  each  piece  of  care  is  laid 
longitudinally  on  the  ridge  'and  covered  with 
earth,  and  from  each  joint  of  the  stalk  sj)rings 
forth  a  separate  sprout  wlien  the  crop  begins  to 
grow.  At  present  the  sugar-cane  is  waiting  for 
its  full  development,  but  the  negro  labour  around 
its  stem  has  ceased.  It  is  jjlanted  in  long  con- 
tinuous furrows;  and  although  the  i)alm-like 
tops  have  not  yet  united  in  a  uniform  arch  over 
the  six  ft'ct  which  separates  row  from  row,  the 
stalks  are  higher  than  a  man.  The  plantation 
is  pierced  with  wagon  roads,  for  the  purpose  of 
conveying  the  cane  to  the  sugar-mills,  and  these 
again  are  intersected  by  and  run  parallel  with 
drains  and  ditches,  portions  of  the  great  system 
of  irrigation  and  drainage,  in  connection  with  a 
canal  to  carry  off  the  surplus  water  to  a  bayou. 
The  extent  of  these  works  may  be  estimated  hf 


104 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


:f 


p  ■ 


the  fact  that  there  are  thirty  miles  of  road  and 
twenty  miles  of  open  deep  drainage  through  tlic 
estate,  and  that  the  main  canal  is  fifteen  feet 
wide,  and  at  present  fou  •  feet  deep;  but  in  the 
midst  of  this  waste  of  plenty  and  wealth,  where 
are  the  human  beings  who  produce  both  ?  One 
must  go  far  to  discover  them ;  they  are  buried 
in  sugar  and  in  maize,  or  hidden  in  negro  quar- 
ters. In  truth,  there  is  no  trace  of  them,  over 
ill!  this  expanse  of  land,  unless  one  knows  where 
to  seek ;  no  "ploughboy  whistles  over  the  lea;" 
no  rustic  stands  to  do  his  own  work,  but  the 
gang  is  moved  off  in  silence  from  point  to  point, 
like  a  corps  d'armee  of  some  despotic  emperor 
manoeuvring  in  the  battle-field. 

Admitting  everything  that  can  be  said,  I  am 
tlie  more  persuaded,  from  what  I  sec,  that  the 
real  foundation  of  slavery  in  the  Southern  States 
Hl's  in  the  power  of  obtaining  labour  at  will  at  a 
rate  which  cannot  be  controlled  by  any  combina- 
tion of  the  labourers.  Granting  the  heat  and  the 
malaria,  it  is  not  for  a  moment  to  be  argued  that 
planters  could  not  find  white  men  to  do  their 
work  if  they  would  pay  them  for  the  risk.  A 
negro,  it  is  true,  bears  heat  well,  and  am  toil 
under  the  blazing  sun  of  Louisiana,  in  the  stifling 
air  between  the  thick-set  sugar-canes,  but  the 
Irishman  who  is  employed  in  the  stoko-liole  of  a 
steamer  is  exposed  to  a  higher  temperature  and 
physical  exertion  even  more  arduous.  Tiie  Irish 
labourer  can,  however,  set  a  value  on  his  work  ; 
the  African  slave  can  only  determine  the  amount 
of  work  to  be  got  from  him  by  the  exhaustion  of 
his  powers.  Again,  the  indigo  planter  in  India, 
out  from  morn  till  night  amidst  his  ryots,  or  the 
sportsman  toiling  under  the  midday  sun  through 
swamp  and  jungle,  proves  that  the  white  man  can 
endure  the  utmost  power  of  the  hottest  sun  in  the 
world  as  well  as  the  native.  More  than  that,  tlie 
white  man  seems  to  be  exempt  from  the  inflam- 
matory disease,  pneumonia,  and  attacks  of  the 
mucous  membrane  and  respiratory  organs  to 
which  the  blacks  are  subject;  and  if  the  statis- 
tics of  negro  mortality  were  rigidly  examinfd,  I 
doubt  that  they  would  exhibit  as  large  a  propor- 
tion of  mortality  and  sickness  as  would  be  found 
amongst  gangs  of  white  men  under  similar  cir- 
cumstances. But  the  slave  is  subjected  to  rigid 
cmtrol;  he  is  deprived  of  stimulating  drinks  in 
wliich  the  free  white  labourer  would  indulge ;  and 
lie  is  obliged  to  support  life  upon  an  antiphlo- 
gistic diet,  which  gives  him,  however,  sufficient 
strength  to  execute  his  daily  task. 

It  is  in  the  supposed  cheapness  of  slave  labour 
and  its  profitable  adaptation  in  the  production 
of  Southern  crops,  that  the  whole  gist  and  essence 
of  the  question  really  lie.  The  planter  can  get 
from  the  labour  of  a  slave  fttr  whom  he  has  ])aid 
200/.,  a  sum  of  money  which  will  enable  him  to 
use  up  that  slave  in  comparatively  a  few  years 
of  his  life,  whilst  he  would  have  to  pay  to  the 
white  labourer  a  sum  that  would  be  a  great  ap- 
parent diminution  of  his  profits,  fo"  the  same 
amount  of  work.  It  is  calculated  that  each  field- 
hand,  as  an  able-bodied  negro  is  called,  yields 
seven  hogsheads  of  sugar  a  year,  which,  at  ''.e 
rate  of  fourpence  a  pound,  at  an  average  of  a 
hogshead  an  acre,  would  produce  to  the  |)lanter 
140/.  for  every  slave.  This  is  wonderful  interest 
on  the  planter's  money ;  but  he  sometimes  gets 
two  hopsheads  an  acre,  and  even  as  many  as 
three  hogsheads  have  been  produced  in  good 


years  on  the  best  lands  *  in  other  words,  two  and 
a  quarter  tons  of  sugar  and  refuse  stuff,  called 
"bagasse," have  been  obtained  from  an  acre  of 
cane.  Not  one  jdanter  of  the  many  I  have  asked 
has  ever  given  an  estimate  of  the  annual  cost  of 
a  slave's  maintenance ;  the  idea  of  calculating  it 
never  comes  into  their  heads. 

Much  dejjcnds  upon  the  period  at  which  frost 
sets  in  ;  and  if  the  planters  can  escape  till  Jan- 
uary without  any  cold  to  nip  the  juices  and  the 
cane,  their  crop  is  increased  in  value  each  day  ; 
but  it  is  not  till  October  they  can  begin  to  send 
cane  to  the  mill,  in  average  seasons  ;  and  if  t!io 
frost  does  not  come  till  December,  they  may  count 
upon  the  fair  average  of  a  hogshead  of  1200 
pounds  of  sugar  to  every  acre. 

The  labour  of  ditching,  trenching,  cleaning  the 
waste  lands,  and  hewing  down  the  forests  is  gen- 
erally done  by  Irish  labourers,  who  travel  about 
the  country  under  contractors,  or  are  engaged  by 
resident  gangsmen  for  the  task.  Mr.  Seal  la- 
mented the  high  ])rices  of  this  woik  ;  but  then, 
as  he  said,  "It  was  much  better  to  have  Irish  to 
do  it,  who  cost  nothing  to  the  planter  if  they 
difd,  than  to  use  up  good  field-hands  in  such 
severe  eniph)yment."  There  is  a  wonderful  mine 
of  truth  in  this  observation.  Heaven  knows  how 
many  ))oor  Hiljcrnians  have  been  consuined  and 
buried  in  these  Louisianian  swamps,  leaving  their 
earnings  to  tlie  dramshop  keeper  and  the  con- 
tractor, and  the  results  of  their  toil  to  the  planter. 
This  estate  derives  its  name  from  an  Indian  tribe 
railed  Houmas ;  and  when  Mr.  Burnside  })ur- 
chased  it  for  300,000/.  he  received  in  the  first 
year  G3,000/.  as  the  clear  value  of  the  crops  on 
his  investment. 

The  first  place  I  visited  with  the  overseer  was 
a  new  sugar-house,  which  negro  carpentere  and 
masons  were  engaged  in  erecting.  It  would  have 
been  amusing  had  not  the  subject  been  so  grave, 
to  hear  the  overseer's  praises  of  the  intelligence 
and  skill  of  these, workmen,  and  his  boast  that 
they  did  all  the  work  of  skilled  labourers  on  the 
estate,  and  then  to  listen  to  him,  in  a  few  min- 
utes, expatiating  on  the  utter  heljilessness  and 
ignorance  of  the  black  race,  their  incapacity  to 
do  any  good,  or  even  to  take  care  of  themselves. 

There  are  four  sugar-houses  on  this  portion  of 
Mr.  Burnside's  estate,  consisting  of  grinding- 
mills,  boiling-houses,  and  crystallising  sheds. 

The  sugar-house  is  the  capital  of  the  negro 
quarters,  and  to  each  of  them  is  attached  an  en- 
closure, in  which  there  is  a  double  row  of  single- 
storied  wooden  cottages,  divided  into  two  or  four 
rooms.  An  avenue  of  trees  runs  dowii  the  centre 
of  tho  negro  str^ot,  and  behind  each  hut  are  rude 
poultry-hutches,  which,  with  geese  and  turkeys 
flnd  a  few  pigs,  form  the  perquisites  of  the  slaves, 
and  the  sole  source  from  which  they  derive  their 
acquaintance  with  currency.  Their  terms  are 
strictly  cash.  An  old  negro  brought  up  some 
ducks  to  Mr.  Burnside  last  night,  and  fifl'ored  the 
lot  of  six  for  three  dollars.  "  Very  well,  Louis ; 
if  you  come  to-morrow,  I'll  pay  you."  "No, 
massa  ;  me  wani  de  money  now."  "But  won't 
you  give  me  credit,  Louis?  Don't  you  think  I'll 
pay  the  three  dollars?"  "Oh,  pay  some  day, 
massa,  sure  enough.  Massa  good  to  pay  de  tree 
dollar ;  but  this  nigger  want  money  now  to  buy 
food  and  things  for  him  loetle  famly.  They  will 
trust  massa  at  Donaldsville,  but  they  won't  trust 
this  nigger."    I  was  told  that  a  thrifty  negro 


i 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


105 


will  sometimes  make  ten  or  twelve  pounds  a  year 
from  his  ((nn  and  ijoultry  ;  but  he  can  have  no 
imlucuineut  to  hoard ;  for  whatever  is  his,  as 
well  as  liiniself,  belongs  to  his  master. 

Mr.  Seal  conducted  me  to  a  kind  of  forcing- 
house,  wlierc  the  young  negroes  are  kept  in 
charge  of  certain  old  crones  too  old  for  work, 
whilst  tlieir  parents  are  away  in  the  cane  and 
Indian  corn.  A  host  of  children  of  both  sexes 
were  seated  in  the  verandah  of  a  large  wooden 
slied,  or  playing  around  it,  very  happily  and  nois- 
ily. I  wiLs  glad  to  see  the  boys  and  girls  of  nine, 
ten,  and  eleven  years  of  ago  were  at  this  season, 
at  all  events,  exempted  from  the  cruel  fate  which 
befalls  jioor  children  of  their  age  in  the  mining 
and  manufacturing  districts  of  England.  At  tlie 
sight  of  tlie  overseer  the  little  ones  ciune  forward 
in  tumultuous  glee,  babbling  out,  "  Massa  Seal," 
and  evidently  pleased  to  see  him. 

As  a  jolly  agriculturist  looks  at  his  yearlings 
or  youn:^  beeves,  the  kindly  overseer,  lolling  in 
his  saddle,  pointed  with  his  whip,  to  the  glisten- 
ing fat  ribs  and  corpulent  paunches  of  his  wool- 
ly-headed flock.  "There's  not  a  i)ltintation  in 
tiie  State,"  ([uoth  he,  "can  show  such  a  lot  of 
young  niggers.  The  way  to  got  them  right  is 
not  to  work  the  mothers  too  hard  when  they  are 
near  their  time ;  to  give  tiiem  jjlonty  to  eat,  and 
not  to  send  them  to  the  fields  too  soon."  He 
told  me  the  iucrease  was  about  five  per  cent,  per 
annum.  The  children  were  quite  sufficiently 
clad,  ran  about  round  us,  patted  the  horses,  felt 
our  legs,  tried  to  climb  up  on  the  stirrup,  and 
twinkled  their  black  and  ochrcy  eyes  at  Massa 
Seal,  Some  were  exceedingly  fair ;  and  Mr. 
Seal,  observing  that  my  eye  followed  these,  mur- 
mured something  about  the  overseers  before  Mr. 
Burnside's  time  being  rather  a  bad  lot.  He 
talked  about  their  colour  and  comjdexion  quite 
openly ;  nor  did  it  seem  to  strike  him  that  there 
was  any  particular  turpitude  in  the  white  man 
who  had  left  his  oflTspring  as  slaves  on  the  plant- 
ation. 

A  tall,  well-built  lad  of  some  nine  or  ten  years 
stood  by  me,  looking  curiously  into  my  face. 
"Wh.at  is  your  name?"  said  I.  "George,"  he 
replied,  "Ho  you  know  how  to  read  or  write?" 
He  evidently  did  not  understand  the  question. 
"Do  you  go  to  church  or  chapel?'"  A  dubious 
shake  of  the  head.  "Did  you  ever  hear  of  our 
Saviour?"  At  this  point  Mr.  Seal  inteqDOsed, 
and  said,  "I  tlvik  we  had  better  go  on,  as  the 
sun  is  getting  hot,"  and  so  we  rode  gently  through 
the  little  ones,  and  when- we  had  got  some  dis- 
tance he  said,  rather  apologetically,  "We  don't 
think  it  right  to  i)ut  these  things  into  their  heads 
so  young ;  it  only  disturbs  their  minds  and  leads 
them  astray. 

Now,  in  this  one  quarter  there  were  no  less 
than  eig'  7  children,  some  twelve  and  some  even 
fourteen  years  of  age.  No  education — no  God 
— their  whole  life — food  and  jjlay,  to  strengthen 
their  muscles  and  fit  them  for  the  work  of  a 
slave.  "And  when  they  die?"  "Well,"  said 
Mr.  Seal,  "  they  are  buried  in  that  field  there  by 
their  own  people,  and  some  of  them  have  a  sort 
of  prayers  over  them,  I  believe."  The  overseer, 
it  is  certain,  had  no  fastidious  notions  about 
slavey  ;  it  was  to  him  the  right  thing  in  the 
right  place,  and  his  snmmum  honuvi  was  a  high 
price  for  sugar,  a  good  crop,  and  a  heathy  plant- 
ation.    Nay,  I  am  sure  I  would  not  wrong  him 


if  I  said  he  could  sec  no  impropriety  in  running 
a  good  cargo  of  regular  black  slaves,  who  might 
clear  the  great  backwood  and  swampy  under- 
growth, which  was  now  exhausting  the  energies 
of  his  field-hands,  in  the  absence  of  Irish  navvies. 

Each  negro  gets  .'>  lbs.  of  jiork  a  week,  and  as 
mijch  Indian  corn  bread  as  he  can  eat,  with  a 
portion  of  molasses,  and  occasionally  they  have 
lish  for  breakfast.  All  the  carpenters  and  smiths' 
work,  the  erection  of  sheds,  repairing  of  carts  and 
l)longhs,  and  the  baking  of  bricks  for  the  farm 
buildings,  are  done  on  the  estate  by  the  slaves. 
The  nuvchinery  comes  from  the  manufacturing 
cities  of  the  North ;  but  great  eHbrts  arc  made 
to  procure  it  from  New  Orleans,  whore  factories 
have  been  already  established.  On  the  borders 
of  the  forest  the  negroes  arc  allowed  to  plant 
corn  for  their  own  use,  and  sometimes  they  have 
an  overplus,  which  they  sell  to  their  masters. 
Excejit  when  there  is  any  harvest  pressure  on 
their  hands,  they  have  from  noon  on  Saturday 
till  dawn  on  Alonday  morning  to  do  as  they 
please,  but  they  must  not  stir  otf  the  plantation 
on  the  road,  unless  with  special  permit,  which  is 
rarely  granted. 

There  is  an  hospital  on  the  estate,  and  even 
shrewd  Mr.  Seal  did  not  perceive  the  conclusion 
that  was  to  be  drawn  from  his  testimony  to  its 
excellent  arrangements.  "Once  a  nigger  gets 
in  there,  he'd  like  to  live  there  for  the  rest  of  his 
life."  But  are  they  not  the  happiest,  most  con- 
tented people  in  the  world — at  any  rate,  when 
they  are  in  hospital?  I  declare  that  to  me  the 
more  orderly,  methodical,  and  perfect  the  ar- 
rangements ibr  economising  slave  labour — regu- 
lating slaves — are,  the  more  hateful  and  odious 
does  slavery  become.  I  would  much  rather  be 
the  animated  human  chattel  of  a  Turk,  Egyp- 
tian, Spaniard,  or  French  crcole,  than  the  labour- 
ing bca  t  of  a  Yankee  or  of  a  New  England  cap- 
italist. 

When  I  returned  back  to  the  house  I  found 
'ny  friei.ds  enjoying  a  quiet  siesta,  and  the  rest 
of  the  afternoon  was  devoted  to  idleness,  not  at 
all  disagreeable  with  a  thermometer  worthy  of 
Agra.  Even  the  mocking-birds  were  roasted 
into  silence,  and  the  bird  which  answers  to  our 
rook  or  crow  sat  on  the  under  branches  of  the 
trees,  gaping  for  air  with  his  bill  wide  oj)en.  It 
must  be  hot  indeed  when  the  mocking-bird  loses 
his  activity.  There  is  one,  with  its  nest  in  a  rose- 
bush trailed  along  the  verandah  under  my  win- 
dow, which  now  sits  over  its  young  ones  with 
outspread  wings,  as  if  to  protect  them  from  be- 
ing baked ;  and  it  is  so  .  urageous  and  affec- 
tionate, that  wlien  I  approach  quite  close,  it  mere- 
ly turns  round  its  head,  dilates  its  beautiful  dark 
eye,  and  opens  its  beak,  within  which  the  tiny 
sharp  tongue  is  saying,  "Don't  for  goodness  sake 
disturb  mo,  for  if  you  force  me  to  leave,  the  chil- 
dren will  bo  launed  to  death." 

June  Gth. — My  chattelJoe,  "adscriptus  mihi 
domino,"  awoke  me  to  a  bath  of  Mississippi  wa- 
ter with  huge  lumps  of  ice  in  it,  to  which  he  rec- 
ommended  a  mint-julei)  as  an  adjunct.  It  was 
not  here  that  I  was  first  exposed  to  an  ordeal  of 
mint-julep,  for  in  the  early  morning  a  stranger 
in  a  Southern  planter's  house  may  tixpect  the  of- 
fer of  a  glassful  of  brandy,  sugar,  and  pepi)ermint 
beneath  an  island  of  ice — an  obligatory  ]ianacca 
for  all  the  evils  of  climate.  After  it  has  been 
disposed  of,  Pompoy  may  come  up  again  with 


106 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


* 


\¥- 


i:V!. 


i: 


plass  number  two:  "Massa  say  fever  very  bad 
this  morning — much  dew."  It  is  possible  that 
tlio  degenerate  Anglo-Saxon  stomach  hiis  not 
the  fine  tone  and  temper  of  that  of  an  Hibernian 
friend  of  mine,  who  considered  the  finest  thing 
to  counteract  the  effects  of  a  little  excess  was  a 
tumbler  of  hot  whisky  and  water  the  moment 
the  sufferer  opened  his  eyes  in  the  morning. 
Therefore,  the  kindly  offering  may  bo  rejected. 
But  on  one  occasion  before  breakfast  the  negro 
brought  up  mint-julep  number  three,  the  accept- 
ance of  which  he  enforced  by  the  emphatic  dec- 
laration, "  Massa  says,  sir,  you  had  better  take 
this,  because  it'll  be  the  last  he  make  before  break- 
fast." 

Breakfast  is  seiTed :  there  is  on  the  table  a 
profusion  of  dishes — grilled  fowl,  prawns,  eggs 
and  ham,  fish  from  New  Orleans,  potted  salmon 
from  England,  preserved  moats  from  France, 
claret,  iced  water,  coffee  and  tea,  varieties  of 
hominy,  mush,  and  African  vegetable  prepara- 
tions. Then  come  the  newspapers,  which  are  pe- 
rused eagerly  with  ejaculations,  "Do  you  hear 
what  they  are  doing  now — infernal  villains  !  that 
Lincoln  must  be  mad!"  and  the  like.  At  one 
o'clock,  in  spite  of  the  sun,  I  rode  out  with  Mr. 
Lee,  along  the  road  by  the  Mississippi,  to  Mr. 
Burnside's  plantation,  called  Orange  Grove,  from 
a  few  trees  which  still  remain  in  front  of  the 
overseer's  house.  We  visited  an  old  negro,  call- 
ed "Boatswain,"  who  lives  with  his  old  wife  in 
n  wooden  hut  close  by  the  margin  of  the  Missis- 
sippi. His  business  is  to  go  to  Donaldsonville  for 
letters,  or  meat,  or  ice  for  the  house — a  tough 
row  for  the  withered  old  man.  He  is  an  Afri- 
can born,  and  he  just  remembers  being  carried 
on  board  ship  and  taken  to  some  big  city  before 
he  came  u[)on  the  plantation. 

"  Do  you  remember  nothing  of  the  country 
you  came  from.  Boatswain  ?"  "Yes,  sir.  Jist 
remember  trees  and  sweet  things  my  mother 
gave  me,  and  much  hot  sand  I  ])ut  my  feet  in, 
and  big  leaves  that  we  play  with — all  us  little 
children — and  plenty  to  eat,  and  big  birds  and 
sliells."  "Would  you  like  to  go  back,  Boat- 
swain?" "What  for,  sir?  no  one  know  old 
Boatswain  there.  My  old  missus  Sally  inside," 
"Are you  quite  happy.  Boatswain?"  "Im  get- 
ting very  old,  massa.  Massa  Burnside  very  good 
to  Boatswain,  but  who  care  for  such  dam  old 
nigger?  Golla  Mighty  gave  me  fourteen  chil- 
dren, but  he  took  them  all  away  again  from  Sal- 
ly and  me.  No  budy  care  much  for  dam  old 
nigger  like  me." 

Further  on  Mr.  Seal  salutes  us  from  the  ve- 
randah of  his  house,  but  we  are  bound  for  over- 
seer Gibbs,  who  meets  us,  mounted,  by  the  road- 
side— a  man  grim  in  beard  and  eye,  and  silent 
withal,  with  a  big  whip  in  his  hand  and  a  large 
k'life  stuck  in  his  belt.  He  Icade  us  through  a 
magnificent  area  of  cane  and  maize,  the  latter 
towering  far  above  our  heads ;  but  I  was  most 
anxious  to  see  the  forest  primajval  which  bordei's 
the  clear  land  at  the  back  of  the  estate,  and 
spreads  away  over  alligator- haunted  swamps 
into  distant  bayous.  It  was  not,  however,  pos- 
sible to  gratify  one's  curiosity  very  extensive- 
ly beyond  the  borders  of  the  cleared  land,  for 
rising  round  the  roots  of  the  cypress,  swamp 
pine,  and  live  oak  there  was  a  barrier  of  ut  der- 
growth  and  bush  twined  round  the  cane  brake 
which  stands  some  sixteen  feet  high,  so  stiff  that 


the  united  force  of  man  and  horse  conid  not 
make  way  against  the  rigid  fibres,  and  indeed, 
as  Mr.  Gibbs  told  us,  "When  the  niggers  take 
to  the  cane  brake  they  can  beat  man  or  dog, 
and  nothing  beats  them  but  snakes  and  starva- 
tion." 

He  pointed  out  some  sheds  around  which  were 
broken  bottles  where  the  last  Irish  gang  had 
been  working,  under  one  "John  Loghlin,"  of 
Donaldsonville,  a  great  contractor,  who,  he  says, 
made  plenty  of  money  out  of  his  countrj-men, 
whose  bones  are  lying  up  and  down  the  Missis- 
6ipi)i.  "They  due  work  like  fire,"  he  said. 
"Loghlin  does  not  give  them  half  the  rations 
we  give  our  negroes,  but  he  can  always  manage 
them  with  whisky,  and  when  he  wants  them  to 
do  a  job  ho  gives  them  ])lenty  of  '  forty  rod,'  and 
they  have  their  fight  out — roglar  free  fight,  I  can 
tell  you,  while  it  lasts.  Next  i.iorning  they  will 
sign  anything  and  go  anywhere  with  him." 

On  the  Orange  Grove  Plantation,  although  the 
crops  were  so .  fine,  the  negroes  unquestionably 
seemed  less  comfortable  than  those  in  the  quar- 
ters of  Houmas,  separated  from  them  by  a  mere 
nominal  division.  Then,  again,  there  were  ijjore 
children  with  fair  complexions  to  be  seen  peep- 
ing out  of  the  huts  ;  some  of  these  were  attrib- 
uted to  the  former  overseer,  one  Johnson  by 
nanii\  but  Mr.  Gibbs,  as  if  to  vindicate  his  mem- 
ory, told  me  confidentially  he  had  paid  a  large 
sum  of  money  to  the  former  proprietor  of  the 
estate  for  one  of  his  children,  and  had  carried  it 
away  with  bim  when  he  left.  "  You  could  not 
expect  him,  you  know,"  said  Gibbs,  "to  buy 
them  all  at  the  prices  that  were  then  going  in 
'.56.  All  the  children  on  the  estate,"  added  he, 
"are  healthy,  and  I  can  show  my  lot  against 
Seal's  over  there,  though  I  hear  tell  he  had  a 
great  show  of  them  out  to  you  yesterday." 

The  bank  of  the  river  below  the  large  planta- 
tion was  occupied  by  a  set  of  small  Creole  plant- 
ers, whose  noor  houses  were  close  together,  indi- 
cating very  limited  farms,  which  had  been  sub- 
divided from  time  to  time,  according  to  the 
French  fashion ;  so  that  the  owners  have  at  last 
approached  pauperism ;  but  they  are  tenacious 
of  their  rights,  and  will  not  yield  to  the  tempt- 
ing price  offered  by  the  large  planters.  They 
cling  to  the  soil  without  enterprise  and  without 
care.  The  Spanish  settlers  along  the  river  are 
open  to  the  same  reproach,  and  prefer  their  own 
ease  to  the  extension  of  their  rate  in  other  lands, 
or  to  the  aggrandisement  of  their  posterity  ;  and 
an  Epicurean  would  aver,  they  v.ere  truer  phi- 
losophers than  the  restless  creatures  who  wear 
out  their  lives  in  toil  and  labour,  to  found  em- 
pires for  the  future. 

It  is  among  these  men  that,  at  times,  slavery 
assumes  its  harshest  aspect,  and  that  the  negroes 
are  exposed  to  the  severest  labour ;  but  it  is  also 
true  that  the  slaves  have  closer  relations  with  the 
families  of  their  owners,  and  live  in  more  inti- 
mate connection  with  them  than  they  do  under 
the  strict  ])olice  of  the  large  plantations.  These 
people  sometimes  get  forty  bushels  of  com  to  the 
acre,  and  a  hogshead  and  a  half  of  sugar.  We 
saw  their  children  going  to  school,' whilst  the 
heads  of  the  houses  sat  in  the  verandah  smoking, 
and  their  mothers  were  busy  with  household 
duties ;  and  the  signs  of  life,  the  voices  of  wom- 
en and  children,  and  the  activity  visible  on  the 
little  farjns,  contrasted  not  unpleasantly  with  the 


J     <  Ui 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


107 


m\d  not 
.  inuccd, 
;cr8  take 
or  dog, 
1  starva- 

licli  were 
;ang  had 
hliii,"  of 
,  lie  says, 
iitr}-men, 
le  Missis- 
he  said, 
le  rations 
8  matingc 
8  tlicm  to 
rod,'  and 
ght,  1  can 
;  tlu'y  will 
lim." 

:hough  the 
icstionably 
the  quar- 
by  a  mere 
were  fljore 
seen  pccp- 
ere  attrib- 
ohnson  by 
e  his  mem- 
lid  a  large 
etor  of  the 
d  carried  it 

I  could  not 
s,  "to  buy 
n  going  in 
"  added  he, 
lot  against 

II  he  had  a 
day." 

rge  plauta- 
reole  plant- 
;ether,  indi- 

been  sub- 
in  g  to  the 
have  at  last 
e  tenacious 

the  tenipt- 
ters.  They 
and  without 
ic  river  are 
jr  their  own 
other  lands, 
sterity ;  and 
J  truer  phi- 
8  who  wear 

found  em- 

mcs,  slavery 
the  negroes 
but  it  is  also 
lons  with  the 
[\  more  inti- 
cy  do  under 
ons.     These 
f  com  to  the 
sugar.     We 
/whilst  the 
ah  smoking, 
household 
ices  of  wom- 
isib'.e  on  the 
Dtlv  with  the 


desert-like  stillness  of  the  larger  settlements. 
Kodc  back  in  a  thunderstorm. 

At  dinner  in  the  evening  Mr.  Burnside  enter- 
tained a  number  of  planters  in  the  neighbourhood 
— M.  Bringier,  M.  Coulon  (French  Creoles),  Mr. 
Duncan  Kenner,  a  medical  gentleman  named 
Cotmann,  and  others — the  last-named  gentle- 
man is  an  Unionist,  and  does  not  hesitate  to  de- 
fend his  opinions ;  but  he  has,  during  a  visit  to 
Russia,  formed  high  ideas  of  the  necessity  and 
virtues  of  an  absolute  and  centralised  govern- 
ment. 


CHAPTER  XXXV. 

War-rumours  and  military  movements— Governor  Man. 
-4  uing's  Hlaye  plantations^ — Fortunes  inado  by  Riave  labour 

'  — Ki-oga  for  the  table— Cotton  and  sugar — A  thundcr- 

I  Btcirm. 

Jitne  1th. — The  Confederate  issue  of  ten  mil- 
lions sterling,  in  bonds  payable  in  twenty  years, 
is  not  sufficient  to  meet  the  demands  of  Govern- 
ment ;  and  the  four  millions  of  small  Treasury 
notes,  without  interest,  issued  by  Congress,  are 
being  rapidly  absorbed.  Whilst  the  Richmond 
papers  demand  an  immediate  movement  on 
Washington,  the  journals  of  New  York  are  clam- 
ouring for  an  advance  upon  Richmond.  The 
planters  are  called  ujjon  to  accept  the  Confed- 
erate bonds  in  payment  of  the  cotton  to  bo  con- 
tributed by  the  States. 

Extraordinary  delusions  prevail  on  both  sides. 
The  North  believe  that  battalions  of  scalping 
Indian  savages  are  actually  stationed  at  Harper's 
Ferry.  One  of  the  most  important  movements 
has  been  made  by  Major-General  M  'Clellan,  who 
has  marched  a  force  into  Western  Virginia  from 
y  Cincinnati,  has  occupied  a  portion  of  the  line 

of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  railway,  which  was 
threatened  with  destruction  by  the  Secessionists; 
and  has  already  advanced  as  far  as  Grafton. 
Gen.  M'Dowcll  has  been  appointed  to  the  com- 
mand of  the  Federal  forces  in  Virginia.  Every 
day  regiments  are  pouring  down  from  the  North 
to  Washington.  General  Butler,  who  is  in  com- 
mand  at  Fortress  Monroe,  has  determined  to  em- 
ploy negro  fugitives,  whom  he  has  called  "  Con- 
trabands," in  the  works  about  the  fort,  feeding 
them,  and  charging  the  cost  of  their  keep  against 
the  worth  of  their  services ;  and  Mr.  Cameron, 
the  Secretary  of  War,  has  ordered  him  to  refrain 
from  surrendering  such  slaves  to  their  masters, 
whilst  he  is  to  permit  no  interference  by  his  sol- 
diers with  the  relations  of  persons  held  to  service 
under  the  laws  of  the  States  in  which  they  are  in. 

Mr.  Jefferson  Davis  has  arrived  at  Richmond. 
At  sea  the  Federal  steamers  have  captured  a 
number  of  Southern  vessels;  and  some  small 
retaliations  have  been  made  by  the  Confederate 
privateers.  The  largest  mass  of  the  Confederate 
troops  have  assembled  at  a  place  called  Manassas 
Junction,  on  the  railway  from  Western  Virginia 
to  Alexandria. 

The  Northern  papers  are  filled  with  an  account 
of  a  battle  at  Philippi,  and  a  great  victory,  in 
wliich  no  less  than  two  of  their  men  were  wound- 
ed and  two  were  reported  mi.jsing  as  the  whole 
casualties ,  but  Napbleon  scarcely  expended  so 
much  ink  over  Austerlitz  as  is  absorbed  on  this 
glory  in  the  sensation  headings  of  the  New  York 
papers. 

After  breakfast  I  accompanied  a  party  of  Mr. 


Burnside's  friends  to  visit  the  plantations  of 
Governor  Manning,  close  at  hand.  One  plan- 
tation is  as  like  another  as  two  peas.  We  had 
the  same  paths  through  tasseling  corn,  high 
above  our  heads,  or  through  wastes  of  rising 
sugar-cane  ;  but  the  slave  quarters  on  Governor 
Manning's  were  larger,  better  built,  and  more 
comfortable-looking  than  any  I  have  seen. 

Mr.  Bateman,  the  overseer,  a  dour  strong  man, 
with  speclacles  on  nose,  and  a  quid  in  his  cheek, 
led  us  over  the  ground.  As  he  saw  my  eye  rest- 
ing on  a  large  knife  in  a  leather  case  stuck  in 
his  belt,  he  thought  it  necessary  to  say,  "  1  keep 
this  to  cut  my  way  through  the  cane  brakes 
about ;  they  are  so  plaguy  thick." 

All  the  surface  water  upon  the  estate  is  car- 
ried into  a  large  open  drain,  with  a  reservoir  in 
which  the  fans  of  a  large  wheel,  driven  by  steam- 
power,  are  worked  so  as  to  throw  the  water  over 
to  a  cut  below  the  level  of  the  plantation,  which 
carries  it  into  a  bayou  connected  with  the  lower 
Mississippi. 

In  this  drain  one  of  my  companions  saw  a 
prodigious  frog,  about  the  size  of  a  tortoise,  on 
which  he  pounced  with  alacrity ;  and  on  carry- 
ing his  prize  to  hind  he  was  much  congratulated 
by  his  friend.  "Wiiat  on  earth  will  you  do 
with  the  horrid  reptile?"  "Do  with  it*!  why, 
eat  it,  to  be  sure."  And  it  is  actually  true,  that 
on  our  return  the  monster  '  crapaud'  was  handed 
over  to  the  old  cook,  and  presently  a])peared  on 
the  break'^ast-table,  looking  very  like  an  uncom- 
monly fine  spatchcock,  and  was  partaken  of  with 
enthusiasm  Lv  all  the  company. 

From  the  d.  aining-wheel  we  proceeded  to  visit 
the  forest,  whc-e  the  negroes  were  engaged  in 
clearing  the  trees,  turning  up  the  soil  between 
the  stumps,  which  marked  where  the  mighty  syc- 
amore, live  oak,  gum-trees,  and  pines  had  late- 
ly shaded  the  rich  earth.  In  some  phices  the 
Indian  corn  was  already  waving  its  head  and 
tassels  above  the  black  gnarled  roots;  in  other 
spots  the  trees,  girdled  by  the  axe,  but  not  yet 
down,  rose  u})  from  thick  crops  of  maize ;  and 
still  deejier  in  the  wood  negroes  were  guiding 
the  ploughs,  dragged  with  pain  and  difficulty  by 
mules,  three  abreast,  through  the  tangled  roots 
and  rigid  earth,  wiiich  will  next  year  be  fit  for 
sowing.  There  were  one  hundred  and  twenty 
negroes  at  work ;  and  these,  with  an  adequate 
number  of  mules,  will  clear  four  hundred  and 
fifty  acres  of  land  this  year.  "  But  it's  death  on 
niggers  and  mules,"  said  Mr.  Bateman.  "We 
generally  do  it  with  Irish,  as  well  as  the  hedging 
and  ditching;  but  we  can't  get  them  now,  as 
thev  are  all  off  to  the  wars." 

Although  the  profits  of  sugar  are  large,  the 
cost  of  erecting  the  machinery,  the  consumption 
of  wood  in  the  boiler,  and  the  scientific  appara- 
tus demand  a  far  larger  capital  than  is  required 
by  the  cotton  planter,  who,  when  he  has  got 
land,  may  jjrocure  negroes  on  credit,  and  only 
requires  food  and  clothing  till  he  can  realise  the 
])roceeds  of  their  labour,  and  make  a  certain  for- 
tune. Cotton  will  keep  where  sugar  spoils. 
The  prices  are  far  more  variable  in  the  latter, 
although  it  has  a  j)rotective  tariffof  20per  cent. 

The  whole  of  the  half  million  of  hogsheads  of 
sugar  grown  in  the  South  is  consumed  in  the 
United  States,  whereas  most  of  the  cotton  is  sent 
abroad ;  but  in  the  event  of  a  blockade  the  South 
can  use  its  sugar  ad  nauseam,  whilst  tljp  cotton  is 


108 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


all  but  useless  in  conaoquctice  of  the  want  of 
maniit'actiirt'r.s  in  the  .South. 

Wlicn  I  got  back,  Mr.  Burnside  was  seated  in 
his  verandali,  gazing  with  anxiety,  but  not  with 
apprehension,  on  tiie  inarching  columns  of  black 
clouds,  which  were  lighted  u})  from  time  to  time 
by  heavy  flashes,  and  shaken  by  rolls  of  thunder. 
])ay  after  day  the  planters  have  been  looking 
for  rain,  tapping  glasses,  scrutinising  aneroids, 
consulting  negro  weather  prophets,  and  now  and 
then  their  expectations  were  excited  by  clouds 
moving  down  the  river,  only  to  be  dinappointed 
by  their  departure  into  space,  or,  worse  than  all, 
their  favouring  more  distant  plantations  with  a 
sliower  that  brought  gold  to  many  a  cotter. 
"  Did  you  ever  see  such  luck  ?  Kenner  has  got 
it  again !  That's  the  third  shower  Bringier  has 
had  in  the  last  two  days." 

But  it  was  now  the  turn  of  all  our  friends  to 
envy  us  a  tremendous  thunder-storm,  with  a 
heavy,  even  downfall  of  rain,  which  was  sucked 
np  by  the  thirsty  earth  almost  as  fast  as  it  fell, 
and  filled  the  lusty  young  corn  with  growing 
jiains,  imi)arting  such  vigour  to  the  cane  that  we 
literally  saw  it  sprouting  up,  and  could  mark 
tlie  inorease  in  height  of  the  stems  from  hour  to 
hour. 

IMy  good  host  is  rather  uneasy  about  his  pros- 
pects tlus  year,  owing  to  the  war;  and  no  won- 
der. He  reckoned  on  an  income  of  £100,000 
for  his  sugar  alone;  but  if  he  cannot  send  it 
North  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  the'  diminution 
of  his  profits.  I  fancy,  indeed,  he  more  and 
more  regrets  that  he  embarked  his  capital  in 
tlicse  great  siigar-swamps,  and  that  he  would 
gladly  now  invest  it  at  a  loss  in  the  old  country, 
of  which  he  is  yet  a  subject ;  for  he  has  never 
been  naturalised  in  the  United  States.  Never- 
theless, he  njoices  in  the  finest  clarets,  and  in 
wines  of  fabulous  price,  which  are  tended  by  an 
old  wliite-headed  negro,  who  takes  as  much  care 
of  the  fluid  as  if  he  was  accustomed  to  drink  it 
every  day. 


CHAPTER  XXXVI. 

Visit  to  Mr.  M'Cnll'a  plantation  —  Irisli  and  Spaniards  — 
Tlio  planter — A  Soutliern  sporting;  niali — Tlie  crcolos — 
l^oiive  lloiimas — Uonnldsonville — Description  of  the  City 
— liaton  Koiige — Steamer  to  Natchez—  Soutliern  feeliner ; 
fnith  in  JeffeiTon  Davis — Rise  and  progress  of  prosperi- 
ty for  the  planters— Ultimate  issue  of  the  war  to  both 
North  and  South. 

June  Stfi. — According  to  promise,  the  inmates 
of  Mr.  Burnside's  house  jn-oceeded  to  pay  a  visit 
to-day  to  the  plantation  of  Mr.  M'Call,  who  lives 
at  the  other  side  of  the  river  some  ten  or  twel .  ^ 
miles  away.  Still  the  same  noiseless  plantations, 
the  same  oppressive  stillness,  broken  only  by  the 
tolling  of  the  bell  which  summons  the  slaves  to 
labour,  or  marks  the  brief  periods  of  its  respite  ! 
Whilst  waiting  for  the  ferry-boat,  we  visited  Dr. 
Cotmann,  who  lives  in  a  snug  house  near  the 
levde,  for,  hurried  as  we  wore,  'twould  neverthe- 
less have  Iwen  a  gross  breach  of  ctique'.tc  to 
have  passed  his  doors ;  and  I  was  not  sorry  for 
the  ojjportunity  of  making  the  acquaintance  of 
a  lady  so  amiable  as  his  wife,  and  of  seeing  a 
face  with  tender,  pensive  eyes,  serene  brow,  and 
lovely  contour,  such  as  Guido  or  Greuse  would 
have  immortalised,  and  wliich  Miss  Cotmann, 
in  the  secj^usion  of  that  little  villa  on  the  banks 


of  the  Mississippi,  scarcely  seemed  to  know, 
would  have  made  her  a  beauty  in  any  capital  in 
Europe. 

The  Doctor  is  allowed  to  rave  on  about  hi^ 
Union  propensities  and  political  power,  as  Mr. 
I'ctigru  is  permitted  to  indulge  in  similar  vaga- 
ries in  Charleston,  simply  because  he  is  i^tip- 
posed  to  bo  helpless.  There  is,  however,  at  the 
bottom  of  the  Doctor's  opposition  to  the  j)revail- 
ing  political  opinion  of  the  neighbourhood,  a 
jealousy  of  acres  and  slaves,  and  a  sentiment 
of  animosity  to  the  great  seigneurs  and  slave- 
owners, which  actuate  him  without  his  being 
aware  of  their  influence.  After  a  halt  of  an 
hour  in  his  hotise,  we  crossed  in  the  ferry  to 
Donaldsonville,  where,  whilst  we  were  waiting 
for  the  carriages,  we  heard  a  dialogue  between 
some  drunken  Irishmen  and  some  still  more  in- 
ebriated S])aniards  in  front  of  the  public  house 
at  hand.  The  Irishmen  were  going  ott'  to  the 
wars,  and  were  endeavouring  in  vain  to  arouse 
the  foreign  geritlemen  to  similar  enthusiasm ; 
but,  as  the  latter  were  resolutely  sitting  in  the 
gutter,  it  became  necessary  to  exert  eloquence 
and  force  to  get  them  on  their  legs  to  march  to 
the  head-quarters  of  the  Donaldsonville  Chas- 
seurs. "For  the  love  of  the  Virgin  and  your 
own  sowl's  sake,  Eernandey,  get  up  and  cum 
along  wid  us  to  fight  the  Yankees."  "  Josey, 
are  you  going  to  let  us  be  murdered  by  a  set  of 
damned  Protestins  and  rascally  niggers?"  "  Go- 
mey,  my  darling,  get  uj);  it's  eleven  dollars  a 
month,  and  food  and  everything  found.  The 
boys  will  mind  the  fishing  for  you,  and  we'll 
come  back  as  rich  as  Jews." 

What  success  attended  their  appeals  I  cannot 
tell,  for  the  carriages  came  round,  and,  having 
crossed  a  great  bayou  which  runs  down  into  an 
arm  of  the  Mississippi  near  the  sea,  we  jnoceed- 
ed  on  our  way  to  Mr.  M  'Call's  plantation,  which 
we  reached  just  as  the  sun  was  sinking  into  the 
clouds  of  another  thunder-storm. 

The  more  one  sees  of  a  planter's  life  the  great- 
er is  the  conviction  that  its  charms  come  from  a 
particular  turn  of  mind,  which  is  separated  by  a 
wide  interval  from  modern  ideas  in  Eurojte. 
The  planter  is  a  denomadised  Arab ;  —  he  has 
fixed  himself  with  horses  and  slaves  in  a  fertile 
spot,  where  he  guards  his  women  with  Oriental 
care,  exercises  patriarchal  sway,  and  is  at  once 
fierce,  tender,  and  hos])itablc.  The  inner  life 
of  his  household  is  exceedingly  charming,  be- 
cause one  is  astonished  to  find  the  graces  and 
accomplishments  of  womanhood  displayed  in  a 
scene  which  has  a  certain  sort  of  savage  rude- 
ness about  it  after  all,  and  wlierc  all  kinds  of  in- 
congruous accidents  are  visible  in  the  service  of 
the  table,  in  the  furniture  of  the  house,  in  its 
decorations,  menials,  and  surrounding  scenery. 

It  was  late  in  the  evening  when  the  party  re- 
turned to  Donaldsonville  ;  and  when  we  arrived 
at  the  other  side  of  the  bayou  there  were  no  rar- 
riages,  so  that  we  had  to  walk  on  foot  to  the 
wharf  where  Mr.  Burnside's  boats  were  supposed 
to  be  waiting — the  negro  ferryman  having  long 
since  retired  to  rest.  Under  any  circumstances, 
a  march  on  foot  through  an  unknown  track  cov- 
ered with  blocks  of  timber  and  other  imjicdi- 
menta  which  represented  the  road  to  the  ferry, 
could  not  be  agreeable ;  but  the  recent  rains  had 
converted  the  grounfl  into  a  sea  of  mud  filled 
with  holes,  with  islands  of  plank  and  beams  of 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


109 


)  know, 
ti{)iial  in 

ibout  lii? 
,  as  Mr. 
ar  vaga- 

is  i<\ip- 
?r,  at  the 
!  y)icvail- 
liiood,  II 
entimcnt 
id  slavo- 
lis  being 
lit  of  an 

fcny  to 
!  waitinp 
!  between 
more  in- 
)lic  bouse 
jflF  to  tbe 
to  arouse 
:busiasm ; 
ng  in  tbe 
eloquence 
mnrcb  to 
lie  Cbas- 
nnd  your 
and  cum 

"  Josey, 
5'  a  set  of 
I?"    "Go- 

dollars  a 
nd.  Tlic 
and  we'll 

s I  cannot 
id,  having 
m  into  an 
c  ])rocecd- 
ion,  wbich 
g  into  tbe 

tbe  great- 

me  from  a 

ated  by  a 

1  Euroi)e. 

■  be  has 
n  a  fertile 

Oriental 
is  at  once 
inner  life 
iming,  be- 
;races  and 
ayed  in  a 
age  rude- 
:inds  of  in- 
service  of 
use,  in  its 
; scenery. 
e  party  rc- 
we  arrived 
ere  no  car- 
'oot  to  the 
e  supposed 
aviug  long 
umstances, 

track  cov- 
2r  Jmjicdi- 
•  tbe  ferry, 
t  rains  bad 
mud  filled 
I  beams  of 


tiinlier,  lighted  only  by  the  stars — and  then  this 
in  dress  trowsers  and  light  boots  ! 

Wo  plunged,  struggled,  and  splasbcd  till  we 
readied  the  love'e,  where  boats  there  were  none  ; 
and  so  Mr.  Burnsidc  shouted  u])  and  down  the 
river,  so  did  Mr.  Lee,  and  so  did  Mv.  Ward  and 
all  the  others,  whilst  I  sat  on  a  log  atVeetiug 
philosophy  and  indift'erence,  in  spite  of  tortures 
from  musquitoes  innumerable,  and  severe  bites 
from  inseeta  unknown. 

The  city  and  river  were  buried  in  darkness ; 
the  rush  of  the  stream,  which  is  sixty  feet  deep 
near  the  banks,  was  all  that  struck  upon  the  ear 
in  the  intervals  of  the  criiis,  "  Boat  ahoy !"  "  Ho 
Batelier !"  and  sundry  ejaculations  of  a  less  reg- 
ular and  decent  form.  At  length  a  boat  did 
glide  out  of  the  darkness,  and  tlie  man  wiio  row- 
ed it  stated  he  bad  been  waiting  all  the  time  up 
the  bayou,  till  by  mere  accident  be  came  down 
to  the  jetty,  having  given  us  up  for  tbe  night. 
In  about  half  an  hour  we  were  across  tbe  river, 
and  had  per  force  anotiier  interview  with  Dr. 
Cotmann,  who  regaled  us  with  his  best  in  story 
and  in  wine  till  the  carriages  were  ready,  and 
we  drove  back  to  Mr.  Burnslde's,  only  meeting 
on  the  way  two  mounted  horsemen  with  jingling 
arms,  who  were,  we  were  told,  the  night  patrol ; 
of  their  duties  I  could,  however,  obtain  no  veiy 
definite  account. 

June  dth. — A  thunder-storm,  which  lasted  all 
the  morning  and  afternoon  till  three  o'clock. 
When  it  cleared,  I  drove,  in  company  with  Mr. 
Burnsidc  and  his  friends,  to  dinner  with  Mr. 
Duncan  Kenrer,  who  lives  some  ten  or  twelve 
miles  above  Houmas.  He  is  one  of  tbe  sporting 
men  of  the  South,  well  known  on  the  Charleston 
race-course,  and  keeps  a  large  stable  of  race- 
horses and  brood  mares,  under  the  management 
of  an  Englishman.  The  jocks  were  negro  lads  ; 
and  when  we  arrived,  about  half  a  dozen  of  them 
were  giving  the  colts  a  run  in  the  jjaddoek.  The 
calveless  legs  and  hollow  thighs  of  the  -negro 
adapts  him  admirably  for  the  pigskin  ;  and  these 
little  fellows  sat  their  horses  so  well,  one  might 
have  thought,  till  the  turn  in  the  course  display- 
ed their  black  faces  and  grinning  mouths,  he 
was  looking  at  a  set  of  John  Scott's  young  gen- 
tlemen out  training. 

The  Carolinians  are  true  sportsmen,  and  in 
the  South  the  Charleston  races  create  almost  as 
much  sensation  as  our  Derby  at  home.  One  of 
the  guests  at  Mr.  Keimer's  knew  all  about  the 
winners  at  Epsom  Oaks  and  Ascot,  and  took  de- 
light in  showing  his  knowledge  of  the  "Racing 
Calendar." 

It  is  observable,  however,  that  the  Creoles  do 
not  exhibit  any  great  enthusiasm  for  horse-rac- 
ing, but  that  they  apply  themselves  rather  to 
cultivate  their  plantations  and  to  domestic  du- 
ties ;  and  it  is  even  remarkable  that  they  do  not 
stand  prominently  forward  in  tbe  State  Legisla- 
ture, cr  aspire  to  high  political  influence  and  po- 
sition, although  their  numbers  and  wealth  would 
fairly  entitle  them  to  both.  The  population  of 
small  settlers,  scarcely  removed  from  pauperism, 
along  the  river  banks,  is  courted  by  men  who 
obtain  larger  political  influence  than  the  great 
landowners,  as  the  latter  consider  it  beneath 
them  to  have  recourse  to  the  arts  of  the  dema- 
gogue. 

,rnnc  ]OfJi. — At  last  venit  suinma  dies  et  inelur- 
iabik  teinpus.     I  had  seen  as  much  as  might  be 


of  the  best  phase  of  the  great  institution — less 
than  I  could  desire  of  a  most  exemplary,  kind- 
hearted,  clear-headed,  iionest  man.  In  tbe  calm 
of  a  glorious  summer  evening  we  crossed  tbe  Ea- 
tiier  of  Waters,  waving  an  adieu  to  the  good 
friend  who  stood  on  the  shore,  and  turning  our 
backs  to  tlie  home  we  had  left  behind  us.  It 
was  dark  when  the  boat  reached  Donaldsonvillu 
on  the  opposite  "coast." 

I  should  not  be  surprised  to  hear  that  the 
founder  of  this  remarkable  city,  whieii  once  con- 
tained the  arciiives  of  the  State,  now  transferred 
to  Baton  Rouge,  was  a  North  Briton.  There  is 
a  simplicity  and  economy  in  the  plan  of  tlie 
j)lace  not  unfavourable  to  that  view,  but  the  mo- 
tive which  induced  Donaldson  to  found  bis  Rome 
on  the  west  of  Bayou  La  Fourche  from  the  Mis- 
sissi])pi  must  be  a  secret  to  all  time.  Much  must 
the  worthy  Scot  have  been  perplexed  by  his  neigh- 
bours, a  long-reaching  colony  of  Spanish  Creoles, 
who  toil  not  and  spin  nothing  but  fishing-nets, 
and  who  live  better  than  Solomon,  and  are  prob- 
ably as  well  dressed,  minus  the  barbaric  pearl 
and  gold  of  the  Hebrew  potentate.  Take  the 
odd,  little,  retiring,  modest  houses  which  grow 
in  tlie  hollows  of  Scarborough,  add  to  them  the 
least  imposing  mansions  in  the  town  of  Folk- 
stone,  cast  these  broadsown  over  the  surface  of 
the  Essex  marshes,  plant  a  few  trees  in  front  of 
them,  then  opeiT  a  few  cafl^s  bilhrd  of  tbe  camp 
sort  along  the  main  street,  and  you  have  done  a 
very  good  Donaldsonvillo. 

A  policeman  welcomes  us  on  the  landing,  and 
doOs  the  honours  of  the  market,  which  has  a 
beggarly  account  of  empty  benches,  a  Texan  bull 
done  into  beef,  and  a  coffee-shop.  The  police- 
man is  a  tall,  lean,  west  countryman ;  his  story 
is  simple,  and  he  has  it  to  tell.  He  was  one  of 
Dan  Rice's  company — a  travelling  Astley.  Ho 
came  to  Donaldsonville,  saw,  and  was  con(}uered 
by  one  of  tbe  Spanish  beauties,  married  her,  1k3- 
came  tavern-keeper,  failed,  learned  French,  and 
is  now  constable  of  the  parish.  There  was,  how- 
ever, a  weight  on  his  mind.  \\i  had  studied 
the  matter  profoundly,  but  he  was  not  near  the 
bottom.  How  did  the  friends,  relatives,  and  tribe 
of  his  wife  live?  No  one  could  say.  They  reared 
chickens,  and  they  caught  fish :  when  there  was 
a  pressure  on  the  planters,  they  turned  out  to 
work  for  Gs.  6c/.  a  day,  but  those  were  rare  occa- 
sions. The  policeman  had  become  quite  grey 
while  excogitating  on  the  matter,  and  he  had 
"nary  notion  how  they  did  it." 

Donaldsonville  has  done  one  fine  thing.  It 
has  furnished  two  companies  of  soldiers  —  all 
Irishmen — to  the  wars,  and  the  third  is  in  tbe 
course  of  formation.  Not  much  hedging,  ditch- 
ing, or  bard  work  these  times  for  Paddy !  The 
blacksmith,  a  huge  tower  of  muscle,  claims  ex- 
emption on  the  ground  that  "  the  divil  a  bit  of 
him  comes  from  Oireland ;  he  nivir  bird  af  if, 
barrni'  from  the  buks  he  rid,"  and  is  doing  his 
best  to  remain  behind,  but  popular  opinion  is 
against  him. 

As  the  steamer  could  not  be  up  from  New- 
Orleans  till  dawn,  it  was  a  relief  to  saunter 
through  Donaldsonville  to  see  society,  which  con- 
sisted of  several  gentlemen  and  various  Jews 
))laying  games  unknown  to  Iloyle,  in  oaken  bar- 
rooms flanked  by  billiard  tables.  Doctor  Cot- 
mann, who  had  crossed  the  river  to  see  ])atients 
suftering  from  an  attack  of  euchre,  took  us  round 


110 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


t1|j 


;  ilBi 


to  a  little  club,  where  I  was  introduced  to  a  num- 
ber of  gentlemen,  who  expressed  great  pleasure 
at  seeing  me,  shook  hands  violently,  and  walked 
away ;  and,  finally,  melted  off  into  a  cloud  of 
musquitocs  by  tiic  river  bank,  into  a  box  pre- 
pared for  them,  which  was  called  a  bedroom. 

These  rooms  were  built  of  timber  on  the  stage 
close  by  the  river.  "Why  can't  I  have  one  of 
those  rooms?"  asked  I,  i)ointing  to  a  larger  mus- 
quito  box.  "It  is  engaged  by  ladies."  "How 
do  you  know  ?"  "  Parceqne  elks  ont  envoys  leur 
hutin."  It  was  delicious  to  meet  the  French 
"plunder"  for  baggage — the  old  ])hrase,  so  nice- 
ly rendered  —  in  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi 
boatman. 

Having  passed  a  night  of  discomfiture  with  the 
winged  demons  of  my  box,  I  was  aroused  by  the 
booming  of  the  steam  drum  of  the  boat,  dijjped 
my  iicad  in  water  among  drowned  musquitocs, 
and  went  forth  upon  the  landing.  The  police- 
man had  just  arrived.  His  eagle  eye  lighted 
upon  a  largo  flat  moored  alongside,  on  the  stern 
of  which  was  inscribed  in  chalk,  "Pork,  corn, 
butter,  beef,"  &c.  Several  "spry" citizens  were 
also  on  the  platform.  After  salutations  and 
compliments,  policeman  speaks — "  When  did  .fZ/e 
come  in?"  (meaning  flat.)  First  citizen — "In 
the  night,  I  guess."  Second  citizen — "There's 
a  lot  of  whisky  aboord,  too."  Policeman  (with 
pleased  surprise) — "  You  never  mean  it  ?"  First 
citizen — "  Yes,  sir ;  one  hundred  and  twenty  gal- 
lons!" Policeman  (inspired  by  patriotism) — 
"It's  a  west-country  boat;  why  don't  the  citi- 
zens seize  it?  And  whisky  rising  from  17c.  to 
35e.  a  gallon !"  Citizens  murmur  approval,  and 
I  feel  the  >  hisky  part  of  the  cargo  is  not  safe. 
"  Yes,  sir,"  says  citizen  three,  "  they  seize  all  our 
property  at  Cairey  (Cairo),  and  I'm  making  an 
example  of  this  cargo." 

Further  reasons  for  the  seizure  were  adduced, 
and  it  is  probable  they  were  as  strong  as  the 
whisky,  which  has,  no  doubt,  been  drunk  long 
ago  on  the  very  purest  principles.  In  course  of 
conversation  with  the  committee  of  taste  which 
had  assembled,  it  was  revealed  to  me  that  there 
»ras  a  strict  watch  kept  over  those  boats  which 
are  freighted  with  whisky  forbidden  to  the  slaves, 
and  with  principles,  when  they  come  from  the 
west-country, equally  objectionable.  "Did  you 
hear,  sir,  of  the  chap  over  at  Duncan  Kenner's, 
as  was  caught  the  other  day  1"  "  No,  sir ;  what 
was  it?"  "Well, sir, he  was  a  man  that  came 
here  and  went  over  among  the  niggers  at  Ken- 
ner's to  buy  their  chickens  from  them.  He  was 
took  up,  and  they  found  he'd  a  lot  of  money 
about  him."  "Well,  of  course,  he  had  money 
to  buy  the  chickens."  "Yes,  sir,  but  it  looked 
suspecc-ious.  He  was  a  west-country  fellow, 
tew,  and  he  might  have  been  tamperin'  with  'em. 
Lucky  for  him  he  was  not  taken  in  the  arter- 
noon."  "Why  so?"  "  Because,  if  the  citizens 
had  been  drunk,  they'd  have  hung  him  on  the 
spot." 

The  Acadia  was  now  alongside,  and  in  the 
early  morning  Donaldsonville  receded  rapidly 
into  trees  and  clouds.  To  bed,  and  make  amends 
for  musquito  visits,  and  after  a  long  sleep  look 
out  again  on  the  scene.  It  is  difficult  to  believe 
that  we  have  been  going  eleven  miles  an  hour 
against  the  turbid  river,  which  is  of  the  same 
appearance  as  it  was  below — the  same  banks, 
bends,  driftwood,  and  trees.    Large  timber  rafts, 


navigated  by  a  couple  of  men,  who  stood  in  the 
shade  of  a  few  upright  boards,  were  encountered 
at  long  intervals.  White  egrets  and  blue  herons 
rose  from  tlie  marshes.  At  every  landing  the 
win; "8  who  came  down  were  in  some  sort  of 
uniform.  There  were  two  blacks  placed  on 
board  at  one  of  the  landings  in  irons — captured 
runaways — and  very  miserable  they  looked  at 
tiio  thought  of  being  restored  to  the  bosom  of 
the  patriarchal  family  from  which  they  hod,  no 
doubt,  so  prodigally  eloped.  I  fear  the  fatted 
calf-skin  would  bo  applied  to  their  backs. 

June  11  th. — Before  noon  the  steamer  hauled 
alongside  a  stationary  hulk  at  Baton  Kougc, 
which  once  "walked  the  waters"  by  the  aid  of 
machinery,  but  which  was  now  used  as  a  float- 
ing hotel,  depot,  and  storehouse — 315  feet  long, 
and  fully  thirty  feet  on  the  upper  deck  above 
the  level  of  the  river.  The  Acadia  stopped,  and 
I  disembarked.  Here  were  my  quarters  till  the 
boat  for  Natchez  should  arrive.  The  proprietor 
of  the  floating  hotel  was  somewhat  excited  be- 
cause one  of  his  ser\'ants  was  away.  The  man 
presently  came  in  sight.      "Where  have  you 

been,  you ?"    "  Away  to  buy  de  newspaper, 

Massa."      "For  who,  you ?"      "Me  buy 

'em  for  no  one,  Massa ;  me  sell  'um  agin,  Mas- 
sa."     "  See,  now,  you  ,  if  ever  you  goes 

aboard  them  steamers  to  meddle  with  newspa- 
pers, I'm but  I'll  kill  you,  mind  that!" 

Baton  Ilouge  is  the  capital  of  the  State  of 
Louisiana,  and  the  State  House  thereof  is  a  very 
quaint  and  very  new  examjJe  of  bod  taste.  The 
Deaf  and  Dumb  Asylum  near  it  is  in  a  much 
better  style.  It  was  my  intention  to  have  visit- 
ed the  State  Prison  and  Penitentiary,  but  the 
day  was  too  hot,  and  the  distance  too  great,  and 
so  I  dined  at  the  oddest  little  crcole  restaurant, 
with  the  funniest  old  hostess,  and  the  strangest 
company  in  the  world. 

On  returning  to  the  boat  hotel,  Mr.  Conrad, 
one  of  the  citizens  of  the  place,  and  Mr.  W. 
Avery,  a  judge  of  the  district  court,  were  good 
enough  to  call  and  to  invite  me  to  remain  some 
time,  but  I  was  obliged  to  decline.  These  gen- 
tlemen were  members  of  the  home  guard,  and 
drilled  assiduously  every  evening.  Of  the  1300 
voters  at  Baton  Kouge,  more  than  750  are  al- 
ready ofl'  to  the  wars,  and  another  company  is 
being  formed  to  follow  them.  Mr.  Conrad  has 
three  sons  in  the  field,  and  another  is  anxious 
to  follow,  and  he  and  his  friend,  Mr.  Avery,  are 
quite  ready  to  die  for  the  disunion.  The  waiter 
who  served  out  drinks  in  the  bar  wore  a  uni- 
form, and  his  musket  lay  in  the  comer  among 
the  brandy  bottles.  At  night  a  patriotic  meet- 
ing of  citizen  soldiery  took  place  in  the  bow, 
with  which  song  and  whisky  had  much  to  do, 
so  that  sleep  was  difficult. 

Precisely  at  seven  o'clock  on  Wednesday 
morning  the  Mary  T.  came  alongside,  and  soon 
afterward  bore  me  on  to  Natchez,  through  scen- 
ery which  became  wilder  and  less  cultivated  as 
she  got  upwards.  Of  the  1600  steamers  on  the 
river,  not  a  tithe  are  now  in  employment,  and 
the  owners  of  these  profitless  flotillas  are  "in  a 
bad  way."  It  was  late  at  night  when  the  steam- 
er arrived  at  Natchez,  and  next  morning  early 
I  took  shelter  in  another  engineless  steamer  be- 
side the  bank  of  the  river  at  Natchez-under-the 
hill,  which  was  thought  to  be  a  hotel  by  its 
owners. 


♦    •/■ 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


Ill 


od  in  the 
countered 
uc  herons 
tiding  the 
c  sort  of 
jlaccd  on 
-captured 
looked  at 
bosom  of 
!y  had,  no 
the  fatted 
ks. 

ler  hauled 
n  Rouge, 
:hc  aid  of 
\a  a  tloat- 

feet  long, 
eck  above 
)ppcd,  and 
crs  till  the 

proprietor 
ixeited  bc- 

The  man 

have  you 
[iewspa})cr, 

"Me  buy 
agin,  Mas- 

you  goes 
h  ncwspa- 
that!" 
i  State  of 
uf  is  a  very 
;a8te.  The 
in  a  much 
have  visit- 
ry,  but  the 

great,  and 
restaurant, 
e  strangest 

T.  Conrad, 
id  Mr.W. 
were  good 
main  some 
These  gen- 
guard,  and 
)f  the  1300 
r50  are  al- 
:ompany  is 
I!onrad  has 
is  anxious 
Avery,  are 
The  waiter 
rore  a  uni- 
ler  among 
iotic  mcet- 
1  the  bow, 
ach  to  do, 

Wednesday 
;,  and  soon 
ough  scen- 
iltivated  as 
ners  on  the 
jrment,  and 
are  "in  a 
the  steam- 
■ning  early 
;teamcr  be- 
s-under-the 
otel  by  itji 


In  the  morning  T  asked  for  breakfast.  "  There 
is  notliing  for  breakfast ;  go  to  Curry's  on  shore." 
Walk  uj)  hill  to  Curry's — a  bar-room  occupied 
by  a  waiter  and  flies.  "  Can  I  have  any  break- 
fast?" "No,  sir-rco;  it's  over  half  an  hour 
ago."  "Nothing  to  eat  at  all?"  "No,  sir." 
"Can  I  get  some  anywhere  else?"  "I  guess 
not."  It  had  been  my  belief  that  a  man  with 
money  in  his  pocket  could  not  starve  in  any 
country  soi-disant  civilized.  I  chewed  the  cud 
of  fancy  /Jmte  de  viienx,  and  became  the  centre 
of  attraction  to  citizens,  from  whose  conversa- 
tion I  learned  that  this  was  "Jeff.  Davis's  fast 
day."  Observed  one,  "It  quite  puts  me  in 
mind  of  Sunday;  all  the  stores  closed."  Said 
another,  "We'll  soon  have  Sunday  every  day, 
then,  for  I  'spect  it  won't  bo  worth  while  for 
most  shops  to  keep  open  any  longer."  Natchez, 
a  place  of  much  trade  and  cotton  export  in  the 
season,  is  now  as  dull — let  us  say,  as  Harwich 
without  a  regatta.  But  it  is  ultra-scces?'  nist, 
nil  ohstante. 

My  hunfcr  was  assuaged  by  Mr.  Marshall, 
who  drove  me  to  his  comfortable  mansion  through 
a  country  like  the  wooded  parts  of  Sussex,  abound- 
ing in  fine  trees,  and  in  the  only  lawns  and  park- 
like fields  I  have  yet  seen  in  America. 

After  dinner,  my  host  took  me  out  to  visit  a 
wealthy  planter,  who  has  raised  and  armed  a 
cavalry  corps  at  his  own  expense.  We  were 
obliged  to  get  out  of  the  carriage  at  a  narrow 
lane  and  walk  toward  the  encampment  on  foot 
in  the  Jark ;  a  sentry  stopped  us,  and  we  ob- 
served that  there  was  a  semblance  of  military 
method  in  the  camp.  The  captain  was  walking 
np  and  down  in  the  verandah  of  the  poor  hut, 
for  which  he  had  abandoned  his  home.  A  book 
of  tactics — Hardee's — lay  on  the  table  of  his  lit- 
tle room.  Our  friend  was  full  of  fight,  and  said 
ho  would  give  all  he  had  in  the  world  to  the 
cause.  But  the  day  before,  and  a  party  of 
horse,  composed  of  sixty  gentlemen  in  the  dis- 
trict, worth  from  £20,000  to  £50,000  each,  had 
started  for  the  war  in  Virginia.  Everything  to 
bo  seen  or  heard  testifies  to  the  great  zeal  and 
resolution  with  which  the  South  have  entered 
upon  the  quarrel.  But  they  hold  the  power  of 
the  United  States  and  the  loyalty  of  the  North 
to  the  Union  at  fur  too  cheap  a  rate. 

Next  day  was  passed  in  a  delightful  drive 
through  cotton-fields,  Indian  corn,  and  undula- 
•  ting  woodlands,  amid  which  were  some  charm- 
ing residences.  I  crossed  the  river  at  Natchez, 
and  saw  one  fine  plantation,  in  which  the  com, 
however,  was  by  no  means  so  good  as  the  crops 
I  have  seen  on  the  coast.  Tiie  cotton  looks  well, 
and  some  had  already  burst  into  flower — bloom, 
as  it  is  called — which  has  turned  to  a  flagrant 
pink,  and  seems  saacily  conscious  that  its  boll 
will  play  an  important  part  in  the  world. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  tracts  on  the  banks  of 
the  Mississippi,  and  on  the  island  regions  here- 
about, ought  to  be,  in  the  natural  order  of  things, 
ft  people  almost  nomadic,  living  by  the  chase, 
and  by  a  sparse  agriculture,  in  the  freedom  which 
tempted  their  ancestors  to  leave  Europe.  But 
the  Old  World  has  been  working  for  them.  All 
its  trials  have  been  theirs ;  the  fruits  of  its  ex- 
perience, its  labours,  its  research,  its  discoveries, 
are  theirs.  Steam  has  enabled  them  to  turn 
their  rivers  into  highways,  to  open  primeval  for- 
ests to  the  light  of  day  and  to  man.     All  these, 


however,  would  have  availed  them  little  Imd  not 
the  demands  of  manufacture  abroad,  ami  the  in- 
creasing  luxury  and  pojiulation  of  the  North  and 
West  at  home,  enabled  them  to  find  in  these 
swamps  and  uplands  sources  of  wealth  riciu'r  and 
more  certain  than  all  the  gold  mines  of  the  world. 

Tliere  must  be  gnomes  to  work  these  mines. 
Slavery  was  an  institution  ready  to  their  hands. 
In  its  development  there  lay  every  material 
means  for  securing  the  prosperity  which  IMan- 
Chester  ojjcncd  to  them,  and  in  supplying  their 
own  cotmtrymen  with  sugar.  The  small,  strug- 
gling, deeply-mortgaged  proprietors  of  swamp 
and  forest  set  their  negroes  to  work  to  raise 
leve'es,  to  cut  down  trees,  to  plant  and  sow.  Cot- 
ton  at  ten  cents  a  pound  gave  a  nugget  in  every 
boll.  Land  could  be  had  for  a  few  dollars  an 
acre.  Negroes  were  cheaj)  in  proportion.  Men 
who  made  a  few  thousand  dollars  invested  them 
in  more  negroes,  and  more  land,  and  borrowed 
as  much  again  for  the  same  purpose.  They 
waxed  fat  and  rich — there  seemed  no  bounds  to 
their  fortune. 

But  threatening  voices  came  from  the  North 
— the  echoes  of  the  sentiments  of  the  civilised 
world  repenting  of  its  evil  jncrced  their  ears,  and 
they  found  their  feet  were  of  clay,  and  that  they 
were  nodding  to  their  fall  in  the  midst  of  their 
power.  Ruin  inevitable  awaited  them  if  they 
did  not  shut  out  these  sounds  and  stop  the  fat  til 
utterances. 

The  issue  is  to  them  one  of  life  and  death. 
Whoever  raises  it  hereafter,  if  it  bo  not  decided 
now,  muat  expect  to  meet  the  deadly  animosity 
which  is  now  displayed  towards  the  North.  The 
success  of  the  South — if  they  can  succeed — must 
lead  to  complications  and  results  in  other  parts 
of  the  world,  for  which  neither  they  nor  Ein'opo 
are  prepared.  Of  one  thing  there  can  be  no 
doubt — a  slave  state  cannot  long  exist  without 
a  slave  trade.  The  poor  whites  who  have  won 
the  fight  will  demand  their  share  of  the  spoils. 
The  land  for  tilth  is  abundant,  and  all  that  is 
wanted  to  give  them  fortunes  is  a  supply  of 
slaves.  They  will  have  that  in  spite  of  their  mas- 
ters, unless  a  stronger  power  than  the  Slave  States 
prevents  the  accomplishment  of  their  wishes. 

The  gentleman  in  whose  house  I  was  stopping 
was  not  insensible  to  the  dangers  of  the  future, 
and  would,  I  think,  like  many  others,  not  at  all 
regret  to  find  himself  and  property  safe  in  En- 
gland. His  father,  the  very  day  oiF  our  arriv  ' 
had  proceeded  to  Canada  with  his  daugV  -^iv, 
but  the  Confederate  authorities  are  now  d.'  r)i<- 
ined  to  confiscate  all  property  belonging  to  -  r 
sons  who  endeavour  to  evade  tie  responsibilitiv  s 
of  patriotism.  In  such  matters  ihe  pressure  of 
the  majority  is  irresistible,  and  a  sort  of  mob  law 
supplants  any  remissness  on  the  part  of  the  au- 
thorities. In  the  South,  where  the  deeds  of  the 
land  of  cypress  and  myrtle  are  exaggerated  by 
passion,  this  power  will  be  exercised  very  rigor- 
ously. The  very  language  of  the  people  is  full 
of  the  excesses  generally  accepted  as  tyjjcs  of 
Americanism.  'Turning  over  a  newspaper  this 
morning,  I  came  upon  a  "card,"  as  it  is  called, 
signed  by  one  "Mr.  Bonner,"  relating  to  a  dis- 
pute between  himself  and  an  Assistant-Quarter- 
Master-General,  abont  the  carriage  of  some  wood 
at  Mobile,  which  concludes  with  the  sentence  that 
I  transcribe,  as  an  evidence  of  the  style  which  is 
tolerated,  if  not  admired,  down  South : — 


.ill 


112 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


.f 


p^jttt 


"  If  Hucli  a  Sliylock-honrttd,  caitilV  Hcouiulrel 
dot's  pxisi,  ^ivu  1110  llio  oviili'iiw,  niid  1  will  drii)^ 
liiiii  hoforo  tlio  Imr  of  public  opinion,  and  consign 
him  to  an  infamy  ho  deep  and  damnahlo  that  tlio 
hund  of  tho  Ucsurructiou  will  uo\  jr  luuch  him." 


CHAPTER  XXXVII. 
Down  tho  MlH(tl»slr)ni— Hotel  at  VlckHburff— Dlnnor- 
I'libllc  uicetlnir— News  of  tlio  proKiviw  of  tho  war — 
Hlnvury  iiiid  KiiKlmul— Jin'kson— <><>voriior  IV'ttus — 
Insccriirlty  of  Mfe— Strong  Soiithi'rnenlhusliKini — Troops 
Iwanil  for  the  North— Approach  to  Memphis — tilavus 
for  siilo— Memphis— Qunoral  I'lllow. 

Friday,  June  lith. — La.Ht  night  with  my  good 
host  from  his  plantation  to  tho  groat  two-storiod 
steamer  General  Quitman,  at  Natchez.  Sho  was 
crowded  with  planters,  soldiers  and  their  families, 
and  as  tho  lights  shono  out  of  her  windows, 
looked  like  a  wallod  (^stlo  blazing  from  double 
lines  of  embrasures. 

The  Mississippi  ia  assuredly  tho  most  uninter- 
esting river  in  tho  world,  and  I  can  only  describe 
it  hereabout  by  referring  to  tho  account  of  its 
appearance  which  I  have  already  given — not  a 
particle  of  romance  in  spite  of  oratorical  patriots 
and  prophets,  cau  ever  shine  from  its  depths, 
sacred  to  cat  and  bufl'alo  lish,  or  vivify  ita  turbid 
waters. 

13elbre  noon  wo  were  in  sight  of  Vicksburg, 
which  is  situated  on  a  high  bank  or  bluQ"  on  tho 
left  bank  of  the  river,  about  400  miles  above  Now 
Orleans  and  some  120  miles  from  Natchez. 

Mr.  MacMeekau,  the  proprietor  of  tho  "  Wasli- 
ington,"  declares  himself  to  have  been  tho 
pioneer  of  hotels  in  the  far  west :  but  he  has  now 
built  himself  this  huge  caravanserai,  and  rests 
fioiii  his  wanderings.  Wo  entered  tho  dining 
saloon,  and  found  tho  tables  closely  packed  with 
a  numerous  company  of  every  condition  in  life, 
from  generals  and  planters  down  to  soldiers  in 
tho  uniform  of  privates.  At  the  end  of  the  room 
there  was  a  long  table  on  which  the  joints  and 
dishes  wei'o  brought  hot  from  tho  kitchen  to  be 
carved  by  the  negro  waiters,  male  and  female, 
and  as  each  was  brought  in  the  proprietor,  stand- 
ing in  tho  centre  of  tho  room,  shouted  out  with  a 
loud  voice,  "  Now,  then,  here  is  a  splendid  goose! 
ladies  and  gentlemen,  don't  neglect  the  goose  and 
apple-sauce  I  Here's  a  piece  of  beef  that  /  can 
recommend  1  upon  my  honour  you  will  never 
regret  taking  a  slice  of  the  beef.  Oyster-pie  I 
oyster-pie  I  never  was  better  oj'ster-pie  seen  in 
Vicksburg.  Run  about,  boys,  and  take  orders. 
Ladies  and  gentlemen,  just  look  at  that  turkey  I 
who's  for  turkey  ?  " — and  so  on,  wiping  the  per- 
spiration from  his  forehead  and  combating  with 
tiie  Hies. 

Altogether  it  was  a  semi-barbarous  scene,  but 
the  host  was  active  and  attentive ;  and  after  all, 
his  recommendations  were  very  much  like  those 
which  it  was  the  habit  of  tho  taverners  in  old 
London  to  call  out  in  tho  streets  to  the  passers- 
by  when  the  joints  were  ready.  The  little  negroes 
who  ran  about  to  take  orders  were  smart,  but 
now  and  then  came  into  violent  collision,  and 
were  cuffed  incontinently.  One  mild-looking  lit- 
,  tie  fellow  stood  by  my  cbair  and  appeared  so  sad 
that  I  asked  him  "Are  you  happy,  my  boy?" 
He  looked  quite  frightened.  "  Why  don't  you 
answer  me?"  "I'so  afeered,  sir;  I  can't  tell 
that  to  Massa."     ■  Is  not  your  master  kind  to 


you?"  "Massa  very  kind  ninu,  sir;  very  good 
man  wlion  ho  is  not  angry  with  mo,'  and  hisoyos 
tilled  with  tears  to  tho  brim. 

Tho  war  fovor  is  rifo  in  Vicksburg,  and  tho 
Irish  and  (lornian  labourers,  to  tho  extent  of 
Boveral  hundreds,  have  all  gone  off  to  tho  war. 

When  '"  "inor  was  over,  the  mayor  and  several 
gontloii,  '■  tho  city  were  good  enough  to  re- 
quest tilt.  ould  attend  a  mooting,  at  a  room 
in  tho  rail  ,  -station,  where  some  of  the  inhabi- 
tants of  th.i  town  had  assembled.  Accordingly  I 
went  to  tho  terminus  and  found  a  room  tilled 
with  gentlemen.  Largo  china  bowls,  Itlocks  of 
ice,  bottles  of  wino  and  spirits,  and  boxes  of 
cigars  wero  on  tho  table,  and  all  tho  materials 
for  a  symposium. 

Tho  company  discussed  recent  events,  some  of 
which  I  learned  for  tho  tirst  time.  Dislike  was 
expressed  to  tho  course  of  the  authorities  in  de- 
manding negro  labour  for  tho  fortltications  along 
tho  river,  and  uneasiness  was  oxpressed  reapoct- 
iug  a  negro  plot  in  Arkansas;  but  tho  most  inter- 
esting matter  was  Judge  Tanoy's  protest  against 
tho  legality  of  the  President's  course  in  suspend- 
ing tho  writ  of  habeas  corpus  in  tho  case  of  Mer- 
riman.  The  lawyers  who  were  present  at  this 
meeting  were  delighted  with  his  argument,  which 
insists  that  Congress  alone  can  suspend  tho  writ, 
and  that  tho  President  cannot  legally  do  so. 

The  news  of  the  defeat  of  an  expedition  from 
Fortress  Monroe  against  a  Confederate  post  at 
Great  Bethel,  has  caused  great  rejoicing.  Tho 
accounts  show  that  there  was  tho  grossest  mis- 
management on  the  part  of  the  Federal  officers. 
The  Northern  papers  particularly  regret  the  loss 
of  Major  Winthrop,  aide-de-camp  to  General  But- 
ler, a  writer  of  promise.  At  four  o'clock  p.  m. 
I  bade  the  company  farewell,  and  tho  train  started 
for  Jackson.  Tho  line  runs  through  a  poor  clay 
country,  cut  up  with  gullies  and  water-courses 
made  by  violent  rain. 

There  wore  a  number  of  volunteer  soldiers  in 
the  train ;  and  their  presence  no  doubt  attracted 
tha  girls  and  women,  who  waved  flags  and  cheered 
for  Jell'.  Davis  and  States  Rights.  Well,  as  I 
travel  on  through  such  scones,  with  a  fine  critical 
nose  in  the  air,  I  ask  myself  "  Is  any  Englishman 
better  than  these  publicans  and  sinners  in  regard 
to  this  question  of  slavery  ? "  It  was  not  on 
moral  or  religious  grounds  that  our  ancestors, 
abolished  serfdom.  And  if  to-morrow  our  good 
farmers,  deprived  of  mowers,  reapers,  ploughmen, 
hedgers  and  ditchers,  were  to  And  substitutes  in 
certain  people  of  a  dark  skin  assigned  to  their 
use  by  Act  of  Parliament,  I  fear  they  would  bo 
almost  as  ingenious  as  the  Rev.  Dr.  Seabury  in  dis- 
covering arguments  physiological,  ethnological, 
and  biblical  for  the  retention  of  their  property. 
And  an  evil  day  would  it  be  for  thom  if  they 
were  so  tempted;  for  assuredly,  without  any 
derogation  to  the  intellect  of  the  Southern  men, 
it  may  be  said  that  a  large  proportion  of  the 
population  is  in  a  state  of  very  great  moral 
degradation  compared  with  civilised  Anglo-Saxon 
communities. 

The  man  is  more  natural,  and  more  reckless ; 
be  has  more  of  the  quahties  of  the  Arab  than  are 
to  be  reconciled  with  civilisation ;  and  it  is  only 
among  tho  upper  classes  that  the  influences  of 
the  aristocratic  condition  which  is  generated  by 
the  subjection  of  masses  of  men  to  their  lellow- 
man  are  to  be  found. 


AtRi 

try  at  n 

nlutlbrrr 

by  a  fo\ 

palings 

of  trees. 

wooden 

wore  ox 

tliese  ag 

of  atrag) 

tentioiKs 

llcatico  l 

Our  li 

and  dro 

of  .some 

Rmall  in( 

den.     i( 

niled  wi 

Young  I 

niitted  it 

when  all 

like  man 

under  th 

tho  Irish 

bent  on  t 

being  mf 

petitivo  ( 

tJio  honoi 

In  the 

adjacent 

except  a: 

room  gro 

merely  as 

lets  in  a  s 

ia  in  such 

lie  that  tl 

is  most  fo 

to  inquire 

in  the  city 

or  ongagei 

manual  h 

proper  sei 

names  ov 

Gorman,  1 

and  accer 

hand,  it  is 

tho   higho 

himself  th 

luments. 

Jackson 
houses,  wi 
too  wide 
religious  a 
cephalic    ( 
cupola  anc 
l>odies  far 
aro  of  cou 
rooms — th 
many  a  sf 
tlie  partici 
consist  of 
Macon,  M( 
we  walkec 
there  were 
drink"  adc 
were  able 
to  the  Stat 
open  coloE 
distance  w 
pidated  coi 
tljo  Govert 
the  Capita 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


113 


py  good 
iiin  oycH 

uul  tho 
lent  of 
(  war. 
Hovornl 
to  rt'- 
,  a  room 
I  inlialii- 

iliiiKb'  I 
)iii  tUlud 
lockH  of 

()XC8   of 

imlcriula 

some  of 
iliko  was 
08  ill  de- 
ns along 
respect- 
QSt  intor- 
t  against 
auapond- 
5  of  Mer- 
it at  this 
nt,  which 
tho  writ, 
>  so. 

tion  from 
B  post  at 
ng.  Tho 
west  mis- 
,1  officers. 
)t  the  loea 
loral  But- 
lock  p.  m. 
in  started 
poor  clay 
Qr-course3 

oldiers  in 

attracted 

id  cheered 

Well,  as  I 

ne  critical 

glishman 

in  regard 

not  on 
ancestors . 
our  good 
oughmon,  , 
ititutes  in 

to  their 
would  bo 
»ury  in  dis- 
inological, 
property. 
3m  if  they 
thout  any 
hem  men, 
on  of  the 
oat  moral 
iglo-Saxon 

reckless ; 
b  than  are 

it  is  only 
luences  of 
lerated  by 
leir  lellow- 


At  six  o'clock  tho  train  stopped  in  tlio  coun- 
try at  a  railway  crosHiiig  by  the  siilo  of  a  largo 
platform.  On  tho  right  was  a  common,  bounded 
i)y  a  low  detached  wooden  housos,  separated  by 
palings  from  each  other,  and  surrounded  by  rows 
of  trees.  In  front  of  tho  station  wore  two  long 
wooden  sheds,  which,  as  liio  signboard  indicates, 
wore  exchanges  or  drinking  saloons;  and  beyond 
these  again  were  visible  some  rudimentary  streets 
of  straggling  houses,  above  which  rose  three  pre- 
tcntioiw  spires  and  domes,  resolved  into  insigni- 
llcnnco  by  nearer  appmnch.    This  was  Jackson. 

Our  host  was  at  tho  station  in  his  carriage, 
and  drove  us  to  his  residence,  which  consisted 
of  some  detached  houses  shaded  by  trees  in  a 
small  inclosuro,  and  bounded  by  a  kitchen  gar- 
don.  He  was  one  of  tho  men  who  had  boon 
tilled  with  tiio  attlatus  of  1848,  and  joined  tho 
Young  Ireland  party  before  it  had  seriously  com- 
fuitted  itself  to  an  unfbrtuimto  outbreak ;  and 
when  all  hopo  of  success  had  vanished,  he  sought, 
like  many  others  of  his  countrj'^men,  a  shelter 
under  tho  stars  and  stripes,  which,  like  most  of 
tho  Irish  settled  in  Southern  States,  he  was  now 
bent  on  tearing  asunder.  He  has  tho  honour  of 
being  mayor  of  Jackson,  and  of  enjoying  a  com- 
petitive examination  with  his  medical  rivals  for 
tiio  honour  of  attending  tho  citizens. 

In  tho  evening  I  walked  out  with  him  to  the 
adjacent  city,  wiiich  has  no  title  to  the  name, 
except  as  being  tho  State  capital.  The  mush- 
room growth  of  tlieso  States,  using  that  phrase 
merely  as  to  their  rapid  development,  raises  ham- 
lots  in  a  small  space  to  the  dignity  of  cities.  It 
is  in  such  outlying  expansion  of  the  great  repub- 
lic that  the  intluenco  of  the  foreign  emigration 
is  most  forcibly  displayed.  It  would  bo  curious 
to  inquire,  for  example,  how  many  men  there  are 
in  the  city  of  Jackson  exercising  mechanical  arts 
or  engaged  in  small  commerce,  in  skilled  or 
manual  labour,  who  are  really  Americans  in  the 
proper  sense  of  the  word.  I  was  struck  by  tho 
names  over  tho  doors  of  the  shops,  which  were 
German,  Italian,  French,  and  by  foreign  tongues 
and  accents  in  tho  streets  ;  but,  on  the  other 
hand,  it  is  tho  native-born  American  who  obtains 
tho  highest  political  stations  and  arrogates  to 
himself  tho  largest  share  of  governmental  emo- 
luments. 

Jackson  proper  consists  of  strings  of  wooden 
housos,  with  white  porticoes  and  pillars  a  world 
too  wide  for  their  shrunk  rooms,  and  various 
religious  and  other  public  edifices,  of  the  hydro- 
cephalic order  of  architecture,  where  vulgar 
cupola  and  exaggerated  steeple  tower  above  little 
l»odies  far  too  feeble  to  support  them.  There 
are  of  course  a  monster  hotel  and  blazing  bar- 
rooms— the  former  celebrated  as  the  scene  of 
many  a  serious  difficulty,  out  of  some  of  which 
the  participators  never  escaped  alive.  The  streets 
consist  of  rows  of  houses  such  as  I  have  seen  at 
Macon,  Montgomery,  and  Bdton  Rouge ;  and  as 
we  walked  towards  the  capital  or  State-house 
there  wore  many  more  invitations  "to  take  a 
drink"  addressed  to  my  friend  and  me  than  we 
were  able  to  comply  with.  Our  steps  were  bent 
to  the  State-house,  which  is  a  pile  of  stono,  with 
open  colonnades,  and  an  air  of  importance  at  a 
distance  which  a  nearer  examination  of  its  dila- 
pidated condition  does  not  confirm.  Mr.  Pettus, 
tl»o  Governor  of  the  State  of  Mistuasippi,  was  in 
the  Capital ;  and  on  sending  in.  our  cards,  we 
H 


were  introduced  to  his  room,  which  oortninly 
was  of  more  than  repuljlican  simplicity.  Tho 
apartment  was  surrounded  with  some  common 
glass  cases,  containing  papers  and  odd  volnmes 
of  books ;  the  furniture,  a  table  or  desk,  and  a 
few  chairs  and  a  ragged  carpet;  tho  glass  in  tin* 
windows  cracked  and  broken;  tho  walls  and  ceil- 
ing discoloured  by  mildew. 

The  Governor  is  a  silent  man,  of  abmpt  spcfcli. 
but  easy  of  access ;  and,  indeed,  whilst  wo  wore 
speaking,  strangers  and  soldiers  walked  in  and 
out  of  his  room,  looked  around  them,  and  acted 
in  all  respects  as  if  they  were  in  a  public-house, 
except  in  ordering  drinks.  This  grim,  tall,  angu- 
lar man  seemed  to  mo  sui.li  a  development  of 
public  institutions  in  the  South  as  Mr.  Soward 
was  in  a  higher  phase  in  tho  North.  For  years 
ho  hunted  doer  and  trapped  in  tho  forest  of  the 
far  west,  and  lived  in  a  Natty  liumpo  or  David 
Crocket  state  of  life;  and  ho  was  not  ashamod 
of  the  fact  when  taunted  with  it  during  his  elec- 
tion contest,  but  very  rightly  made  tho  most  of 
his  independence  and  his  hard  work. 

The  pecuniary  honours  of  his  position  are  not 
very  great  as  Governor  of  the  enormous  State  of 
Mississippi.  Ho  has  simply  an  income  of  £800 
a  year  and  a  house  provided  for  his  use;  he  is 
not  only  quiet  contented  with  what  ho  has,  but 
believes  that  the  society  in  which  lie  lives  is  the 
highest  development  of  civilised  life,  notwith- 
standing the  fact  that  there  are  more  outrages  on 
the  person  in  his  State,  nay,  more  murders  per- 
petrated In  the  very  capital,  than  wore  known 
in  tho  worst  days  of  MediasvarVonico  or  Flo- 
rence;—indeed,  as  a  citizen  said  to  me,  "Well, 
I  think  our  average  in  Jackson  is  a  murder  a 
month ;"  but  he  used  a  milder  name  for  tho  crime. 

Tho  Governor  coaversed  on  tho  aspect  of 
aftairs,  and  evinced  that  wonderful  confidence  in 
his  own  people  which,  whether  it  arises  from 
ignorance  of  the  power  of  tho  North,  or  a  con- 
viction of  greater  resources,  is  to  me  so  remark- 
able. "  Well,  sir,"  said  he,  dropping  a  portentous 
plug  of  tobacco  just  outside  the  spittoon,  with 
the  air  of  a  man  who  wished,  to  show  he  could 
have  hit  the  centre  if  he  liked^  "England  is  no 
doubt  a  great  country,  and  has  got  fleets  and  the 
like  of  that,  and  may  have  a  good  deal  to  do  in 
Eu-rope  /  but  tlie  sovereign  State  of  Mississippi 
can  do  a  great  deal  better  without  England  than 
England  can  do  without  her."  Having  some 
slight  recollection  of  Mississippi  repudiation,  jn 
which  Mr.  Jeflerson  Davis  was  so  actively 
engaged,  I  thought  it  po.ssible  that  tho  Governor 
might  be  right ;  and  after  a  time  his  Excellency 
shook  me  by  the  hand,  and  I  left,  much  wonder- 
ing within  myself  what  manneV  of  men  they 
must  be  in  tho  State  of  Mississippi  when  Mr. 
Pettus  is  their  chosen  Governor ;  and  yet,  after 
all,  he  is  honest  and  fierce ;  and  perhaps  he  is  so 
far  qualified  as  well  as  any  other  man  to  be 
Governor  of  the  State.  There  are  newspapers, 
electric  telegraphs,  and  railways ;  there  are  many 
educated  families,  even  much  good  society,  I  am 
told,  in  the  State ;  but  the  larger  ma.sses  of  the 
people  struck  me  as  being  in  a  condition  not 
much  elevated  from  that  of  the  original  back- 
woodsman. On  my  return  to  the  Doctor's  house 
I  found  some  letters  whioh  had  been  forwarded 
to  me  from  New  Orleans  had  gone  astray,  and  I 
was  obliged,  tlierefore,  to  make  arrangements  lor 
my  departure  on  tlie  following  evening. 


m^ 


\u 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


II 


''1    > 
it.     . 


June  ](\th. — I  won  compollod  to  send  my  ox- 
cuw-'H  to  (iovtriior  PottuH,  and  romainod  quietly 
witliin  tlio  lioimo  of  my  host,  oiitroiitiriK  liim  to 
protect  mo  IVom  visitors  and  oupcciiiUy  from  my 
own  confrhe»,  that  I  miRht  gocuro  a  few  iiours 
even  in  tliat  ardent  heat  to  write  lotterH  to 
homo.  Now,  there  is  some  self  denial  required, 
if  one  bo  nt  all  solicitous  of  tiio  popularu  aura,  to 
olVeiid  tlio  BUflcoptibilitiea  of  the  irritable  genua  in 
America.  It  may  make  all  the  differonce  between 
millions  of  people  hearing  and  believing  you  are  a 
high-toned,  whole-souled  gentleman  or  a  wrelehed 
ignorant  and  prejudiced  John  Bull;  but,  never- 
theless, the  solid  pudding  of  self-content  and  the 
satisfaction  of  doing  one's  work  aro  preferable  to 
the  praise  oven  of  a  Now  York  newspaper  editor. 

When  my  work  was  over  I  walked  out  and  sat 
in  the  shade  with  a  gentleman  whoso  talk  turned 
upon  the  practices  of  the  Missi-ssippi  duollo. 
Without  the  smallest  animus,  and  in  tho  most 
natural  way  m  tho  world,  ho  told  us  talo  after 
tale  of  blood,  and  recounted  terrible  tragedies 
enacted  outside  of  bars  of  hotels  and  in  tho  public 
streets  closo  beside  us.  The  very  air  seemed  to 
become  purjjlo  as  he  spoke,  tho  land  around  a 
veritable  "  Aceldama."  There  may,  indeed,  be 
security  for  property,  but  there  is  none  for  tho 
life  of  ita  owner  in  ditliculties,  who  may  bo  sliot 
by  a  stray  bullet  from  a  pistol  as  ho  walks  up  the 
street 

I  learned  many  valuable  facta.  I  was  warned, 
for  example,  against  the  impolicy  of  trusting  to 
small-bored  pistols  or  to  pocket  six-shooters  in 
case  of  a  closo  flght,  because  suppose  you  hit 
your  man  mortally  he  may  still  'in  in  upon  vou 
and  rip  you  up  with  a  bowie  knifo  before  ho  falls 
dead ;  whereas  if  you  drive  a  good  heavy  bullet 
into  him,  or  make  a  hole  in  him  with  a  "  Derrin- 
ger "  ball,  he  gets  faintish  and  drops  at  once. 

Many  illustrations,  too,  were  given  of  tho  value 
of  practical  lessons  of  this  sort.  One  particularly 
struck  me.  If  a  gentleman  with  whom  you  aro 
engaged  in  altercation  moves  his  hand  towards 
his  breeches  pocket,  or  behind  his  back,  you  must 
smash  him  or  shoot  him  at  once,  for  ho  is  either 
going  to  draw  his  six-shooter,  to  pull  out  a  bowio 
knife,  or  to  shoot  you  through  the  lining  of  his  pock- 
et. The  latter  practice  is  considered  rather  ungen- 
tlemanly,  but  it  has  been  somewhat  more  honoured 
lately  in  the  observance  than  in  the  breach.  In 
fact,  the  savage  practice  of  walking  about  with 
pistols,  knives,  and  poniards,  in  bar-rooms  and 
gambling-saloons,  with  passions  ungoverned,  be- 
cause there  ia  no  law  to  punish  the  doeds  to 
which  they  lead,  affords  facilities  for  crime  which 
an  uncivilised  condition  of  society  leaves  too  often 
without  punishment,  but  which  must  be  put  down 
or  the  country  in  which  it  is  tolerated  will  become 
08  barbarous  as  a  jungle  inhabited  by  wild  beasts. 

Our  host  gave  me  an  early  dinner,  at  which  I 
met  some  of  the  citizens  of  Jackson,  and  at  six 
o'clock  I  proceeded  by  the  train  for  Memphis. 
The  carriages  were,  of  course,  full  of  soldiers  or 
volunteers,  bound  for  a  large  camp  at  a  place 
called  Corinth,  who  made  night  hideous  by  their 
song  and  cries,  stimulated  by  enormous  draughts 
of  whiskey  and  a  proportionate  consumption  of 
tobacco,  by  teeth  and  by  fire.  The  heat  in  the 
carriages  added  to  the  discomforts  arising  from 
these  causes,  and  from  great  quantities  of  biting 
insects  in  the  sleeping  places.  The  people  have 
all  the  air  and  manner  of  settlers.    Altogether 


tho  Impression  i)r(Klueed  on  my  mfnd  was  by  no 
moans  agreeable,  and  I  felt  as  if  I  waa  indeed  in 
tho  land  of  Lyncli  law  atid  bowio  knives,  wliero 
tho  passions  of  men  have  not  yet  been  subordi- 
nated to  tho  influeneo  of  tho  tribunals  of  justice. 
Much  of  this  feeling  lias  no  doubt  been  produced 
by  tho  tides  to  whicli  I  have  been  listening 
around  me — most  of  which  havo  a  smuek  of  man- 
slaughter about  them, 

Jutt€  nth. — If  it  was  any  consolation  to  mo 
that  tho  very- noisy  and  very  turbulent  warriors  of 
last  night  wore  exceedingly  sick,  dejeeted,  and 
crestfallen  this  morning,  I  had  it  to  tho  full.  Their 
cries  for  water  were  incessant  to  allay  tlio  inter- 
nal fires  caused  by  "  40  rod  "  and  "  GO  rod,"  aa 
whiskey  ia  called,  which  is  supposed  to  kill  people 
at  those  distances.  Their  olllcers  had  no  control 
over  them — and  tho  only  authority  they  seemed 
to  respect  was  that  of  the  "  gentlemanly  "  con- 
ductor whom  they  were  accustomed  to  fear  indi- 
vidually, as  he  is  a  great  man  in  America  and  has 
much  authority  and  power  to  make  himself  dis- 
agreeable if  he  likes. 

Tho  victory  at  Big  or  Little  Bethel  has  greatly 
elated  these  men,  and  they  think  they  can  walk 
all  over  the  Northern  States.  It  was  a  relief  to 
got  out  of  the  train  for  a  few  minutes  at  a  station 
called  Holly  Springs,  where  the  passengers  break- 
fasted at  a  dirty  table  on  most  execrable  coflee, 
corn  bread,  rancid  butter,  and  very  dubious  meats, 
and  the  wild  soldiers  outside  made  the  most  of  their 
time,  as  they  had  recovered  from  their  temporary 
depression  by  this  time,  and  got  out  on  the  tops 
of  the  carriages,  over  which  they  performed  tu- 
multuous dances  to  the  music  of  their  band,  and 
the  groat  admiration  of  the  surrounding  ncgro- 
dom.  Their  demeanour  is  very  unlike  that  of  the 
unexcitable  staid  people  of  the  North. 

There  were  in  the  train  some  Texans  who  wore 
going  to  Richmond  to  offer  their  servclcs  to  Mr. 
Davis.  They  denounced  Sara  Houston  as  a 
traitor,  but  admitted  there  were  some  Unionists, 
or  as  they  termed  them  Lincolnite  skunks,  in  tl;e 
State.  The  real  object  of  their  journey  was,  it.', 
my  mind,  to  get  assistance  from  the  Southern 
Confederacy  to  put  down  their  enemies  in  Texas. 

In  order  to  conceal  from  the  minds  of  the  people 
that  the  government  at  Washington  claims  to  be 
that  of  the  United  States,  the  press  politicians 
and  speakers  divert  their  attention  to  the  names 
of  Lincoln,  Seward,  and  other  black  republicans, 
and  class  tho  whole  of  the  North  together  as  the 
Abolitionists.  They  call  the  Federal  levies  "  Lin- 
coln's mercenaries"  and  "abolition  hordes," 
though  their  own  troops  are  paid  afc  Iho  same 
rate  as  those  of  the  United  States.  This  is  a  com- 
mon mode  of  procedure  in  revolutions  and  rebel- 
lions, and  is  not  unfrequent  in  wars. 

The  enthusiasm  for  the  Southern  cause  among 
all  the  people  is  most  remarkable, — the  sight  of 
the  flag  waving  from  Uie  carriage  windows  drew 
all  the  population  of  the  hamlets  and  the  workers 
in  the  field,  black  and  white,  to  tho  side  of  the 
carriages  to  cheer  for  Jeff.  Davis  and  the  Southern 
Confederacy,  and  to  wave  whatever  they  could 
lay  hold  of  in  the  air.  The  country  seems  very 
poorly  cultivated,  the  fields  full  of  stumps  of  trees, 
and  the  plantation  houses  very  indifferent.  At 
every  station  more  "  soldiers,"  as  they  are  called, 
got  in,  till  the  smell  and  heat  were  suffocating. 

These  men  were  as  fanciful  in  their  names  and 
dress  as  could  be.    In  the  train  which  preceded 


us  therr 

rifled  pi 

called   t 

Thoy  cai 

platu  ini 

declared 

back  in 

niuMkotH 

six-shoot 

How  nst( 

sliot  flies 

about  th( 

At  the 

Holly  Spi 

Jackson, 

wore  tun 

westwartl 

pany,  se* 

men  armc 

Fivo-sixtl 

ed  with 

Tho  ;ird  C 

Company 

greon,  olli 

wore  in  1 

When  the 

officer,  a  ! 

astonishini 

"Now 
me  too  7 
officers  yoi 
"  Sullivc 
"  Sarjoiii 
baynit  ?" 

"If  yep 
into  ye." 
The  offic 
No  replj 
Officer  a 
Voice  fn 
Phelan's  g( 
"  No.  40 
Voice  fu 
in  the  cars, 
we  touch  li 
But  the! 
terial  for  f 
drill  and  v 
was  too  lai 
lads  in  th( 
these  recru 
est  classes 
French  cut 
and  in  the 
young  wor 
of  the  Viv 
hair,   dirty 
looked  sad, 
propriety  di 
boots,  and 
ill-made  co.s 
Tile  trair 
soldiers  for 
through    dr 
clearings  of 
vala.     Wo  I 
were  enteri 
cleared,  w^s 
was  told  tl 
bushels  to  tl 
try  than  this 
have  never 


MY  DIAUT  NORTH  AND  SOUTFr. 


115 


m  by  no 
ulued  ill 

I,  wlUTO 

Hubortli- 
'  justice. 
)roduco(l 
li»tonin(,' 
L  of  man- 

n  to  mo 
irriora  of 
•tud,  nnd 

II.  Their 
tlio  iiiter- 
I  rod,"  as 
ill  i>coi)lo 
10  control 
y  Hoemed 
ily  "  con- 

fuar  indl- 
u  and  liaa 
mself  dis- 

as  greatly 

can  walk 
a  roliof  to 
t  a  station 
;pr8  break- 
iblo  coflbe, 
oua  meats, 
lostoftholr 
temporary 
)n  the  tops 
formed  tu- 

band,  and 
ing  negro- 
that  of  the 

i  who  wore 
cics  to  Mr, 
iHton  as  a 
Unionists, 
,nks,  in  tl;e 
ley  was,  m 
3  Southern 
a  in  Texas. 
;  the  people 
jlaims  to  be 
politicians 
the  names 
•epublicans, 
jther  as  the 
evies  "  Lin- 
n    hordes," 
it  the  same 
is  is  a  com- 
1  and  rebel- 

ause  among 
the  sight  of 
idows  drew 
the  workers 
side  of  the 
le  Southern 
they  could 
seems  very 
nps  of  trees, 
ferent.     At 
'  are  called, 
ffocating. 
'  names  and 
ih  preceded 


lis  there  wnA  a  band  of  voliintoers  armed  v  "''• 
riflctl  pi.MtolH  and  otiormous  bowlo  knivcH,  who 
called  tlioniHL'lvi'H  "  T'lo  Toothpick  Company." 
Tlioy  cnrricd  along  with  tlicm  a  conin,  with  a 

pliito  iiiHcribod,   "  Abo  Lincoln,  diod  ,"  and 

declared  they  wore  "  bound  "  to  bring  his  body 
back  in  it,  nnd  that  they  did  not  intend  to  uj^o 
muHkotn  or  rilles,  but  just  go  in  with  knife  and 
Hix-shooter,  and  whip  the  Yankci-H  Htraight  away. 
Ifow  astoniHhed  they  will  bo  when  the  (IrHt  round 
shot  tlicH  into  them,  or  a  cap  fiUl  of  grape  rattles 
about  their  bowio  knives. 

At  the  station  of  (Srand  Junction,  north  of 
Holly  Springs,  wliieh  latter  is  210  miles  north  of 
Jack.son,  several  hundreds  of  our  warrior  friends 
wore  turned  out  in  order  to  take  the  train  north- 
westward for  Richmond,  Viryinia.  The  Ist  Com- 
pany, seventy  rank  and  file,  consisted  of  Irish- 
men armed  with  spor'ing  rifles  without  bayonets. 
Five-sixths  of  the  and  Company,  who  were  arm- 
ed with  muskets,  were  of  the  same  nationality. 
The  ;Jrd  Company  were  all  Americans.  The  4th 
Company  were  almost  all  Irish.  Some  were  in 
green,  others  were  in  grey,  the  Americans  who 
were  in  blue  had  not  yet  received  their  arms. 
When  the  word  fix  bayonets  was  given  by  the 
officer,  a  smart  keen-looking  man,  there  was  an 
astonishing  hurry  and  tumult  in  the  ranks. 

"  Now  then,  Sweeny,  where  arc  yes  dhriven 
me  too  ?  It  is  out  of  the  redjmint  amongst  the 
officers  yer  shovin'  me?" 

"  Sullivan,  don't  ye  hear  we're  to  fix  beenits?" 

"  Sarjout,  jewel,  wud  yes  ayse  the  shtrap  of  me 
baynit  ?" 

"  If  ye  prod  me  wid  that  agin,  I'll  let  dayloile 
into  ye." 

The  officer,  reading,  "  No.  23,  James  Pholan." 

No  reply. 

Officer  again,  "  No  2.1,  James  Phelan." 

Voice  from  the  rank,  "  Shure,  captain,  and  faix 
Phelan's  gone,  ho  wint  at  the  last  dep6t." 

"  No.  40,  Miles  Corrigan." 

Voice  further  on,  "  lie's  the  worse  for  dhrink 
in  the  cars,  yer  honour,  and  saya  he'll  shoot  us  if 
we  touch  him ;"  and  so  on. 

But  these  fellows  were,  nevertheless,  the  ma- 
terial for  fighting  and  for  marching  afler  proper 
drill  and  with  good  officers,  even  though  there 
was  too  large  a  proportion  of  old  men  and  young 
lads  in  the  ranks.  To  judge  {torn  their  dress 
these  recruits  came  fVom  the  labouring  and  poor- 
est classes  of  whites.  The  officers  affected  a 
French  cut  and  bearing  with  indiflferent  success, 
and  in  the  luggage  vans  there  wore  three  foolish 
young  women  with  slop-dress  imitation  clothes 
of  the  Vivaudi^re  type,  who,  with  dishevelled 
hair,  dirty  faces,  and  dusty  hats  and  jackets, 
looked  sad,  sorry,  and  absurd.  Their  notiona  of 
propriety  did  not  justify  them  in  adopting  straps, 
boots,  and  trousers,  and  the  rest  of  the  tawdry 
ill-made  costume  looked  very  bad  indeed. 

The  train  which  still  bore  a  large  number  of 
soldiers  for  the  camp  of  Corinth,  proceeded 
through  dreary  swamps,  stunted  forests,  and 
clearings  of  the  rudest  kind  at  very  long  inter- 
vals. "We  had  got  out  of  the  cotton  district  and 
were  entering  poorer  soil,  or  land  which,  when 
cleared,  Was  devoted  to  wheat  and  corn,  and  I 
was  told  that  the  crops  ran  from  forty  to  sixty 
bushels  to  the  acre.  A  more  uninteresting  coun- 
try than  this  portion  of  the  State  of  Mississippi  I 
have  never  witnessed.    There  was  some  variety 


of  Hcenery  about  Holly  Spring)*,  where  undulating 
ground  covered  with  wood  divorHitlod  tlio  aMpoct 
of  the  flat,  but  since  that  we  have  been  travelling 
through  mile  after  mile  of  inaignitlcantly  grown 
timber  and  swamps. 

On  approaching  Memphis  the  lino  ascondn  to- 
wards the  bluflof  the  MiNsissippi,  and  farms  of  a 
better  appearance  como  in  sight  on  the  side  of 
the  rail ;  but  aller  all  I  do  not  envy  the  fate  of 
the  man  who,  surrounded  by  slaves  and  shut  out 
IVom  the  world,  bus  to  pass  his  life  in  this  dismal 
region,  bo  the  crops  never  so  good. 

At  a  station  whore  a  stone  pillar  marks  the 
limit  between  the  sovereign  State  of  Mi8.si.s«ippi 
and  that  of  Tennessee,  there  was  a  house  two 
stories  high,  from  the  windows  of  which  a  num- 
ber of  negro  girls  and  young  men  wore  staring 
on  the  paH.songers.  Some  of  them  smiled,  laugh- 
ed, and  chatted,  but  the  majority  of  them  looked 
gloomy  and  sod  enough.  They  were  packed  as 
close  as  they  could,  and  I  observed  that  ot  the 
door  a  very  ruffianly  looking  fellow  in  a  straw 
hat,  long  straight  hair,  flannel  shirt,  and  slippers, 
was  standing  witii  his  logs  acro.ss  and  a  heavy 
whip  in  his  hand.  One  of  the  paAsengcrs  walked 
over  and  chatted  to  him.  They  looked  in  and  up 
at  the  negroes  and  laughed,  and  when  the  man 
came  near  the  carriage  in  which  I  sat,  a  friend 
called  out,  "Whoso  are  they,  Sara ?"  "He's  a 
dealer  at  Jackson,  Mr.  Smith.  They're  as  prime 
a  lot  of  fine  Virginny  niggers  as  I've  seen  this 
long  time,  and  he  wants  to  realise,  for  the  news 
looks  so  bad." 

It  was  1.40  p.m.  when  the  train  arrived  at 
Memphis.  I  was  speedily  on  my  way  to  the 
Gayoso  House,  so  called  afler  an  old  Spanish 
ruler  of  the  district,  which  is  situated  in  the 
titreet  on  the  bluff,  which  runs  parallel  with  the 
course  of  the  Mississippi  This  resuscitated 
Egyptian  city  is  a  place  of  iipportance,  and  ex- 
tends for  several  miles  along  the  high  bank  of 
the  river,  though  it  does  not  mn  very  far  back. 
The  streets  are  at  right  angles  to  the  principal 
thoroughfares,  which  are  parallel  to  the  stream ; 
and  I  by  no  means  expected  to  see  the  lofly 
stores,  warehouses,  rows  of  shops,  and  handsome 
buildings  on  tho  broad  esplanade  along  the  river, 
and  the  extent  and  size  of  the  edifices  public  and 
private  in  this  city,  which  is  one  of  the  develop- 
ments of  trade  and  commerce  created  by  the 
Mississippi.  Memphis  contains  nearly  80,000  in- 
habitants, but  many  of  them  are  foreigners,  ond 
there  is  a  nomad  draft  into  and  out  of  the  place, 
which  abounds  in  haunts  for  Bohemians,  drink- 
ing and  dancing-saloons,  and  gaming-rooma 
And  this  strange  kaleidoscope  of  negroes  and 
whites  of  the  extremes  of  civilisation  in  its  Ame- 
rican development,  and  of  the  semi-savage  de- 
graded by  his  contact  with  the  white ;  of  enor- 
mous steamers  on  the  river,  which  bears  equally 
the  dug-out  or  canoe  of  the  black  fisherman ;  the 
rail,  penetrating  the  inmost  recesses  of  swamps, 
which  on  either  side  of  it  remain  no  doubt  in  the 
same  state  as  they  were  centuries  ago ;  the  roll 
of  heavily-laden  waggons  through  the  streets ; 
the  rattle  of  omnibuses  and  all  the  phenomena 
of  active  commercial  life  before  our  eyes,  includ- 
ed in  the  same  scope  of  vision  which  takes  in  at 
the  other  side  of  tho  Mississippi  lands  scarcely 
yet  settled,  though  the  march  of  empire  has  gone 
thousands  of  miles  beyond  them,  amuses  but  per* 
plexea  the  traveller  in  this  new  laud. 


116 


MV  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


Tho  eveninp;  was  ao  excopdincrly  wnrni  tlint  I 
was  gl!id  to  remain  witliin  tlie  'valls  ot  my  dark- 
en«d  bed-room.  All  the  six  hundred  and  odd 
guetts  whom  tho  Gayopo  PIouso  is  said  to  accom- 
modate were  apparently  in  the  passage  at  one 
time.  At  present  it  is  tlie  headquarters  of  Gene- 
ral Gideon  J.  Pillow,  who  is  charged  with  tho 
defences  of  tho  Tennessee  side  of  the  river,  and 
commands  a  considerable  body  of  troops  around 
tlie  city  and  in  the  works  above.  The  house  is 
consequently  filled  with  men  in  uniform,  belong- 
ing to  tho  General's  staff  or  the  various  regiment^ 
of  Tennessee  troops. 

The  Governors  and  tho  Legislatures  of  tho 
States,  view  with  dislike  every  action  on  the  part 
of  Mr.  Davis  which  tends  to  form  the  State  troops 
into  a  national  army.  At  first,  indeed,  thg  doc- 
trine prevailed  that  troops  could  not  be  sent 
beyond  the  limits  of  the  State  in  which  they  were 
raised — then  it  was  argued  that  they  ought  not 
to  be  called  upon  to  move  outside  their  borders ; 
and  I  have  heard  people  in  the  South  inveighing 
agsiin.sl  tho  sloth  and  want  of  spirit  of  the  Virgi- 
nians, who  allowed  their  State  to  bo  invaded 
without  resisting  the  enemy.  Such  complaints 
were  met  by  tho  remark  that  all  tho  Northern 
States  had  combined  to  pour  tiieir  troops  into 
Virginia,  and  that  her  sister  States  ought  in 
honour  to  protect  her.  Finally,  the  martial 
enthusiasm  of  tho  Southern  regiments  impelled 
tiiem  to  press  forward  to  the  frontier,  and  by 
delicate  management,  and  the  perfect  knowledge 
of  liis  countrymen  which  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis 
possesses,  he  is  now  enabled  to  amalgamate  in 
some  sort  the  diverse  individualities  of  his  regi- 
ments into  something  like  a  national  army. 

On  hearing  of  my  arrival,  General  Pillow  sent 
his  aide-de-camp  to  inform  me  that  he  was  about 
starting  in  a  steamer  up  the  river,  to  make  an 
inspection  of  tho  works  and  garrison  at  Fort  Ran- 
dolph, and  at  other  points  where  batteries  had 
been  erected  to  command  the  stream,  8u\)ported 
by  large  levies  of  Tennesseans.  The  aide-de- 
camp conducted  me  to  the  General,  whom  I  found 
in  his  bedroom,  fitted  up  as  an  office,  littered 
with  plans  and  papers.  Before  the  Mexican  war 
General  Pillow  was  a  flourishing  solicitor,  con- 
nected in  business  with  President  Polk,  and  com- 
mandnig  so  much  influent •  that  when  the  expe- 
dition was  formed  he  received  tho  nomination  of 
brigadier-general  of  volunteers.  He  served  with 
distinction,  and  was  severely  wounded  at  the 
battle  of  Chapultepee,  and  at  the  conclusion  of 
the  campaign  he  retired  into  civil  life,  and  was 
engaged  directing  the  work  of  his  plantation  till 
this  great  rebellion  summoned  him  once  more  to 
the  field. 

Of  course  there  is,  and  must  be,  always  an  in- 
clination to  deride  the.se  volunteer  officers  on  the 
part  of  regular  soldiers ;  and  I  was  informed  by 
one  of  the  officers  in  attendance  on  the  General, 
that  he  had  made  himself  ludicrously  celebrated 
in  Mexico  for  having  undertaken  to  throw  up  a 
battery  which,  when  completed,  was  found  to 
face  tho  wror  g  way,  so  that  the  guns  were  ex- 
posed to  the  enemy.  General  Pillow  is  a  small, 
compact,  clear-complexioned  man,  with  short 
grey  whiskers,  cut  in  the  English  fashion,  a  quick 
eye,  and  a  pompous  manner  of  speech ;  and  I 
had  not  been  long  in  his  company  before  I  heard 
of  Chapultepee  and  his  wound,  which  cau.ses  him 
to  limp  a  little  in  his  walk,  and  gives  him  incon- 


venience in  the  saddle.  Ho  wore  a  round  black 
hat,  plain  blue  frock  coat,  dark  trousers,  and 
brass  spurs  on  his  boots ;  but  no  signs  of  mili- 
tary rank.  Tho  General  ordered  carriages  to  the 
door,  and  wo  went  to  see  the  batteries  on  tho 
bluff  or  front  of  the  esplanade,  which  aro  intended 
to  check  any  ship  attempting  to  pass  down  the 
river  from  Cairo,  where  tho  Federals  under  Gene- 
ral Prenti.ss  have  entrenched  themselves,  and  are 
understood  to  meditate  an  expedition  against  tho 
city.  A  parapet  of  '>otton  bales,  covered  with 
tarpaulin,  has  been  erected  close  to  tho  edge  of 
the  bank  of  earth,  which  rises  to  heights  varying 
from  GO  to  100  feet  almost  perpendicularly  from 
the  waters  of  tho  Mississippi,  with  zigzag  roads 
running  dowa  through  it  to  the  landing-places. 
This  parapet  could  offer  no  cover  against  vertical 
fire,  and  is  so  placed  that  well-directed  shell  into 
the  bank  below  it  would  tumble  it  all  into  the 
water.  Tlie  zigzag  roads  are  barricaded  with 
weak  planks,  which  would  be  shivered  to  pieces 
oy  boat-guns;  and  tho  assaulting  parties  could 
.  isily  mount  through  tliese  covered  ways  to  the 
rear  of  the  parapet,  and  up  to  the  very  centre  of 
the  esplanade. 

The  blockade  of  the  river  at  this  point  is  com- 
plete ;  not  a  boat  is  permitted  to  pass  either  up 
or  down.  At  the  extremity  of  the  esplanade,  on 
an  angle  of  the  bank,  an  earthen  battery,  moimt- 
ed  with  six  heavy  guns,  has  been  thrown  up, 
which  has  a  fine  command  of  the  river ;  and  the 
General  informed  mo  he  intends  to  mount  six- 
teen guns  in  addition,  on  a  prolongation  of  the 
face  of  the  same  work. 

The  inspection  over,  we  drove  down  a  steep 
road  to  the  water  beneath,  where  the  Ingomar,  a 
large  river  steamer,  now  chartered  for  the  ser- 
vice of  the  State  of  Tennessee,  was  lying  to  re- 
ceive us.  The  vessel  was  crowded  with  troops 
— all  volunteers,  of  course — about  to  join  those 
in  camp.  G."eat  qs  were  their  numbers,  the  pro- 
portion of  the  officers  was  inordinately  large,  and 
the  rank  of  the  greater  number  preposterously 
high.  It  seemed  to  mo  as  if  I  was  introduced  to 
a  battalion  of  colonels,  and  that  I  was  not  per- 
mitted to  pierce  to  any  lower  strata  of  military 
rank.  I  counted  seventeen  colonels,  and  believe 
tho  number  was  not  then  exhausted. 

General  Clarke,  of  Mississippi,  who  had  come 
over  from  the  camp  at  Corinth,  waa  on  board, 
and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  making  his  acquaint- 
ance. He  spoke  with  sense  and  firmness  of  the 
present  ^loubles,  and  dealt  with  the  political  dif- 
ficulties in  a  tone  of  moderation  which  bespoke  a 
gentleman  and  a  man  of  education  and  thought. 
He  also  had  served  in  the  Mexican  war,  and  had 
the  air  and  manner  of  a  soldier.  With  all  his 
quietness  of  tone,  there  was  not  the  smallest  dis- 
position to  be  traced  in  his  words  to  retire  from 
the  present  contest,  or  to  consent  to  a  reunion 
with  tho  United  States  under  any  circumstances 
whatever.  Another  general,  of  a  very  different 
type,  was  among  our  passengers — a  dirty-faced, 
frightened-looking  young  man,  of  some  twenty- 
three  or  twenty-four  years  of  ago,  redolent  of 
tobacco,  his  chin  and  shirt  slavered  by  its  foul 
juices,  dressed  in  a  green  cutaway  coat,  white 
jean  trousers,  strapped  under  a  pair  of  prunella 
slippers,  in  which  he  promenaded  the  deck  in  an 
Agag-like  mann'^r,  which  gave  rise  to  a  suspicion 
of  bunior.d  or  corns.  This  ctrange  figure  was 
topped  by  a  tremendous  black  felt  sombrero, 


loopet 

was  s 

the  c't 

decrej 

Strugj 

passed 

zen." 

Our 

10  nov 

_  reniarl 

tlie  str 

which 

of  exc( 

others 

The  ri' 

the  san 

stumps 

giant  ( 

whirlin 

slow;  1 

there  n\ 

on  boar 

of  being 

river,  w 

tree,  wl 

enough 

stern. 

which  I 

was  broi 

which  Yi 


Camp  Ran 
— rorcei 
— Genei 
Hess  oft 
t)tin  tow 
Country 

Juneli 
this  morr 
small  wh 
]  50  feet, 
bluft'alrei 
with  com 
heavy  gu 
to  sling  t 
of  all  tho 
filap  mto 
many  gre 
about,  no 
A  dusty  ti 
there  disa 
or  80  abo' 
had  been 
Tho  volun 
of  the  strt 
had  no  ui] 
Alread} 
seek  the 
,  labouring 
'■■  which  ind 
■lie  Tham( 
Miat  they 
niing  aboi 
regardless 
General 
fast,  and 
"rers  whici 
u. .     It  is 
my  diary  a 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


117 


nd  black 
sers,  and 
3  of  inili- 
jcs  to  the 
3S  on  the 
I  intended 
down  the 
der  Gene- 
3,  and  are 
gainat  the  < 
ered  witli 

0  edge  of 
ts  varying 
ilarly  from 
;zag  roada 
ing-places. 
ist  vertical 

sliell  into 
.1  into  the 
aded  with 

1  to  pieces 
rties  could 
ays  to  the 
f  centre  of 

int  iscom- 
}  either  up 
planade,  on 
!ry,  mount- 
hrown  up, 
r ;  and  the 
mount  six- 
ition  of  the 

vn  a  steep 
Ingomar,  a 
for  the  aer- 
ying  to  re- 
(vith  troopg 

join  tlioao 
rs,  the  pro- 
yr  large,  and 
ipoaterously 
troduced  to 
as  not  per- 

of  military 
and  believe 


had  como 

on  board, 
is  acquaint- 
inesa  of  the 
jolitical  dif- 
h  bespoke  a 
nd  thought, 
^ar,  and  had 
Vith  all  his 
smallest  dis- 

retire  from 
0  a  reunion 
rcumstances 
ery  different 

dirty-faced, 
)mo  twenty- 
redolent  of 
[  by  its  foul 

coat,  while 
•  of  prunella 
6  deck  in  an 
a  a  suspicion 

figure  was 
It  sombrero, 


^ 


looped  up  at  one  side  by  a  gilt  eagle,  in  which 
was  stuck  a  plume  of  ostricii  feathers,  and  from 
tiie  ether  side  dangled  a  heavy  gold  tassel.  This 
decrepit  young  warrior's  name  was  Ruggles  or 
Struggles,  who  came  from  Arkansas,  where  ho 
passed,  .  was  informed,  for  "  quite  a  loading  citi- 
zen." 

Our  voyage  as  we  steamed  up  the  river  afforded 
lo  novelty,  nor  any  physical  difference  worthy  of 
remark,  to  contrast  it  with  the  lower  portions  of 
"the  stream,  except  that  upon  our  right  hand  side, 
which  is,  in  effect,  the  leit  bank,  there  are  rafiges 
of  exceedingly  high  bluffs,  some  parallel  with  and 
others  at  right  angles  to  the  course  of  the  stream. 
Tlie  river  is  of  the  same  pea-soup  colour  with 
the  same  masses  of  leaves,  decaying  vegetation, 
stumps  of  trees,  forming  small  floating  islands,  or 
giant  cotton-trees,  pines,  and  balks  of  timber 
whirling  down  the  current.  Our  progress  was 
slow ;  nor  did  I  regret  the  captain's  caution,  as 
there  must  have  been  fully  nine  hundred  persons 
on  board ;  and  although  there  is  but  little  danger 
of  being  snagged  in  the  present  condition  of  llio 
river,  we  encountered  now  and  then  a  trunk  of  a 
tree,  which  struck  against  the  bows  with  force 
enough  to  make  the  vessel  quiver  from  stem  to 
stern.  I  was  furnished  with  a  small  berth,  to 
which  I  retired  at  midnight,  just  as  the  Ingomar 
was  brought  to  at  the  Chickasaw  Bluffs,  above 
which  lies  Camp  Randolph. 


CHAPTER  XXXVIII. 

Cnmn  Randolph — Cannon  practice — Volunteers— "Dixie" 
— Forced  ruiurn  from  the  South— Apiithy  of  the  North 
— General  retrospect  of  politics — Energy  and  earnest- 
ness of  the  South — Fire-arms — Position  of  Great  Bri- 
tain towards  the  belligerents — FecliDg  towards  the  Old 
Country. 

June  18<ft. — On  looking  out  of  my  cabin  window 
this  morning  I  found  the  steamer  fast  alongside  a 
small  whar^  above  which  rose,  to  the  height  of 
l.'iO  feet,  at  an  angle  of  45  degrees,  the  rugged 
bluff  already  mentioned.  The  wliarf  was  covered 
with  commissariat  stores  and  ammunition.  Three 
heavy  guns,  which  some  men  were  endeavouring 
to  sling  to  rude  bullock-carts,  in  a  manner  defiant 
of  all  the  laws  of  gravitation,  seemed  likely  to  go 
elap  mto  the  water  at  every  moment ;  but  of  the 
many  great  strapping  fellows  who  were  lounging, 
about,  not  one  gave  a  hand  to  the  working  party. 
A  dusty  track  woundup  the  hill  to  the  brow,  and 
there  disappeared ;  and  at  the  height  of  fifly  feet 
or  so  above  the  level  of  the  river  two  earthworks 
had  been  rudely  erected  in  an  ineffective  position. 
The  volunteers  who  were  lounging  about  tlie  edge 
of  tlie  stream  were  dressed  in  ditteront  ways,  and 
had  no  uniform. 

Already  the  heat  of  the  sun  compelled  me  to 
seek  the  shade;  and  a  number  of  the  soldiers, 
.labouring   under  the   same  infatuation   as  that 
;  which  induces  little  boys  to  disport  themselves  in 
Mio  Thames  at  Waterloo  Bridge,  under  the  notion 
I  hat  they  are  washing  themselves,  were  swim- 
ming about  in  a  back-water  of  the  great  river, 
regardless  of  cat-fish,  mud,  and  tewr. 

General  Pillow  proceeded  on  shore  after  break- 
fast, and  we  mounted  the  coarse  cart-horse  char- 
Ters  which  were  in  waiting  at  the  jetty  to  receive 
u. .  It  is  scarcely  worth  while  to  transcribe  from 
my  diary  a  description  of  the  works,  which  I  sent 


over  at  the  time  to  England.  Certainly,  a  more 
extraordinary  maze  could  not  be  conceived,  even 
in  the  dreams  of  a  sick  engineer — a  number  of 
mad  beavers  might  possibly  construct  such  dams. 
They  were  so  ingeniously  made  as  to  prevent  the 
troops  engaged  in  their  defence  from  resisting  the 
enemy's  attacks,  or  getting  away  from  them 
when  the  assailants  had  got  inside — most  diflicult 
and  troublesome  to  defend,  and  still  more  diffi- 
cult for  the  defenders  to  leave,  the  latter  perhaps 
being  their  chief  merit. 

The  General  ordered  some  practice  to  be  made 
with  round  shot  down  the  river.  An  old  forty- 
two  pound  carronade  was  iDaded  with  some  dif- 
ficulty, and  pointed  at  a  tree  about  17  OO  yards — 
which  I  was  told,  however,  was  not  less  than 
2500  yards— distant.  The  General  and  his  staft" 
took  their  posts  on  the  parapet  to  leeward,  and  I 
ventured  to  say,  "I  think.  General,  the  smoke 
will  prevent  your  seeing  the  shot."  To  which 
the  General  replied,  "  No,  sir,"  in  a  tone  which 
indicated,  "  I  beg  you  to  understand  I  have  been 
wounded  in  Mexico,  and  know  all  about  this 
kind  of  thing."  "  Fire,"  the  string  was  pulled, 
and  out  of  the  touch-hole  popped  a  piece  of  metal 
with  a  little  chirrup.  "  Darn  these  friction  tubes ! 
I  prefer  the  linstock  and  match,"  quoth  one  of 
tlie  staff,  sotto  voce,  "  but  General  Pillow  will 
have  us  use  friction  tubes  made  at  Memphis,  that 
ar'nt  worth  a  cuss."  Tube  No.  2,  however,  did 
explode,  but  where  the  ball  went  no  one  could 
say,  as  tlie  smoke  drifted  right  into  our  eyes. 

The  General  then  moved  to  the  other  side  of 
the  gun,  which  was  fired  a  third  time,  the  shot 
falling  short  in  good  line,  but  without  any  rico- 
chet. Gun  No.  3  was  next  fired.  Off  went  the 
ball  down  the  river,  but  ofl"  went  the  gun,  too, 
and  witli  a  frantic  leap  it  jumped,  carriage  and 
all,  clean  off  the  platform.  Nor  was  it  at  all 
wonderful,  for  the  poor  old-fashioned  chamber 
cannonade  had  been  loaded  with  a  charge  and  a 
solid  shot  heavy  enough  to  make  it  burst  with 
indignation.  Most  of  us  felt  relieved  when  the 
firing  was  over,  and,  f  my  own  part,  I  would  * 
much  rather  have  been  close  to  the  target  than 
to  the  battery. 

Slowly  winding  for  some  distance  up  the  steep 
road  in  a  blazing  sun,  we  proceeded  through  the 
tents,  which  are  scattered  in  small  groups,  for 
health's  sake,  fifteen  and  twenty  together,  on  the 
wooded  plateau  above  the  river.  The  tents  are 
of  the  small  ridge-pole  pattern,  six  men  to  each, 
many  of  whom,  from  their  exposure  to  tlie  sun, 
whilst  working  in  these  trenches,  and  from  the 
badness  of  the  water,  had  already  been  laid  up 
with  illness.  As  a  proof  of  General  Pillow's  en- 
ergy, it  is  only  fair  to  say  he  is  constructing,  on 
tiie  very  summit  of  the  plateau,  largo  cisterns, 
whi^h  will  be  filled  with  water  from  the  river  by 
steam  power. 

Tlie  volunteers  were  mostly  engaged  at  drill  in 
distinct  companies,  but  by  order  of  the  General 
some  700  or  800  of  them  were  formed  into  line 
for  inspection.  Many  of  these  men  were  in  their 
shirt  sleeves,  and  the  awkwardness  with  which 
they  handled  their  arms  showed  that,  however 
good  they  might  be  as  shots,  they  were  bad  hands 
at  manual  platoon  exercise ;  but  such  great  strap- 
ping fellows,  that,  as  I  walked  down  the  ranks, 
there  were  few  whose  shoulders  were  not  above 
the  level  of  my  head,  excepting  here  and  there  a 
weedy  old  man  or  a  growing  lad.     Tiiey  were 


ifiii^ 


118 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


armed  with  old  pattern  percussion  muskets,  no 
two  clad  alike,  many  very  badly  shod,  few  with 
knapsacks,  but  all  provided  with  a  tin  water-flask 
and  a  blanket.  These  men  have  been  only  five 
weeks  enrolled,  and  were  called  out  by  the  State 
of  Tennessee,  in  anticipation  of  the  vote  of  seces- 
sion. 

I  could  get  no  exact  details  as  to  the  supply  of 
food,  but  from  the  Quartermaster-General  I  heard 
that  each  man  had  from  J  lb.  to  li  lb.  of  moat, 
and  a  sufficiency  of  bread,  sugar,  coffee,  and  rice, 
daily;  however,  these  military  Olivers  "  asked  for 
more."  Neither  whisky  nor  tobacco  was  served 
out  to  them,  wliich  to  such  heavy  consumers  of 
both,  must  prove  one  source  of  dissatisfaction. 
The  officers  were  plain,  farmerly  planters,  mer- 
chants, lawyers,  and  the  like — energetic,. deter- 
mined men,  but  utterly  ignorant  of  the  most  ru- 
dimentary parts  of  military  science.  It  is  this 
want  of  knowledge  on  the  part  of  the  officer  which 
renders  it  so  difficult  to  arrive  at  a  tolerable  con- 
dition of  discipline  among  volunteers,  as  the  pri- 
vates are  quite  well  aware  they  know  as  much 
of  soldiering  as  the  great  majority  of  their  officers. 

Having  gone  down  the  lines  of  these  motley 
companies,  the  General  addressed  them  in  a  ha- 
rangue in  which  he  expatiated  on  their  patriot- 
ism, on  their  courage,  and  the  atrocity  of  tlie  ene- 
my, in  an  odd  farrago  of  military  and  political 
subjects.  But  the  only  matter  which  appeared 
to  interest  them  much  was  the  announcement 
tliat  they  would  be  released  from  work  in  another 
day  or  so,  and  that  negroes  would  be  sent  to  per- 
form all  that  was  required.  This  announcement 
was  received  witli  the  words,  "  Bully  for  us  I" 
and  "  That's  good."  And  when  General  Pillow 
wound  up  a  florid  peroration  by  assuring  them, 
"  When  the  hour  of  danger  comes  I  will  bo  with 
you,"  the  eflFect  was  by  no  means  equal  to  his 
expectations.  The  men  did  not  seem  to  care 
much  whether  General  Pillow  was  with  them  or 
not  at  that  eventful  moment;  and,  indeed,  all 
dusty  as  he  was  in  his  plain  clothes  he  did  not 
look  very  imposing,  or  give  one  an  idea  tliat  lie 
would  contribute  much  to  the  means  of  resist- 
ance. However,  one  of  the  officers  called  out, 
"  Boys,  three  cheers  for  General  Pillow." 

What  they  may  do  in  the  North  I  know  not, 
but  certainly  the  Southern  soldiers  cannot  cheer, 
and  what  passes  muster  for  that  jubilant  sound  ia 
a  shrill  ringing  scream  with  a  touch  of  the  Indinn 
war-whoop  in  it.  As  these  cries  ended,  a  sten- 
torian voice  shouted  out,  "  Who  cares  for  Gene- 
ral Pillow  ?"  No  one  answered ;  whence  I  in- 
ferred the  General  would  not  be  very  popular 
until  the  niggers  were  actually  at  work  in  the 
trenches. 

We  returned  to  the  steamer,  headed  up  stream 
and  proceeded  onwards  for  more  than  an  hour,  to 
another  landing,  protected  by  a  battery,  where 
we  disembarked,  the  General  being  received  by 
a  guard  dressed  in  uniform,  who  turned  out  with 
some  appearance  of  soldierly  smartness.  On  rfiy 
remarking  the  difference  to  tlie  General,  he  told 
me  the  corps  encamped  at  this  point  was  com- 
posed of  gentlemen  planters,  and  farmers.  They 
had  all  clad  themselves,  and  consisted  of  some  of 
the  best  families  in  the  State  of  Tennessee. 

As  we  walked  down  the  gangway  to  the  shore, 
the  band  on  the  upper  deck  struck  up,  out  of 
compliment  to  tlie  English  element  in  the  party, 
the    unaccustomed  strains    of  "God  save  the 


Queen ;"  r.nd  I  am  not  quite  sure  that  the  loyalty 
which  induced  me  to  stand  in  the  sun,  with  un- 
covered head,  till  the  musicians  were  good  enough 
to  desist,  was  appreciated.  Certainly  a  gentle- 
man, who  asked  me  why  I  did  so,  looked  very 
incredulous,  and  said  "  That  he  could  understand 
it  if  it  had  been  in  a  church ;  but  that  he  would 
not  broil  his  skull  in  the  sun,  not  if  General  Wash- 
ington was  standing  just  before  him."  The  Gene- 
ral gave  orders  to  exercise  the  battery  at  this 
point,  and  a  working  party  was  told  off  to  firing 
drill.  'Twas  fully  six  minutes  between  the  giv- 
ing of  the  orders  and  the  first  gun  being  ready. 

On  the  word  "fire"  being  given,  the  gunner 
pulled  the  lanyard,  but  the  tube  did  not  explode ; 
a  second  tube  was  inserted,  but  a  strong  jerk 
pulled  it  out  without  exploding;  a  third  time  one 
of  the  General's  fuses  was  applied,  which  gave 
way  to  the  pull,  and  was  broken  16  two ;  a  fourth 
time  was  more  successful — the  gun  exploded,  and 
the  shot  fell  short  and  under  the  mark — in  faot, 
nothing  could  be  worse  than  the  artillery  practice 
which  I  saw  hero,  and  a  fleet  of  vessels  coming 
down  the  river  might,  in  the  present  state  of  the 
garrisons,  escape  unhurt. 

There  are  no  disparts,  tangents,  or  elevating 
screws  to  the  guns,  which  are  laid  by  eye  and 
wooden  chocks.  I  could  see  no  shells  in  the  bat- 
tery, but  was  told  there  were  some  in  the  maga- 
zine. 

Altogether,  though  Randolph's  Point  and  Fort 
Pillow  afford  strong  positions,  in  the  present  state 
of  the  service,  and  equipment  of  guns  and  works, 
gunboats  could  run  past  them  without  serious 
loss,  and,  as  the  river  falls,  the  fire  of  the  batte- 
ries will  be  even  less  effective. 

On  returning  to  the  boats  the  band  struck  up 
"  The  Marseillaise"  and  "  Dixie's  Land."  There 
are  two  explanations  of  the  word  Dixie — one  is 
that  it  is  the  general  term  for  the  Slave  States, 
which  are,  of  course,  south  of  Mason  and  Dixon's 
line ;  another,  that  a  planter  named  Dixie,  died 
long  ago,  to  the  intense  grief  of  his  animated 
property.  Whether  they  were  ill-treated  after  he 
died,  and  thus  had  reason  to  regret  his  loss,  or 
that  they  had  merely  a  longing  in  the  abstract 
after  Heaven,  no  fact  known  to  me  can  determine; 
but  certain  it  is  that  they  long  much  after  Dixie, 
in  the  land  to  which  his  spirit  was  supposed  by 
them  to  have  departed,  and  console  themselvea  in 
.  their  sorrow  by  clamorous  wishes  to  follow  their 
master,  where  probably  the  revered  spirit  would 
be  much  surprised  to  find  himself  in  their  compa- 
ny. The  song  is  the  work  of  the  negro  melodists 
of  Now  York. 

In  the  afternoon  we  returned  to  Memphis. 
Here  I  was  obliged  to  cut  short  my  Southern 
tour,  though  I  would  willingly  have  stayed,  to 
have  seen  the  most  remarkable  social  and  politi- 
cal changes  the  world  has  probably  ever  witness- 
ed. The  necessity  of  my  position  obliged  me  to 
return  northwards — unless  I  could  write,  there 
was  no  use  in  my  being  on  the  spot  at  all.  By 
this  time  the  Federal  fleets  have  succeeded  in 
closing  the  ports,  if  not  effectually,  so  far  as  to 
render  the  carriage  of  letters  precarious,  and  the 
route  must  be  at  best  devious  and  uncertain. 

Mr.  Jefferson  Davis  was,  I  was  assured,  pre- 
pared to  give  me  every  facility  at  Richmond  to 
enable  me  to  know  and  to  see  all  that  was  most 
interesting  in  the  military  and  political  action  of 
the  New  Confederacy ;   but  of  what  use  could 


there. 


river  w 
was  to 
to  take 
80,  whi: 
tion,  I 
camps, 
dopartu 
on  boar 
cabin  U 
Sofa 
Mr.  Se 
result  0 
of  a  fie 
that  th( 
posed 
Stars  ai 
in  theii 
where 


t-  if 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


119 


le  loyalty 
with  un- 
id  enough 
a  gentle- 
)ked  very 
iderstand 
he  would 
ral  Wash- 
rhe  Gene- 
y  at  this 
f  to  firing 
a  the  giv- 
g  ready, 
le  gunner 
t  explode ; 
trong  jerk 
d  time  one 
hich  gave 
> ;  a  fourth 
)loded,  and 
ic — in  fant, 
iry  practice 
3I3  coming 
tate  of  the 

:  elevating 
»y  eye  and 
in  tlie  bat- 
L  the  maga-      ♦ 

it  and  Fort 
resent  state 
and  works, 
out  serious 
f  the  batte- 

d  struck  up 
id."  There 
ixie — one  is 
ilave  States, 
and  Dixon's 

Dixie,  died 
is  animated 
ited  after  he 

his  loss,  or 
the  abstract 
1  determine; 

after  Dixie, 
supposed  by 
lemselvea  in 

follow  their 

spirit  would 
their  compa- 
jro  melodists 

to  Memphis, 
ny  Southern 
re  stayed,  to 
al  and  politi- 
jvor  witness- 
)bliged  me  to 

write,  there 
)t  at  all.  By 
succeeded  in 

so  far  as  to 
ious,  and  the 
mcortain. 

assured,  pre- 
Richmond  to 
hat  was  most 
,ical  action  of 
lat  us©  could 


this  knowledge  bo  if  I  could  not  communicate  it 
to  tlie  journal  I  served? 

I  had  left  tlie  North  when  it  was  suffering 
from  a  political  paralysis,  and  was  in  a  state  of 
coma  in  which  it  appeared  conscious  of  the  com- 
ing convulsion,  but  unable  to  avert  it.  The  sole 
sign  of  life  in  the  body  corporate  was  some  feeble 
twitching  of  the  limbs  at  Washington,  when  the 
district  militia  were  called  out,  whilst  Mr.  Sew- 
ard descanted  on  the  merits  of  the  Inaugural, 
and  believed  that  the  anger  of  the  South  was  a 
short  madness,  which  would  be  cured  by  a  mild 
application  of  philosophical  essays. 

The  politicians,  who  were  urging  in  the  most 
forcible  manner  the  complete  vindication  of  the 
rights  of  the  Union,  were  engaged,  when  I  left 
them,  arguing  that  the  Union  had  no  rights  at  all 
as  opposed  to  those  of  the  States.  Men  who  had 
heard  with  nods  of  approval  of  the  ordinance  of 
secession  passed  by  State  after  State  were  now 
shrieking  out,  "Slay  the  traitors  1" 

The  printed  rags  which  had  been  deriding  the 
President  as  the  great  "rail  splitter,"  and  his 
Cabinet  as  a  collection  of  ignoble  fanatics,  were 
now  heading  the  popular  rush,  and  calling  out  to 
the  country  to  support  Mr.  Lincoln  and  his  Minis- 
try, and  were  menacing  with  war  the  foreign 
States  which  dared  to  stand  neutral  in  the  quar- 
rel. The  declaration  of  Lord  John  Russell  that 
the  Southern  Confederacy  should  have  limited 
belligerent  rights  had  at  first  created  a  thrill  of 
exultation  in  the  South,  because  the  politicians 
believed  that  in  this  concession  was  contained 
the  principle  of  recognition ;  wliile  it  had  stung 
to  fury  the  people  of  the  North,  to  whom  it 
seemed  the  first  warning  of  the  coming  disunion. 

Much,  therefore,  as  I  desired  to  go  to  Rich- 
mond, where  I  was  urged  to  repair  by  many  con- 
siderations, and  by  the  earnest  appeals  of  those 
around  me,  I  felt  it  would  be  impossible,  notwith- 
standing the  interest  attached  to  the  proceedings 
there,  to  perform  my  duties  in  a  place  cut  off 
from  all  communication  with  the  outer  world; 
and  so  I  decided  to  proceed  to  Chicago,  and 
thence  to  "Washington,  where  the  Federals  had 
assembled  a  large  army,  with  the  purpose  of 
marching  upon  Richmond,  in  obedience  to  the 
cry  of  nearly  every  journal  of  influence  in  the 
Northern  cities. 

My  resolution  was  mainly  formed  in  conse- 
quence of  the  intelligence  which  was  communi- 
cated to  me  at  Memphis,  and  I  told  General  Pil- 
low that  I  would  continue  my  journey  to  Cairo, 
in  order  to  get  within  the  Federal  lines.  As  the 
river  was  blockaded,  the  only  means  of  doing  so 
was  to  proceed  by  rail  to  Columbus,  and  thence 
to  take  a  steamer  to  the  Federal  position ;  and 
so,  whilst  the  General  was  continuing  his  inspec- 
tion, I  rode  to  the  telegraph  office,  in  one  of  tho 
camps,  to  order  my  luggage  to  be  prepared  for 
departure  as  soon  as  I  arrived,  and  thence  went 
on  board  the  steamer,  wliere  I  sat  down  in  the 
cabin  to  write  my  last  despatch  from  Dixie. 

So  far  I  had  certainly  no  reason  to  agree  with 
Mr.  Seward  in  thinking  this  rebellion  was  tho 
result  of  a  localised  energetic  action  on  the  part 
of  a  fierce  minority  in  the  seceding  States,  and 
that  there  ^^as  in  each  a  large,  if  inert,  mass  op- 
posed to  secession,  which  would  rally  round  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  t}ie  instant  they  were  displayed 
in  their  sijjht.  On  the  contrary,  I  met  every- 
where with  but  one  feeling,   with  exceptions 


which  prove  its  unanimity  and  its  force.  To  a 
man  the  people  went  with  their  States,  and  had 
but  one  battle-cry,  "  States'  rights,  and  death  to 
those  who  make  war  against  them  I" 

Day  after  day  I  had  seen  this  feeling  intensi- 
fied by  the  accounts  which  came  from  the  Norih 
of  a  fixed  determination  to  maintain  the  war ; 
and  day  after  day,  I  am  bound  to  add,  the  im- 
pression on  my  mind  was  strengthened  that 
"  States'  rights"  meant  protection  to  slavery,  ex- 
tension of  slave  territory,  and  free-trade  in  slave 
produce  with  the  outer  world ;  nor  was  it  any 
argument  against  the  conclusion  that  the  popular 
passion  gave  vent  to  the  most  vehement  outcries 
against  Yankees,  abolitionists,  Gorman  mercena- 
ries, and  modern  invasion.  I  was  fully  satisfied 
in  my  mind  also  that  the  population  of  tho  South, 
who  had  taken  up  arms,  were  so  convinced  of  the 
righteousness  of  their  cause,  and  so  competent  to 
vindicate  it,  that  they  would  fight  with  the 
utmost  energy  and  valour  in  its  defence  and  suc- 
cessful establishment. 

The  saloon  in  which  I  was  sitting  afforded 
abundant  evidence  of  the  vigour  with  which  the 
South  are  entering  upon  the  contest.  Men  of 
every  variety  and  condition  of  life  had  taken  up 
arms  against  the  cursed  Yankee  and  the  black 
Republican — there  was  not  a  man  there  who 
would  not  have  given  his  life  for  the  rare  pleasure 
of  striking  Mr.  Lincoln's  head  off  his  shoulders, 
and  yet  to  a  cold  European  the  scene  was  almost 
ludicrous. 

Along  the  covered  deck  lay  tall  Tennesseans, 
asleep,  whose  plumed  felt  hats  were  generally  the 
only  indications  of  their  martial  calling,  for  few 
indeed  had  any  other  signs  of  uniform,  except  the 
rare  volunteers,  who  wore  stripes  of  red  and  yel- 
low cloth  on  their  trousers,  or  leaden  buttons, 
and  discoloured  worsted  braid  and  facings  on 
their  jackets.  The  afterpart  of  the  saloon  deck 
was  appropriated  to  General  Pillow,  his  staff,  and 
oflBcers.  The  approach  to  it  was  guarded  by  a 
sentry,  a  tall,  good-looking  young  fellow,  in  a 
grey  flannel  shirt,  grey  trousers,  fastened  with  a 
belt  and  a  brass  buckle,  inscribed  U.S.,  which 
came  from  some  plundered  Federal  arsenal,  and  a 
black  wide-awake  hat,  decorated  with  a  green 
plume.  His  Enfield  rifle  lay  beside  him  on  the 
deck,  and,  with  great  interest  expressed  on  his 
face,  he  leant  forward  in  his  rocking  chair  to 
watch  the  varying  features  of  a  party  squatted  on 
the  floor,  who  were  employed  in  the  national 
game  of  "  Euchre."  As  he  raised  his  eyes  to  ex- 
amine the  condition  of  the  cigar  he  was  smoking, 
he  caught  sight  of  me,  and  by  the  simple  expedi- 
ent of  holding  his  leg  across  my  chest,  and  callin  : 
out,  "  Hallo  I  where  are  you  going  to  ?"  brough', 
me  to  a  standstill — whilst  his  captain,  who  was 
one  of  the  happy  euchreists,  exclaimed,  "  Now, 
Sam,  you  let  nobody  go  in  there." 

I  was  obliged  to  explain  who  I  was,  whereupon 
the  sentry  started  to  his  feet,  and  said,  "Oh!  in- 
deed, you  are  Russell  that's  been  in  that  war 
with  the  Rooshians.  Well,  I'm  very  much 
pleased  to  know  you.  I  shall  bo  off  sentry  in  a 
few  minutes ;  I'll  just  ask  you  to  tell  me  some- 
thing about  that  fighting."  He  held  out  his  hand, 
and  shook  mine  warmly  as  he  spoke.  There  was 
not  the  smallest  intention  to  offend  in  his  man- 
ner; but,  sitting  down  again,  he  nodded  to  the 
captain,  and  said,  "It's  all  right;  it's  Pillow's 
friend— that's  Russell  of  the  London  Times." 


120 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


I 


The  game  of  euclire  waa  eontinned — ^uud  indeed 
it  liad  been  perhaps  all  night— for  my  last  recol- 
lection on  looking  out  of  my  cabin  was  a  number 
of  people  playing  cards  on  tlie  floor  and  on  the 
tables  all  down  the  saloon,  and  of  shouts  of  "  Eu- 
kerrl"  '-Tea  dollars,  you  don't  1"  "I'll  lay 
twenty  on  this  I"  and  so  on;  and  with  breakfaat 
the  sport  seemed  to  bo  fully  revived. 

There  would  have  been  much  more  animation 
ill  the  game,  no  doubt,  had  the  bar  on  board 
the  liigoiiiar  been  opened;  but  the  intelligent 
gentleman  who  presided  inside  had  been  re- 
slnotfd  by  General  Pillow  in  his  avocations; 
and  when  numerous  thirsty  souls  from  the  camps 
came  on  board,  with  dry  tongues  and  husky 
voices,  and  asked  for  "  mint  juleps,"  "  brandy 
smashes,"  or  "  whisky  cocktails,"  he  seemed  to 
take  a  saturnine  pleasure  by  saying,  "  The  Gene- 
ral won't  allow  no  spirit  on  board,  but  I  can 
give  you  a  nice  drink  of  Pillow's  own  iced  Mis- 
sissippi water,"  an  announcement  which  gene- 
rally caused  infinite  disgust  and  some  unhand- 
some wishes  respecting  the  General's  future  hap- 
piness. 

By  and  bye,  a  number  of  sick  men  were 
brought  down  on  litters,  and  placed  here  and 
there  along  the  deck.  As  there  was  a  considera- 
ble misunderstanding  between  the  civilian  and 
military  doctors,  it  appeared  to  be  underatood 
that  the  best  way  of  arranging  it  was  not  to  at- 
tend to  the  sick  at  all,  and  unfortunate  men  suf- 
fering from  fever  and  dysentery  were  left  to  roll 
and  groan,  and  lie  on  their  stretchers,  without  a 
soul  to  help  them.  I  had  a  medicine  chest  on 
board,  and  I  ventured  to  use  the  lessons  of  my 
experience  in  such  matters,  administered  my 
quinine,  James's  Powder,  calomel,  and  opium, 
secundum  meam  a7-lem,  and  nothing  could  be 
more  grateful  than  the  poor  fellows  were  for  the 
smallest  mark  of  attention.  "  Stranger,  remem- 
ber, if  I  die,"  gasped  one  groat  fellow,  attenuated 
to  a  skeleton  by  dysentery,  "  that  I  am  Robert 
Tallon,  of  Tishimingo  county,  and  that  I  died  for 
States '  rights ;  see,  now,  they  put  that  in  the 
papers,  won't  you  ?  Robert  Tallon  died  for  States' 
rights,"  and  so  he  turned  round  on  his  blanket. 

Presently  the  General  came  on  board,  and  the 
Ingomar  proceeded  on  her  w^ay  back  to  Mem- 
phis. General  Clarke,  to  whom  I  mentioned  the 
great  neglect  from  which  the  soldiers  were  suf- 
fering, told  me  ho  was  afraid  the  men  had  no 
medical  attendance  in  camp.  All  the  doctors,  in 
fact,  wanted  to  fight,  and  as  they  were  educated 
men,  and  generally  connected  with  respectable 
families,  or  had  political  influence  in  the  State, 
they  aspired  to  be  colonels  at  the  very  least,  and 
to  wield  the  sword  instead  of  the  scalpel. 

Next  to  the  medical  department,  the  commis- 
sariat and  transport  were  most  deficient ;  but  by 
constant  courts-martial,  stoppages  of  pay,  and 
severe  sentences,  he  hoped  these  evils  would  be 
eventually  somewhat  mitigated.  As  one  who 
had  received  a  regular  military  education,  Gene- 
ral Clarke  was  probably  shocked  by  volunteer 
iricgiilai-ities;  and  in  such  matters  as  guard- 
mounting,  reliefs,  patrols,  and  picket-duties,  he 
declared  that  they  were  enough  to  break  one's 
heart ;  but  I  was  astonished  to  hear  from  him 
that  the  Germans  were  by  far  the  worst  of  the 
five  thousand  troops  under  his  command,  of 
whom  tliey  formed  more  than  a  fifth. 

While  wo  were  conversing,  the  captain  of  the 


steamer  invited  us  to  come  up  into  hia  cabin  on 
the  upper  deck;  and  as  railway  conductors, 
steamboat  captains,  bar-keepers,  hotel-clerks,  and 
telegraph  officers  are  among  the  natural  aristo- 
cracy of  the  land,  we  could  not  disobey  the  in- 
vitation, which  led  to  the  consumption  of  some 
of  the  captain's  private  stores,  and  many  warm 
professions  of  political  faith. 

The  captain  told  me  it  was  rough  work  aboard 
sometimes  with  "  sports"  and  chaps  of  that  kind ; 
but  "God  bless  you,"  said  ho,  "the  river  now  is 
not  what  it  used  to  bo  a  few  years  ago,  when 
we'd  have  three  or  four  difficulties  of  an  after- 
noon, and  may-be  now  and  then  a  regular  free 
fight  all  up  and  down  the  decks,  that  would  last 
a  couple  of  hours,  so  that  when  wo  came  to  a 
town  we  would  have  to  send  for  all  the  doctors 
twenty  miles  round,  and  may-be  some  of  them 
would  die  in  spite  of  that.  It  was  the  rowdies 
used  to  get  these  fights  up;  but  we've  put  them 
pretty  well  down.  The  citizens  have  hunted 
them  out,  and  they's  gone  away  west."  "  Well, 
then,  captain,  one's  life  was  not  very  safe  on 
board  sometimes."  "Safe!  Lord  bless  you!" 
said  the  captain ;  "if  you  did  not  meddle,  just  aa 
safe  as  you  are  now,  if  the  boiler  don't  collapse. 
You  must,  in  course,  know  how  to  handle  your 
weepins,  and  be  pretty  spry  in  taking  your  own 
part."  "  Ho,  you  Bill  I"  to  his  coloured  servant, 
"open  that  clothes-press."  "Now,  here,"  ho 
continued,  "  is  how  I  travel ;  so  that  I  am  always 
easy  in  my  mind  in  case  of  trouble  on  board." 
Putting  his  hand  under  the  pillow  of  the  bed 
close  beside  him,  he  pulled  out  a  formidable  look- 
ing double-barrelled  pistol  at  half-cock,  with  the 
caps  upon  it.  "That's  as  purty  a  pistol  aa  Der- 
ringer ever  made.  I've  got  the  brace  of  them 
— here's  the  other ;"  and  with  that  he  whippfed 
out  pistol  No.  3,  in  an  equal  state  of  forwardness, 
from  a  little  shelf  over  his  bed  ;  and  then  going 
over  to  the  clothes-press,  he  said,  "  Here's  a  real 
old  Kentuck,  one  of  the  old  sort,  as  light  on  the 
trigger  as  gossamer,  and  sure  as  deeth — Why, 
law  bless  me,  a  child  would  cut  a  turkey's  head 
off  with  it  at  a  hundred  yards."  This  waa  a 
huge  lump  of  iron,  about  five  feet  long,  with  a 
small  hole  bored  down  the  centre,  fitted  in  a 
coarse  German-faahioned  stock.  "But,"  con- 
tinued he,  "this  is  my  main  dependence;  here 
is  a  regular  beauty,  a  first-rate,  with  ball  or 
buck-shot,  or  whatever  you  like — made  in  Lon- 
don ;  I  gave  two  hundred  dollars  for  it ;  and  it 
is  so  short  and  handy  and  straight  shooting,  I'd 
just  as  soon  part  with  my  life  as  let  it  go  to 
anybody,"  and,  with  a  glow  of  pride  in  his 
face,  the  captain  handed  round  again  a  very 
short  double-barrelled  gun,  of  some  eleven  or 
twelve  bore,  with  back  action  locks,  and  an  au- 
dacious "Joseph  Mauton,  London,"  stamped  on 
the  plate.  The  manner  of  the  man  was  per- 
fectly simple  and  bond  fide ;  very  much  as  if 
Inspector  Podger  were  revealing  to  a  simpleton 
the  mode  by  which  the  London  police  managed 
refractory  characters  in  the  station-hou.^e. 

From  euch  matters  as  those  I  waa  diverted  by 
the  more  serious  subject  of  the  attitude  taken  by 
England  in  this  quarrel.  The  concession  of  bel- 
ligerent rights  waa,  I  found,  misunderstood,  and 
was  considered  aa  an  admission,  that  the  South- 
ern States  had  established  their  independence 
before, they  had  done  more  than  declare  their 
intention  to  fight  for  it. 


.    'ft 


m 


\9 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


121 


noting,  I'd 
it  go  to 
do   in   hi3 


It  is  not  within  my  power  to  determine  wlio- 
tlier  the  North  is  as  unfair  to  Great  Britain  aa  tiio 
South;  but  I  fear tlie  history  of  tiio  people,  and 
the  tendency  of  their  institutions,  are  adverse  to 
any  hope  of  fair-play  and  justice  to  tlio  old  coun- 
try. And  yet  it  is  the  only  power  in  Europe  for 
the  good  opinion  of  which  they  really  seem 
to  care.  Let  any  French,  Austrian,  or  Russian 
journal  write  what  it  pleases  of  the  United 
Stales,  it  is  received  with  indifferent  criticism 
or  callous  head-.shaking.  Eut  let  a  London  paper 
speak,  and  the  whole  American  press  is  delighted 
or  furious. 

The  poUtical  sentiment  quite  overrides  all  other 
feelings;  and  it  is  the  only  symptom  states- 
men should  care  about,  as  it  guides  the  policy  of 
the  country.  If  a  man  can  put  faith  in  the  influ- 
ence for  peace  of  common  interests,  of  common 
origin,  common  intentions,  with  the  spectacle  of 
this  incipient  war  before  his  eyes,  he  must  bo  in- 
capable of  appreciating  the.  consequences  which 
Ibllow  from  man  being  an  animal.  A  war  be- 
tween Ent;land  and  the  United  States  would  be 
unnatural ;  but  it  would  not  be  nearly  so  unnatu- 
ral now  as  it  was  when  it  was  actually  waged  in 
1776  between  people  who  were  barely  sepa-ated 
from  each  other  by  a  single  generation  ;  or  in 
1812-14,  when  the  foreign  immigration  had  done 
comparatively  little  to  dilute  tiie  Anglo-Saxon 
blood.  The  Norman  of  Hampshire  and  Sussex 
did  not  care  much  for  the  ties  of  consanguinity 
and  race  when  he  followed  his  lord  in  fee  to  rav- 
age Guieune  or  Brittany. 

The  general  result  of  my  intercourse  with 
Americans  is  to  produce  the  notion  that  they  con- 
'  sider  Great  Britain  in  a  state  of  corruption  and 
decay,  and  eagerly  seek  to  exalt  Franco  at  her 
expense.  Their  language  is  the  sole  link  be- 
tween England  and  the  United  Slates,  and  it  only 
binds  the  England  of  1770  to  the  America  of 
1860. 

There  is  scarcely  an  American  on  either  side  of 
Mason  and  Dixon's  line  who  docs  not  religiously 
believe  that  the  colonies,  alone  and  single-hand- 
ed, encountered  the  whole  undivided  force  of 
Great  Britain  in  the  Revolution  and  defeated  it. 
I  mean,  of  course,  the  vast  mass  of  the  people ; 
und  I  do  not  think  there  is  an  orator  or  a  writer 
who  would  venture  to  tell  them  the  truth  on  the 
subject.  Again,  they  firmly  believe  that  their 
potty  frigate  engagements  established  as  com- 
plete a  naval  ascendancy  over  Great  Britain  as 
the  latter  obtained  by  her  great  encounters  with 
the  fleets  of  France  and  Spain.  Their  reverses, 
defeats,  and  headlong  routs  in  the  firs*  war,  their 
reverses  in  the  second,  are  covered  over  by  a 
huge  Buncombe  plaster,  made  up  of  Bunker's 
Hill,  Plattsburg,  Baltimore,  and  New  Orleans. 

Their  delusions  aro  increased  and  solidified  by 
the  extraordinary  text-books  of  so-called  history, 
and  by  the  feasts,  and  festivals,  and  celebrations 
of  their  every-day  political  life,  in  all  of  which 
wo  pass  through  imaginary  Caudine  Forks ;  and 
they  entertain  towards  the  old  country  at  best 
very  much  the  feeling  which  a  high-spirited  young 
man  would  feel  towards  the  guardian  who,  when 
he  had  come  of  age,  and  was  free  from  all  con- 
trol, sought  to  restrain  the  passions  of  his  early 
life. 

Now  I  could  not  refuse  to  belie v  that  in  New 
Orlears,  Montgomery,  Mobile,  Ja(  ii,  and  Mem- 
phis, there  is  a  reckless  and  violent  condition  of 


society,  unfavourable  to  clvihzation,  and  l)Ul  littlo 
hopeful  for  the  future.  The  most  absolute  and 
despotic  rule,  under  which  a  man's  life  ami  pro- 
perty are  safe,  is  bettor  than  the  largest  mea'uro  vi 
democratic  freedom,  which  deprives  Uio  freeman 
of  any  security  for  either.  The  state  of  legal  pro- 
tection for  the  most  serious  interests  of  man,  con- 
sidered as  a  civilized  and  social  creature,  which 
prevails  in  America,  could  not  bo  tolerated  tor  an 
instant,  and  would  generate  a  revolution  in  the 
worst  governed  country  in  Europe.  I  would 
much  sooner,  as  the  accidental  victim  of  a  gene- 
rally disorganized  police,  be  plundered  by  a  ch.ance 
diligence  robber  in  Mexico,  or  have  a  fair  light 
with  a  Greek  Klepht,  sufltr  from  Italian  banditti, 
or  bo  garotted  by  a  Loudon  tickot-of-leavo  man, 
than  be  bowie-knifed  or  revolvered  in  consequence 
of  a  political  or  personal  difference  with  a  man, 
who  is  certain  not  in  the  least  degree  to  sulVer 
from  an  accidental  succees  in  his  argument. 

On  our  return  to  tho  hotel  I  dined  with  the 
General  and  his  staff  at  the  public  table,  where 
there  was  a  largo  assemblage  of  milittiry  men, 
Southern  ladies,  their  families,  and  contractors. 
This  latter  raco  has  ri.sen  up  as  if  by  majric,  to 
meet  the  wants  of  the  new  Confederacy ;  and  it 
is  significant  to  measure  the  amount  of  tho  de- 
pendence on  Northern  manufacturers  by  the  ad- 
vertisements in  Southern  journals  indicating  the 
creation  of  new  branches  of  workmanship,  me- 
chanical science,  and  manufacturing  skill. 

Hitherto  they  have  been  dependent  on  the 
North  for  tho  very  necessaries  of  their  industrial 
life.  These  States  were  to  intent  on  gathering  in 
money  for  their  produce,  expending  it  luxurious- 
ly, and  paying  it  out  for  Northern  labor,  that 
they  found  themselves  suddenly  in  tho  condition 
of  a  child  brought  up  by  hand,  whose  nurse  and 
mother  have  left  it  on  the  steps  of  the  poor- 
house.  But  they  have  certainly  essayed  to  reme- 
dy the  evil  and  are  endeavoring  to  make  steam- 
engines,  gunpowder,  lamps,  clothes,  boots,  rail- 
way carriages,  steel  springs,  glass,  and  all  the 
smaller  articles  for  which  even  Southern  house- 
holds find  a  necessity. 

The  peculiar  character  of  this  contest  develops 
itself  in  a  manner  almost  incomprehensible  to  a 
stranger  who  has  been  accustomed  to  regard  the 
United  States  as  a  nation.  Here  is  General  Pil- 
low, for  example,  in  the  State  of  Tennessee,  com- 
manding the  forces  of  the  State,  which,  in  effect, 
belongs  to  the  Southern  Confederacy;  but  he 
tells  me  that  ho  cannot  venture  to  move  across  a 
certain  geographical  lino,  dividing  Tennessee 
from  Kentucky,  because  the  State  of  Kentucky, 
in  the  exercise  of  its  sovereign  powers  and  rights, 
which  the  Southern  States  are  bound  .'specially  to 
respect,  in  virtue  of  their  championship  of  States' 
rights,  has,  like  the  United  Kingdom  of  Great 
Britain  and  Ireland,  declared  it  will  be  neutral  in 
the  struggle;  and  Beriah  Magoffin,  Governor  of 
the  aforesaid  Stiito,  has  warned  off  Federal  and 
Confederate  troops  from  his  territory. 

General  Pillow  is  particularly  indignant  with 
the  cowardice  of  tho  well-known  Scm  .ssionista 
of  Kentucky ;  but  I  think  he  is  rather  more  an- 
noyed by  tlie  accumulation  of  Federal  troops  at 
Cairo,  and  their  recent  expedition  to  Columbus 
on  the  Kentucky  shore,  a  little  below  theui,  where 
they  seized  a  Confederate  flag. 


122 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


CHAPTER  XXXIX. 


Heavy  Bfll— KiiUway  travolllnR— Introductions— Asms- 
Blnations— Tennpssec— "  Cuilnth  "— "  Troy"—"  lliim- 
bolt"— "The  Confedernte  Cuinp  "—Return  North- 
words— Columbus— Cairo— The  Slavery  Question- 
Prospects  of  the  War— Coarse  Jouruallstn. 

June  19</i. — It  is  probable  tho  landlord  of  the 
Gayoso  House  was  a  strong  Secessionist,  and  re- 
solved, therefore,  to  make  tiie  most  out  of  a  neu- 
tral customer,  like  myself— certainly  Herodotus 
would  have  been  astonished  if  he  were  called 
upon  to  pay  the  little  bill  which  was  presented 
to  me  in  the  modern  Memphis ;  and  had  the  old 
Egypt iiiu  hostelries  been  conducted  on  the  same 
priuciples  as  tiioso  of  the  Tonnesseau  Memphis, 
tho  "  Father  of  History  "  would  have  had  to  sell 
off  a  good  many  editions  in  order  to  pay  his  way. 
I  had  to  rise  at  three  o'clock  a.m.,  to  reach  tho 
train,  which  started  before  five.  Tlie  omnibus 
wliich  took  us  to  the  station  was  literally  nave 
deep  in  dust ;  and  of  all  tho  bad  roads  and  dusty 
streets  I  have  yet  seen  in  the  New  World,  wliore 
both  prevail,  North  and  South,  those  of  Memphis 
are  the  worst.  Indeed,  as  the  citizen,  of  Hiber- 
nian birth,  who  presided  over  the  luggage  of  the 
passengers  on  tiie  roof,  declared,  "  Tlie  streets  are 
paved  with  waves  of  mud,  only  tlio  mud  is  all 
dust  when  it's  fine  weather." 

By  the  time  I  had  arrived  at  the  station  my 
clotlics  were  covered  with  a  fine  alluvial  deposit 
iu  a  state  of  powder ;  the  platform  was  crowded 
with  volunteers  moving  off  for  the  wars,  and  I 
was  obliged  to  take  my  place  in  a  carriage  full 
of  Confederate  officers  and  soldiers  who  had  a 
large  supply  of  whisky,  which  at  that  early  hour 
they  were  consuming  as  a  prophylactic  against 
the  influence  of  the  morning  dews,  wliich  here- 
abouts are  of  such  a  deadly  character  that,  to  be 
quite  safe  from  their  influence,  it  appears  to  bo 
necessary,  judging  from  the  exampli  f  my  com- 
panions, to  get  as  nearly  drunk  us  possible. 
Whisky,  by-the-by,  is  also  a  sovereign  specific 
Bgainft  the  bites  of  rattlesnakes.  All  the  dews 
of  the  Mississippi  and  tlie  rattlesnakes  of  tlie 
prairie  miglit  have  spent  their  force  or  venom  in 
vain  on  my  companions  before  we  had  got  as  far 
as  Union  City. 

I  was  evidently  regarded  with  considerable 
suspicion  by  my  fellow  passengers,  when  they 
heard  I  was  going  to  Cairo,  until  the  conductor 
obligingly  informed  them  who  I  was,  whereupon 
I  was  much  en  created  to  fortify  myself  against  tho 
dews  and  rattlesnakes,  and  received  many  oflers 
of  service  and  kindness. 

Wliatever  may  be  the  normal  comforts  of 
American  railway  cars,  they  are  certainly  most 
unpleasant  conveyances  when  the  war  spirit  is 
abroad,  and  tite  heat  of  the  day,  which  was  ex- 
cessive, did  not  contribute  to  diminish  the  annoy- 
ance of  foul  air — the  odour  of  whisky,  tobacco, 
and  the  like,  combined  with  innumerable  flies. 
At  Hunibolt,  wliich  is  eighty-two  miles  away, 
there  was  a  change  of  cans,  and  an  opportunity 
of  obtaining  some  refreshment, — the  station  was 
crowded  by  great  numbers  of  men  and  women 
dressed  in  their  best,  who  were  making  holiday 
m  order  to  visit  Union  City,  forty-six  miles  dis- 
tant, whore  a  force  of  Tennesseean  and  Mississip- 
pi regiments  are  encam.ped.  The  ladies  boldly 
advanced  into  carriages  which  were  quite  full, 
and  as  they  looked  quite  prepared  to  sit  down  on 
the  occupants  of  the  seats  if  they  did  not  move, 


and  to  destroy  them  with  all-absorbing  articles 
of  feminine  warfare,  either  offensive  or  aggressive, 
and  crush  them  with  iron-bound  crinolines,  they 
soon  drove  us  out  into  the  broiling  sun. 

Whilst  I  was  on  the  platform  I  underwent  the 
usual  process  of  American  introduction,  not,  I  fear, 
very  good-humouredly.  A  gentleman  whom  you 
never  saw  before  in  your  life,  walks  up  to  you  and 
says,  "  I  am  ha,ppy  to  see  you  among  us,  sir,"  and 
if  he  finds  a  hand  wandering  about,  he  shakos  it 
cordially.  "  My  name  is  Jones,  sir,  Judge  Jones 
of  Pumpkin  County.  Any  information  about  this 
place  or  State  that  I  can  give  is  quite  at  your 
service."  This  is  all  very  civil  and  well  meant 
of  Jones,  but  before  you  have  made  up  your  mind 
what  to  say,  or  on  what  matter  to  test  the  worth 
of  his  proflered  information,  he  darts  off  and  seizes 
one  of  tho  group  who  have  been  watching  Jones's 
advance,  and  comes  forward  with  a  tall  man,  like 
himself,  busily  engaged  witli  a  piece  of  tobacco. 
"  Colonel,  let  me  introduce  you  to  my  friend,  Mr. 
Russell.  This,  sir,  is  one  of  our  leading  citizens, 
Colonel  Knags."  Whereupon  the  Colonel  sl...kea 
hands,  uses  nearly  the  same  formula  as  Judge 
Jones,  immediately  returns  to  his  friends,  and 
cuts  in  before  Jones  is  back  with  other  friends, 
whom  he  is  hurrying  up  tiie  platform,  introduces 
General  Cassiug  Mudd  and  Dr.  Ordlando  Bellows, 
who  go  through  the  same  ceremony,  and  as  each 
man  has  a  circle  of  his  own,  my  acquaintance 
becomes  prodigiously  extended,  and  my  hand 
considerably  tortured  in  tho  space  of  a  few 
minutes ;  finally  I  am  introduced  to  tho  driver  of 
the  engine  and  the  stoker,  but  they  proved  to  be 
acquaintances  not  at  all  to  be  despised,  for  they 
gave  me  a  seat  on  the  engine,  which  was  really 
a  boon  considering  that  the  train  was  crowded 
beyond  endurance,  and  in  a  state  of  internal  nas- 
tiuess  scarcely  conceivable. 

W  hen  I  had  got  up  on  tho  engine  a  gentleman 
clambered  afler  me  in  order  to  have  a  little  con- 
versation, and  he  turned  out  to  be  an  intelligent 
and  clever  man  well  acquainted  with  the  people 
and  the  country.  I  had  been  much  impressed  by 
tho  account  in  the  Memphis  papers  of  the  law- 
lessness and  crime  which  seemed  to  prevail  in 
the  State  of  Mississippi,  and  of  the  brutal  shoot- . 
ings  and  stabbings  which  disgraced  it  and  other 
Southern  States.  He  admitted  it  was  true,  but 
could  not  see  any  remedy.  "  Why  not  ?" 
"  Well,  sir,  the  rowdies  have  rushed  in  on  us,  and 
we  can't  master  them;  they  are  too  strong  for 
the  respectable  people."  "  Then  you  admit  the 
law  is  nearly  powerless  ?"  "  Well,  you  see,  sir, 
these  menJiave  got  hold  of  the  people  who  ought 
to  administer  the  law,  and  when  they  fail  to 
do  so  they  are  so  powerful  by  reason  of  their 
numbers,  and  so  reckless,  they  have  things  their 
own  way." 

"  In  effect  then,  you  are  living  under  a  reign  of 
terror,  and  the  rule  of  a  ruffian  mob  ?"  "  It's  not 
quite  so  bad  as  that,  perhaps,  for  the  respectable 
people  are  not  much  affected  by  it,  and  most  of 
the  crimes  of  which  you  speak  are  committed  by 
these  bad  classes  in  their  own  section ;  but  it  is 
disgraceful  to  have  such  a  state  of  things,  and 
when  this  war  is  over,  and  we  have  started  the 
Confederacy  all  fair,  we'll  put  the  whole  thing 
down.  We  are  quite  determined  to  take  the 
law  into  our  own  hands,  and  tlie  first  remedy 
for  the  condition  of  affairs  which  we  all  lament, 
will  be  to  confine  the  suffrage  to  native-born 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


Ij23 


g  articles 
t-gressive, 
ines,  tliey 

•wont  tUe 
not,  I  fear, 
vliom  you 

0  you  und 
I,  sir,"  and 

1  shakes  it 
Jgo  Jones 
about  tliis 
;e  at  your 
ell  meant 
(Tour  mind 
the  worth 
and  seizes 
ng  Jones's 

man,  lilte 
if  tobacco, 
"riend,  Mr. 
g  citizens, 
nel  al..-.kes 

as  Judge 
lends,  and 
ler  friends, 
introduces 
lo  Bellows, 
nd  as  each 
[juaintance 

my  hand 
of   a    few 

0  driver  of 
oved  to  be 
(d,  for  they 
was  really 
IS  crowded 
terual  nas- 

gentleraan 

1  little  con- 
intelligent 
the  people 

ipressed  by 
of  the  law- 
prevail  in 
rutal  shoot- . 
and  other 
IS  true,  but 
Hiy    not?" 
L  on  us,  and 
Strong  for 
admit  the 
rou  see,  sir, 
3  who  ought 
they  fail  to 
on  of  their 
things  their 

er  a  reign  of 
"  It's  not 

respectable 
and  most  of 
jmmilted  by 
on ;  but  it  is 

things,  and 
» started  the 
whole  thing 
to  take  the 
arst  remedy 
e  all  lament, 

native-born 


Americans,  and  to  got  rid  of  the  infamous 
scoundrelly  foreigners,  who  now  overrule  us  in 
our  country."  "  But  are  not  many  regiments  of 
Irish  and  Germans  now  fighting  for  you?  And 
will  these  foreigners  who  have  taken  up  arms  in 
your  cause  bo  content  to  receive  as  the  result  of 
their  success  an  inferior  po  .tion,  politically,  to 
that  which  they  now  hold  ?"  "  Well,  sir,  they 
must;  wo  are  bound  to  go  through  with  this 
thing  if  we  would  save  society."  I  had  so  often 
heard  a  similar  determination  expressed  by  men 
belonging  to  the  thinking  classes  in  the  South 
that  I  am  bound  to  believe  the  project  is  enter- 
tained by  many  of  those  engaged  in  this  great 
revolt — one  principle  of  which,  indeed,  may  be 
considered  hostility  to  universal  suffrage,  combin- 
ing with  it,  of  course,  the  limitation  of  the  immi- 
grant vote. 

The  portion  of  Tennessee  through  which  the 
rail  runs  is  exceedingly  uninteresting,  and  looks 
uniiealthy,  the  clearings  occur  at  long  intervals 
in  the  forest,  and  the  unwholesome  population, 
who  came  out  of  their  low  shanties,  situated 
amidst  blackened  stumps  of  trees  or  fields  of 
Indian  corn,  did  not  seem  prosperous  or  comfort- 
able. The  twists  and  curves  of  the  rail,  tlirougii 
eanebrakes  and  swamps,  exceeded  in  that  respect 
any  line  I  have  ever  travelled  on ;  but  the  verti- 
cal irregularities  of  the  rail  were  still  greater,  and 
the  engine  bounded  as  if  it  were  at  sea. 

The  names  of  the  stations  show  that  a  savant 
has  been  rambling  about  the  district.  Here  is 
Corinth,  which  consists  of  a  wooden  grog-shop 
and  three  log  shanties ;  tlie  acropolis  is  repre- 
sented by  a  grocery  store,  of  which  the  proprietors, 
no  doubt,  have  gone  to  the  wars,  as  their  names 
were  suspiciously  Milesian,  and  the  doors  and 
windows  were  fastened;  but  occasionally  the 
names  of  the  stations  on  the  railway  boards 
represented  towns  and  villages,  hidden  in  the 
wood  some  distance  away,  and  Mummius  might 
have  something  to  ruin  if  he  marched  off  the 
track  but  not  otherwise. 

The  city  of  Troy  was  still  simpler  in  architec- 
ture than  the  Grecian  capitol.  The  Dardanian 
towers  were  represented  by  a  timber-house,  in 
the  verandah  of  which  the  American  Helen  was 
seated,  in  the  shape  of  an  old  woman  smoking  a 
pipe,  and  she  certainly  could  have  set  the  Palace 
of  Priam  on  tire  much  more  readily  than  her 
prototype.  Four  sheds,  three  log  huts,  a  saw- 
mill, about  twenty  negroes  sitting  on  a  wood- 
pile, and  looking  at  the  train,  constituted  the  rest 
of  the  place,  which  was  certainly  too  new  for  one 
to  say,  Troja  fuit,  whilst  the  general  "fixins" 
would  scarcely  authorize  us  to  say  with  any  con- 
fidence, Troja  fuerit. 

The  train  from  Troy  passed  through  a  cypress 
swamp,  over  which  the  engine  rattled,  and  hop- 
ped at  a  perilous  rate  along  high  trestle  work,  till 
forty-six  miles  from  Humbolt  we  came  to  Union 
City,  whicli  was  apparently  formed  by  aggregate 
meetings  of  discontented  shavings  that  had  tra- 
velled out  of  the  forest  hard  by.  But  a  little  be- 
yond it  was  the  Confederate  camp,  which  so 
many  citizens  and  citizonesses  had  come  out  into 
the  wilderness  to  see ;  and  a  general  descent  was 
made  upon  the  place  whilst  the  volunteers  came 
swarming  out  of  their  tents  to  meet  their  friends. 
It  was  interescing  to  observe  the  aft'ectionato 
greetings  between  the  young  soldiers,  mothers, 
wives,  and  sweethearts,  and  as  a  display  (Si  the 


force  and  earnestness  of  the  Southern  people — the 
camp  itself  containing  thousands  of  men,  many 
of  whom  were  members  of  the  first  families  in 
the  State — was  specially  significant. 

There  is  no  appearance  of  military  order  or 
discipline  about  the  camps,  though  they  wcro 
guarded  by  sentries  and  cannon,  and  implements 
of  w<iir  and  soldiers'  accoutrements  wore  abundant. 
Some  of  the  sentinels  carried  their  firelocks  under 
their  arms  like  umbrellas,  others  carried  tho  butt 
over  the  shoulder  •  and  the  muzzle  downwards, 
and  one  for  his  greater  ease  had  stuck  tho  bay- 
onet of  his  firelock  into  tho  ground,  and  was 
leaning  his  elbow  on  the  stock  with  his  chin  on 
his  hand,  whilst  Sybarites  less  ingenious,  had 
simply  deposited  their  muskets  against  tho  trees, 
and  w^ro  lying  down  reading  newspapers.  Their 
arms  and  uniforms  were  of  different  descriptions 
— sporting  rifies,  fowling  pieces,  fiint  muskets, 
smooth  bores,  long  and  short  barrels,  new  I'ln- 
fields,  and  the  like;  but  the  men,  nevertlieiuss, 
were  undoubtedly  material  for  excellent  soldiers. 
There  were  some  few  boys,  too  young  to  carry 
arms,  altliougli  the  zeal  and  ardour  of  such  lads 
cannot  but  have  a  good  effect,  if  they  behave  well 
in  action. 

The  great  attraction  of  this  train  lay  in  a  vast 
supply  of  stores,  with  which  several  largo  vans 
were  closely  packed,  and  for  fully  two  hours  the 
train  was  delayed,  whilst  hampers  of  wine,  spirits, 
vegetables,  fruit,  meat,  groceries,  and  all  tiie 
various  articles  acceptable  to  soldiers  living  under 
canvas  wore  disgorged  on  tho  platform,  and  car- 
ried away  by  the  expectant  military. 

I  was  pleased  to  observe  the  perfect  confidence 
that  was  felt  in  tho  honesty  of  the  men.  The 
railway  servants  simply  deposited  each  article  as 
it  came  out  on  the  platform — the  men  came  up, 
read  the  address,  and  carried  it  away,  or  left  it, 
as  the  case  might  be  ;  and  only  in  one  instance 
did  I  see  a  scramble,  which  was  certainly  quite 
justifiable,  for  in  handing  out  a  large  basket  the 
bottom  gave  way,  and  out  tumbled  onions,  apples, 
and  potatoes  anjong  the  soldiery,  who  stuffed 
their  pockets  and  haversacks  with  the  unexpect- 
ed bounty.  One  young  fellow,  who  was  handed 
a  large  wicker-covered  jar  from  the  van,  having 
shaken  it,  and  gratified  his  ear  by  the  pleasant 
jingle  inside,  retired  to  tho  roadside,  drew  the 
cork,  and,  raising  it  slowly  to  his  mouth,  pro- 
ceeded to  take  a  good  pull  at  the  contents,  to  the 
envy  of  his  cjmrades;  but  the  pleasant  expres- 
sion upon  his  face  rapidly  vanished,  and  spurting 
out  the  fluid  with  a  hideous  grimace,  he  exclaimed, 

"D ;  why,  if  the  old  woman  has  not  gone 

and  sent  mo  a  gallon  of  syrup."  The  matter  was 
evidently  considered  too  serious  to  joke  about, 
for  not  a  soul  in  the  crowd  even  smiled  ;  but  they 
walked  away  from  the  man,  who,  puttuig  down 
the  jar,  seemed  in  doubt  as  to  whether  he  would 
take  it  away  or  not. 

Numerous  were  the  invitations  to  stop,  which 
I  received  from  the  officers.  "Why  not  stay 
with  us,  sir  ;  what  can  a  gentleman  want  to  go 
among  black  Republicans  and  Yankees  for?  "  It 
is  quite  obvious  that  my  return  to  the  Northern 
States  is  regarded  with  some  suspicion ;  but  I  am 
bound  to  say  that  my  explanation  of  the  neces- 
sity of  the  step  was  always  well  received,  and 
satisfied  my  Southern  friends  that  I  had  no  alter- 
native. A  special  correspondent,  whose  letters 
cannot  get  out  of  the  country  in  which   ho  ia 


ffr,',jm 

'T" 

yi 

1    , 

f    ' 

1 

1 

;    : 
1 

, 

'I    .        ■ 

f-        1 

• 

)   1  ■ 

124 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH, 


engnged,  can  scarcely  fulfil  the  purpose  of  his 
miiwion ;  aud  I  used  to  pyuit  out,  good-humoured- 
ly,  to  these  gentlemen  that  until  they  had  either 
opened  the  communication  with  the  North,  or 
had  broken  the  blockade,  and  established  steam 
communication  with  Europe,  I  must  seek  my 
base  of  operations  elsewhere. 

At  last  wo  started  from  Union  City ;  and  there 
came  into  the  car,  among  other  soldiers  who  were 
going  out  to  Columbus,  a  fine  specimen  of  the 
wild' filibustering  population  of  the  South,  which 
furnish  many  recruits  to  the  ranks  of  the  Con- 
federate army — a  tall,  brawny-shouldered,  brown- 
faced,  black-bearded,  hairy-handed  man,  with  a 
hunter's  eye,  and  rather  a  Jewish  face,  full  of 
lilb,  energy,  and  daring.  I  easily  got  into  con- 
versation with  him,  as  my  companion  happened 
to  be  a  freemason,  and  he  told  us  ho  had  been  a 
planter  in  Mississippi,  and  once  owned  110 
negroes,  worth  at  least  some  20,000i. ;  but,  as  he 
said  himself,  "  I  was  always  patrioting  it  about; " 
and  so  he  went  oft',  first  with  Lopez  to  Cuba,  was 
wounded  and  taken  prisoner  by  the  Spaniards, 
but  had  the  good  fortune  to  be  saved  from  the 
execution  which  was  inflicted  on  the  ringleaders 
of  the  expedition.  When  he  came  back  he  found 
his  plantation  all  the  worse,  and  a  decrease 
amongst  his  negroes ;  but  his  love  of  adventure 
and  filibustering  was  stronger  than  his  prudence 
or  desire  of  gain.  He  took  up  with  Walker, 
"  the  grey-eyed  man  of  destiny,"  and  accompanied 
him  in  his  strange  career  till  his  leader  received 
the  coup  de  grace  in  the  final  raid  upon  Nicaragua, 

Again  he  was  taken  prisoner,  and  would  have 
been  put  to  death  by  the  Nicaraguans,  but  for 
the  intervention  of  Captain  Aldham,  "I  don't 
bear  any  love  to  the  Britishers,"  said  he,  "  but 
I'm  bound  to  say,  as  so  many  charges  have  been 
made  against  Captain  Aldham,  that  he  behaved 
like  a  gentleman,  and  if  I  had  been  at  New 
Orleans  when  them  cussed  cowardly  blackguards 
ill-u.sed  him,  I'd  have  left  my  mark  so  deep  on  a 
few  of  them,  that  their  clothes  would  not  cover 
them  long."  He  told  us  that  at  present  he  had 
only  five  negroes  left,  "but  I'm  not  going  to  let 
the  black  republicans  lay  hold  of  them,  and  I'm 
just  going  to  stand  up  for  States'  rights  as  long 
as  I  can  draw  a  trigger — so  snakes  and  Aboli- 
tionists look  out."  He  was  so  reduced  by  starva- 
tion, ill-treatment,  and  sickness  in  Nicaragua, 
when  Captain  Aldham  procured  his  release,  that 
he  weighed  only  110  pounds,  but  at  present  he 
was  over  200  pounds,  a  splendid  bete  fauve,  and 
without  wishing  so  fine  a  looking  fellow  any 
harm,  I  could  not  but  help  thinking  that  it  must 
be  a  benefit  to  American  society  to  get  rid  of  a 
considerable  number  of  the  class  of  which  he  is 
a  representative  man.  And  there  is  every  pro- 
bability that  they  will  have  a  full  opportunity  of 
doing  so. 

On  the  arrival  of  the  train  at  Columbus, 
twenty-five  miles  from  Union  City,  my  friend  got 
out,  and  a  good  number  of  men  in  uniform  joined 
him,  which  led  me  to  conclude  that  they  had 
some  more  serious  object  than  a  mere  pleasure 
trip  to  the  very  uninteresting  looking  city  on  the 
banks  of  the  Mississippi,  which  is  asserted  to  be 
neutral  territory,  as  it  belongs  to  the  sovereign 
state  of  Kentucky.  I  heard,  accidentally,  as  I 
came  in  the  train,  that  a  party  of  Federal  soldiers 
from  the  camp  at  Cairo,  up  the  river,  had  recently 
descended  to  Columbus  and  torn  down  a  secession 


flag  which  had  been  hoisted  on  the  river's  bank, 
to  the  great  indignation  of  many  of  tlie  inhabit* 
ants. 

In  those  border  states  the  coming  war  promises 
to  produce  the  greatest  misery ;  they  will  bo  the 
scenes  of  hostile  operations ;  the  population  is 
divided  in  sentiment ;  the  greatest  efforts  will  be 
made  by  each  side  to  gain  the  ascendancy  in  the 
state,  and  to  crush  the  opposite  faction,  and  it  is 
not  possible  to  believe  that  Kentucky  can  main- 
tain a  neutral  position,  or  that  either  Federal  or 
Confederates  will  pay  the  smallest  regard  to  the 
proclamation  of  Governor  McGoffln,  and  to  his 
empty  menaces. 

At  Columbus  the  steamer  was  waiting  to  con- 
vey us  up  to  Cairo,  and  I  congratulated  myself 
on  the  good  fortune  of  arriving  in  time  for  the  la.«t 
opportunity  tliat  will  be  aflorded  of  proceeding 
northward  by  this  route.  General  Pillow  on  the 
one  hand,  and  General  Prentiss  on  the  other, 
have  resolved  to  blockade  the  Mississippi,  and  as 
the  facilities  for  Confederates  going  up  to  Colum- 
bus and  obtaining  information  of  what  is  hap- 
pening in  the  Federal  camps  cannot  readily  be 
checked,  the  general  in  command  of  the  port  to 
which  I  am  bound  has  intimated  that  the  steam- 
ers must  cease  running.  It  was  late  in  the  day 
when  wo  entered  once  more  on  the  father  of  wn- 
ters,  which  is  here  just  as  bro:id,  as  muddy,  as 
deep,  and  as  wooded  as  it  is  at  Baton  Rouge,  or 
Vicksburg, 

Columbus  is  situated  on  an  elevated  spur  or 
elbow  of  land  projecting  into  the  river,  and  has, 
in  commercial  faith,  one  of  those  futures  which 
have  so  many  rallying  points  down  the  centre  of 
the  great  river.  The  steamer  which  lay  at  the 
wharf,  or  rather  the  wooden  piles  in  the  bank 
which  afforded  a  resting-place  for  the  gangway, 
carried  no  flag,  and  on  board  presented  traces  of 
better  days,  a  list  of  refreshments  no  longer  at- 
tainable, and  a  bill  of  fare  utterly  fanciful.  About 
twenty  passengers  came  on  board,  most  of  whom 
had  a  distracted  air,  as  if  they  were  doubtful  of 
their  journey.  The  captain  was  surly,  the  office- 
keeper  petulant,  the  crew  morose,  and,  perhaps, 
only  one  man  on  board,  a  stout  Englishman,  who 
was  purser  or  chief  of  the  victualling  department, 
seemed  at  all  inclined  to  be  communicative.  At 
dinner  he  asked  me  whether  I  thought  there 
would  be  a  fight,  but  as  I  was  oscillating  between 
one  extreme  and  the  other,  I  considered  it  right' 
to  conceal  my  opinion  even  from  the  steward  of 
the  Mississippi  boat;  and,  as  it  happened,  the 
expression  of  it  would  not  have  been  of  much 
consequence  one  way  or  the  other,  for  it  turned 
out  that  our  friend  was  of  very  stem  stuff",  "  This 
war,"  he  said,  "is  all  about  niggers;  I've  been 
sixteen  years  in  the  country,  and  I  never  met 
one  of  them  yet  was  fit  to  be  anything  but  a 
slave ;  I  know  the  two  sections  well,  and  I  tell 
you,  sir,  the  North  can't  whip  the  South,  let  them 
do  their  best ;  they  may  ruin  the  country,  but 
they'll  do  no  good." 

There  were  n-.en  on  board  who  had  expressed 
the  strongest  secession  sentiments  in  the  train, 
but  who  now  sat  and  listened  and  acquiesced  in 
the  opinions  of  Northern  men,  and  by  the  time 
Cairo  was  in  sight,  they,  no  doubt,  would  have 
taken  the  oath  of  allegiance  which  every  doubtful 
person  is  required  to  utter  before  he  is  allowed  to 
go  beyond  tlie  military  post. 

In  about  two  hours  or  so  the  captain  pointed 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


XM 


:|* 


out  to  mo  a  tall  biiildinj?  and  some  alieds,  wliioh 
Becmod  to  arise  out  of  a  wido  reacli  iu  tlie  river, 
"  that's  Cuiroy,"  said  ho,  "  whcro  tho  Unionists 
huvo  their  camp,"  and  very  soon  tho  stars  and 
stripes  were  visible,  wavinjij  from  a  lotly  stall",  at 
the  ai)(?le  of  low  land  Ibrmed  by  tiio  junction  of 
tlio  Mississippi  and  Ohio. 

For  two  months  I  had  seen  only  tho  rival  stars 
and  bars,  with  tho  exception  of  tho  rival  banner 
floating  from  tho  ships  and  tho  fort  at  Pickens. 
One  of  tho  passengers  told  mo  that  tlie  place 
was  supposed  to  bo  described  by  Mr.  Dickons, 
in  "  Martin  Chuzzlewit,"  and  as  tho  steamer 
approached  tho  desolate  embankment,  which 
eeomed  tho  only  barrier  between  tho  low  land  ou 
which  tho  so-called  city  was  built,  and  the  wa- 
ters of  tho  great  river  rising  above  it,  it  certainly 
became  impossible  to  believe  that  sane  men,  even 
an  speculators,  could  have  fixed  upon  such  a  spot 
as  tiie  possible  site  of  a  great  city, — an  emporium 
of  trado  and  commerce.  A  more  desolate  woe- 
begone looking  place,  now  that  all  trado  and 
commerce  had  ceased,  cannot  be  conceived ;  but 
as  tho  southern  terminus  of  the  central  Illinois 
railway,  it  displayed  a  verydifterent  scene  before 
the  war  broke  out. 

With  tho  exception  of  tho  large  hotel,  which 
rises  far  above  the  levee  of  tho  river,  tho  public 
edifices  are  represented  by  a  church  and  spiro, 
and  the  rest  of  tho  town  by  a  line  of  shanties  and 
small  houses,  the  rooms  and  upper  stories  of 
which  are  just  visible  above  tho  embankment. 
Tho  general  impression  effected  by  the  place  was 
decidedly  like  that  which  the  Isle  of  Dogs  pro- 
duces on  a  despondent  foreigner  as  ho  approaches 
London  by  the  river  on  a  drizzly  day  in  November. 
The  stream,  formed  by  the  united  efforts  of  the 
Mississippi  and  the  Ohio,  did  not  appear  to  gain 
mneh  breadth,  and  each  of  the  confluents  looked 
as  largo  as  its  product  with  the  other.  Three 
steamers  lay  alongside  tho  wooden  wharves  pro- 
jecting from  the  embankment,  which  was  also 
lined  by  some  flat-boats.  Sentries  paraded  the 
gangways  as  the  steamer  made  fast  along  the 
shore,  but  no  inquiry  was  directed  to  any  of  tho 
passengers,  and  I  walked  np  tho  levee  and  pro- 
ceeded straight  to  tlie  hotel,  which  put  me  very 
much  in  mind  of  an  ettbrt  made  by  speculating 
proprietors  to  create  a  waterinjj-place  on  some 
lifeless  beach.  In  the  hall  there  were  a  number 
of  officers  in  United  States'  uniforms,  and  tho 
lower  part  of  tho  hotel  was,  apparently,  occupied 
as  a  military  bureau  ;  finally,  I  was  shoved  into 
a  small  dungeon,  with  a  window  openhig  out  on 
tho  angle  formed  by  the  two  rivers,  which  was 
lined  with  sheds  and  huts  and  terminated  by  a 
battery. 

These  camps  are  such  novelties  in  the  country, 
and  there  is  such  romance  in  the  mere  fact  of  a 
man  living  in  a  tent,  that  people  come  far  and 
wide  to  see  their  friends  under  such  extraordi- 
nary circumstances,  and  tlie  hotel  at  Cairo  was 
crowded  by  men  and  women  who  had  come  from 
ill  parts  of  Illinois  to  visit  their  acquaintances 
aiid  relations  belonging  to  the  state  troops  en- 
Ciimped  at  this  important  point.  The  saUe  a 
manger,  a  long  and  lofly  room  on  tho  ground 
floor,  which  I  visited  at  supper  time,  was  almost 
untenable  by  reason  of  heat  and  flies :  nor  did  I 
find  that  the  iree  negroes,  who  acted  as  attend- 
ants, possessed  any  advantages  over  their  en- 
slaved brethren  h  few  miles  lower  down  the 


river ;  though  their  freedom  was  obvious  enough 
in  llioir  doiiieaiiour  and  maiiiiorH. 

I  was  introduced  to  Lieiieral  I'rontiss,  an  agroo- 
able  person,  without  anything  about  him  to  indi- 
cate the  soldier.  He  gave  nio  a  number  of  iiews- 
papers,  tiio  articles  in  whicii  were  principally 
occupied  witli  a  discussion  of  Lord  Jolin  llusseira 
speech  on  American  affairs.  Much  as  tho  South 
found  fault  with  the  British  minister  for  tho  views 
ho  had  expressed,  tho  North  appears  much  more 
indignant,  and  denounces  in  the  press  what  the 
journalists  are  pleased  to  call  "  the  hostility  of 
tho  Foreign  Minister  to  tho  United  States."  If. 
admitted,  however,  that  tlio  extromo  irritation 
caused  by  admitting  the  Southern  States  to  exer- 
cise limited  belligerent  rights  was  not  quite  justi- 
fiable. Soon  after  nighttiill  I  retired  to  ray  room 
and  battled  with  mosquitoes  till  I  sank  into  sleep 
and  exhaustion,  and  abandoned  myself  to  their 
mercies ;  perhaps,  after  all,  there  were  not  inoro 
than  a  hundred  or  so,  and  tiioir  united  elVorts 
could  not  absorb  as  much  blood  as  would  1)0 
taken  out  by  one  leech,  but  then  their  horrible' 
acrimony,  which  leaves  a  wreck  behind  in  tlio 
place  where  they  have  banqueted,  inspires  the 
utmost  indignation,  and  appears  to  be  an  inde- 
fensible prolongation  of  the  outrage  of  the  ori- 
ginal bite. 

June  20ih. — "When  I  awoke  this  morning,  and, 
gazing  out  of  my  little  window  on  the  regiments 
parading  on  the  level  below  me,  aflor  an  arduous 
struggle  to  obtain  cold  water  for  a  bath,  sat  d(>wn 
to  consider  what  I  had  seen  within  the  last  iwo 
months,  and  to  arrive  at  some  general  results  from 
the  retrospect,  I  own  that  after  much  thought  my 
mind  was  reduced  to  a  hazy  analysis  of  tho  ab- 
stract principles  of  right  and  wrong,  in  which  it 
failed  to  come  to  any  very  definite  conclusiua : 
tho  space  of  a  very  few  miles  has  completely  al- 
tered the  phases  of  thought  and  tho  forms  of  lan- 
guage, 

I  am  living  among  "  abolitionists,  cut-throata, 
Lincohiite  mercenaries,  foreign  invaders,  assas- 
sins, and  plundering  Dutchmen."  Such,  at  least, 
the  men  of  Columbus  tell  mo  the  garrison  at  Cairo 
consists  of.  Down  below  me  are  "  rebels,  con- 
spirators, robbers,  slave  breeders,  wretches  bent 
upon  destroying  tho  most  perfect  governni'^  .t  ou 
tlie  face  of  the  earth,  in  order  to  perpetuate  an 
accursed  system,  by  which  human  beings  are  hold 
in  bondage  and  immortal  souls  consigned  to  per- 
I  dition." 

On  tho  whole,  the  impression  lefl  upon  my 
mind  by  what  I  had  seen  in  slave  states  is  un- 
favourable t.  tho  institution  of  slavery,  botli  as 
regards  its  effects  on  the  slave  and  its  influence 
on  the  master.  But  my  examination  was  neces- 
sarily superficial  and  hasty.  I  have  reason  to 
believe  that  the  more  deeply  the  institution  is 
probed,  the  more  clearly  will  its  unsoundness  and 
its  radical  evils  be  discerned.  The  constant  ap- 
peals made  to  tho  physical  comforts  of  tho  slaves, 
and  their  supposed  contentment,  have  little  or  no 
effect  on  any  person  who  acts  up  to  a  higher  stan- 
dard of  human  happiness  than  that  which  is  ap- 
plied to  swine  or  the  beaets  of  tho  fields.  "  See 
how  fat  my  pigs  are." 

The  arguments  founded  on  a  comparison  of  the 
condition  of  the  slave  population  with  the  pau- 
perised inhabitants  of  European  states  are  utterly 
f"allaciou8,  inasmuch  as  in  one  point,  which  is  the 
most  important  by  A^r,  there  can  be  no  compari- 


rjfl 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


V 

■i 
I 


Hoii  at  all,  Tn  ofTcct,  slavery  can  only  bo  justitlod 
ill  lliu  abstract  on  llio  (fromidn  which  slavory  ud- 
vocatus  decline  to  tako  boldly,  though  tlioy  in- 
Binuato  it  now  and  then,  that  iH,  the  inferiority 
of  the  negro  in  rcHpcct  to  white  men,  wiiich  re- 
moves thorn  from  tlio  upjior  class  of  human  ijo- 
ings  and  places  thoin  in  a  condition  which  is  aa 
much  below  the  Caucasian  standard  as  the  qua- 
drumanous  croaturos  are  beneath  the  negro. 
Slavery  is  a  curse,  with  its  time  of  accomplish- 
ment not  quite  at  hand — it  is  a  cancer,  tlio  ra- 
vages of  which  are  covered  by  fair  outward  show, 
and  by  the  apparent  hoalth  of  the  sufforer. 

Tiie  slave  states,  of  course,  would  not  support 
the  Northern  for  a  year  if  cotton,  sugar,  and  to- 
bacco became  suddenly  worthless.  But,  never- 
theless, the  slave  owners  would  have  strong 
grounds  to  stand  upon  if  they  wore  content  to 
point  to  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of  emancipa- 
tion, and  the  circumstances  under  which  they  re- 
ceived their  damnosa  hereditaa  from  England, 
•which  fostered,  nay  forcoij,  slavery  in  the  legisla- 
tive hotbeds  throughout  the  colonies.  The  Eng- 
lishman may  say,  "  We  abolished  slavery  when 
wo  saw  its  evils."  The  slave  owner  replies,  "  Yes, 
with  you  it  was  possible  to  decree  the  extinction 
— not  with  us." 

Never  did  a  p'Jople  enter  on  a  war  so  utterly 
destitute  of  any  reason  for  wagiijg  it,  or  of  the 
means  of  bringing  it  to  a  successful  termination 
against  internal  enemies.  The  thirteen  colonies 
had  a  large  population  of  sea-faring  and  soldier- 
ing men,  constantly  engaged  in  military  expedi- 
tions. There  was  a  large  infusion,  compared 
with  the  numbers  of  men  capable  of  commanding 
in  the  field,  and  their  great  enemy  was  separated 
by  a  space  far  greater  than  the  whole  circumfe- 
rence of  the  globe  would  be  in  the  present  time 
from  the  scene  of  operations.  Most  American 
officers  who  took  part  in  t  e  war  of  1813-14  are 
now  too  old  for  service,  or  retired  into  private  life 
soon  after  the  campaign.  The  same  remark  ap- 
plies to  the  senior  officers  who  served  in  Mexico, 
and  the  experiences  of  that  campaign  could  not 
be  of  much  use  to  those  now  in  the  service,  of 
whom  the  majority  were  subalterns,  or  at  most, 
officers  in  command  of  volunteers. 

A  love  of  military  display  is  very  different  in- 
deed from  a  true  soldierly  spirit,  and  at  the  base 
of  the  volunteer  system  there  lies  a  radical  diffi- 
culty, which  must  be  overcome  before  real  mili- 
tary efficiency  can  be  expected.  In  the  South 
the  foreign  element  has  contributed  largely  to 
swell  the  ranks  with  many  docile  and  a  few  ex- 
perienced soldiers,  the  number  of  the  latter  pre- 
dominating in  the  German  levies,  and  the  same 
remark  is,  I  hear,  true  of  the  Northern  armies. 

Tlie  most  active  member  of  the  stafl'  here  is  a 
young  Englishman  named  Binmore,  who  was  a 
stenographic  writer  in  London,  but  has  now 
sharpened  his  pencil  into  a  sword,  and  when  I 
went  into  the  guard-room  this  morning  I  fdund 
that  three-fourths  of  the  officers,  including  all 
who  had  seen  actual  service,  were  foreigners. 
One,  Milotzky,  was  an  Hungarian ;  another, 
Waagner,  was  of  the  same  nationality ;  a  third, 
Schuttner,  was  a  German ;  another,  Mac  some- 
thing, was  a  Scotchman ;  another  was  an  English- 
man. One  only  (Colonel  Morgan),  who  had  served 
in  Mexico,  was  an  American.  The  foreigners,  of 
course,  serve  in  this  war  as  mercenaries ;  that  is, 
ibey  enter  into  the  conflict  to  gain  something  hy 


it,  either  in  pay,  in  position,  or  in  securing  a  sta- 
tus for  themselves. 

Tiie  utter  absence  of  any  fl'xed  principle  deter- 
mining the  side  which  the  foreign  nationalities 
adopt  is  proved  by  their  going  North  or  South 
with  the  state  in  which  they  live.  On  the  otiier 
hand,  the  effects  of  discipline  and  of  the  principles 
of  military  life  on  rank  and  file  are  shown  by  the 
fact  that  the  soldiers  of  the  regular  regiments  of 
the  United  States  and  the  sailors  in  the  navy  have 
to  a  man  adhered  to  their  colours,  notwithstand- 
ing the  examples  and  inducements  of  their  offi- 
cers. 

After  breakfast  I  wont  down  about  the  works, 
which  fortify  the  bank  of  mud,  in  the  shape  of  a 
V,  foriped  by  the  two  rivers — a  fl<5cho  with  a 
ditch,  scarp,  and  counter-scarp.  Some  heavy 
pieces  cover  the  end  of  the  spit  at  tuo  other  side 
of  the  MLssissippi,  at  Bird's  Point.  On  the  side 
of  Missouri  there  is  a  field  entrenchment,  hold  by 
a  regiipont  of  Germans,  Poles,  and  Hungarians, 
about  1000  strong,  with  two  field  batteries.  The 
sacred  soil  of  Kentucky,  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Ohio,  is  tabooed  by  Beriah  Magoffin,  but  it  is  not 
possible  for  the  belligerents  to  stand  so  close  face 
to  face  without  occupying  either  Columbus  or 
Hickman.  The  thermometer  was  at  100**  soon 
after  breakfast,  and  it  was  not  wonderful  to  find 
that  the  men  in  Camp  Defiance,  which  is  the 
name  of  the  cantonment  on  the  mud  between  the 
levees  of  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi,  were  sufl'er- 
ing  from  diarrhoea  and  fever. 

In  the  evening  there  was  a  review  of  three 
regiments,  forming  a  brigade  of  some  2800  men, 
who  wont  tlirough  their  drill,  advancing  in  co- 
lumns of  company,  moving  en  echelon,  cl'.anging 
front,  deploying  into  line  on  the  centre  company, 
very  creditably.  It  was  curious  to  see  wliat  a 
start  ran  through  the  men  during  the  pnrado 
when  a  gun  was  fired  from  the  battery  close  at 
hand,  and  how  their  heads  turned  towards  the 
river ;  but  the  steamer  which  had  appeared  round 
the  bend  hoisted  the  private  signs  by  which  she 
was  known  as  a  friend,  and  tranquillity  was  re- 
stored. 

I  am  not  sure  that  roost  of  these  troops  desire 
anything  but  a  long  re.sid once  at  a  tolerably  com- 
fortable station,  with  plenty  of  pay  and  no  march- 
ing. Cairo,  indeed,  is  not  comfortable ,  the  worst 
barrack  that  ever  asphyxiated  the  British  soldier 
would  bo  better  than  the  best  shed  here,  and  the 
flies  and  the  mosquitoes  are  beyond  all  concep- 
tion virulent  and  pestiferous.  I  would  give  much 
to  see  Cairo  in  its  normal  state,  but  it  is  my  fate 
to  witness  the  most  interesting  scenes  in  the 
world  through  a  glaze  of  gunpowder.  It  would 
be  unfair  to  say  that  any  marked  superiority  in 
dwelling,  clothing,  or  comfort,  was  visible  be- 
tween the  mean  white  of  Cairo  ortho  black  chat- 
tel a  few  miles  down  the  river.  Brawling,  riot- 
ing, and  a  good  deal  of  drunkenness  prevailed  in 
the  miserable  sheds  which  line  the  stream,  .-.! 
though  there  was  nothing  to  justify  the  libels  on 
the  garrison  of  the  Columbus  Crescent,  edited  by 
one  Colonel  L.  G.  Faxon,  of  the  Tennessee  Ti- 
gers, with  whoso  writings  I  was  made  acquaint- 
ed by  General  Prentiss,  to  whom  they  appeared 
to  give  more  annoyance  than  he  was  quite  wise 
in  showing. 

This  is  a  style  of  journalism  whi?h  may  have 
its  merits,  and  which  certainly  is  peculiar;  I  give 
a  few  small  pieces.      "  The  Irish  are  for  ua,  and 


yea! 


ii:-^' 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


irr 


II  f?  a  Hta* 

)lo  dctor- 
ioiialitioa 
or  South 
Lho  otiior 
priiK'iplus 
rn  by  lho 
munis  of 
lavy  hiivo 
'ilhrttund- 
their  offl- 

lio  works, 
impo  of  a 
10  with  a 
ne   heavy 
other  Hide 
1  the  side 
t,  hold  by 
jngarians, 
riea.    The 
de  of  the 
it  it  is  not 
close  face 
umbus  or 
100«  soon 
'ul  to  Ihid 
ich  is  the 
itweeu  the 
ere  suUer- 

w  of  three 
2800  men, 
cing  in  co- 
;,  changing 
5  company, 
lee  what  a 
he  parade 
)ry  close  at 
awards  the 
ared  round 
which  she 
ity  was  re- 

oops  desire 

jrably  com- 

no  niarch- 

the  worst 
tish  soldier 
re,  and  the 
all  concep- 
give  much 

is  my  fate 
nes  in  the 

It  would 
jeriority  in 
visible  be- 
black  chat- 
iwling,  riot- 
)revailed  in 
stream,  ^.!- 
le  libels  on 
t,  edited  by 
mnessee  Ti- 
le acquaiut- 
jy  appeared 

quite  wise 

may  have 
iliar;  I  give 
)  for  UB,  and 


they  will  knock  Bologna  RnnsagoH  out  of  the 
Dutcli,  mid  wo  will  knock  woodt-ti  niitincgs  out  of 
the  Yaiikoos."  "The  mosciuitocs  ofCairo  have  boon 
Bucking  lho  lager-bier  out  of  tlio  dirty  sohliors 
there  ho  long,  they  are  bloated  and  swelled  up  as 
largo  as  Hpring  'p'jssu'us.  An  aHsortmont  of  Co- 
lunibuH  niosquiloes  went  up  thoro  the  other  day 
to  Huck  Home,  but  as  they  liavo  not  returned,  the 
probability  is  they  wentotf  with  delirium  tremen.i; 
in  fact,  the  blood  of  those  Hossians  would  poi- 
son tho  most  degraded  tumble  bug  in  creation." 

Our  editor  is  particularly  angry  about  tho  re- 
cent seizure  of  n  Confederate  Hag  at  Columbus 
by  Colonel  Oglesby  and  a  party  of  Federals  from 
Cairo.  Speaking  of  a  flag  intondid  for  hiin.self, 
he  says,  "Would  that  Us  folds  had  contained 
1000  asps  to  sting  1000  Duti  hmori  to  eternity 
unshrivon."  Our  friend  is  certainly  a  goi  ius. 
His  paper  of  June  tho  l!)th  opens  with  an  apo- 
logy for  tho  non-appearance  of  tho  journal  for 
several  weeks.  "  Before  leaving,"  he  says,  "  we 
engaged  tho  services  of  a  competent  editor,  and 
left  a  printer  hero  to  issue  the  paper  regularly. 
Wo  were  detained  soveral  weeks  beyond  our 
time,  tho  aforesaid  printer  promised  faithfully  to 
perform  his  duties,  but  he  left  the  same  day 
we  did,  and  consequently  there  was  no  one  to 
get  out  the  paper.  Wo  have  the  diarity  to  sup- 
pose that  fear  and  bad  whisky  had  nothing  to  do 
with  his  evacuation  of  Columbus."  Another 
elegant  extract  about  the  flag  commences,  "When 
the  bow-legged,  wooden  shoed,  sour  craut  stink- 
ing, Bologna  sausage  eating,  hen  roost  robbing 
Dutch  sons  of had  accomplished  the  bril- 
liant feat  of  taking  down  the  Secession  flag  on 
the  river  bank,  they  were  pointed  to  another 
flag  of  the  same  sort  which  their  guns  did  not 
cover,  flying  gloriously  and  defiantly,  and  dared 
yea  I  double  big  black  dog  dared,  as  we  used  to 
say  at  school,  to  take  that  flag  down — tho  cow- 
ardly pups,  the  thieving  sheep  dogs,  tho  sneak- 
ing skunks,  daro  not  do  so,  because  their  twelve 
pieces  of  artillery  were  not  bearing  on  it."  As 
to  the  Federal  commander  at  Cairo,  Colonel 
Faxon's  sentiments  are  unambiguous.  "  The 
qualifications  of  this  man,  Prentiss,"  he  says, 
"  for  the  command  of  such  a  squad  of  villains 
and  cut-throats  are,  that  he  is  a  miserable  hound, 
a  dirty  dog,  a  sociable  fellow,  a  treacherous  vil- 
lain, a  notorious  thief,  a  lying  blackguard,  who 
has  served  his  regular  five  years  in  tho  Peniten- 
tiary and  keeps  his  hide  continually  full  of  Cin- 
cinnati whisky,  which  he  buys  by  the  barrel  in 
order  to  save  his  money — in  him  are  embodied 
the  leprous  rascalities  of  the  world,  and  in  this 
living  score,  the  gallows  is  cheated  of  its  own. 
Prentiss  wants  our  scalp ;  we  propose  a  plan  by 
which  he  may  get  that  valuable  article.  Let 
him  select  150  of  his  best  fighting  men,  or  250  of 
his  lager-bier  Dutchmen,  we  will  select  100,  then 
let  both  parties  meet  where  there  will  be  no  in- 
terruption at  the  scalping  business,  and  the 
longest  pole  Will  knock  the  persimmon.  If  he 
does  not  accept  this  proposal,  he  is  a  coward. 
We  think  this  a  gentlemanly  proposition  and 
quite  fair  and  equal  to  both  parties." 


CHAPTKR  XL. 


Camp  Hi  Cairo— Th»  North  and  ilm  Sourtli  In  rcpi'ot  to 
Kiiropo— INiUtlciil  riillrfolliiiH— Mr.  '  .iiIhii"!  i  ixIcHhy 
— My  upecoli— Northern  and  Soiithi-rn  unMiurit  com- 
riarcd— AmiTlciim  <-<>nntry-wiilkit— lii'ckUissiios.s  (if 
Ilfo — Want  of  oivviilry  — KiiuMito  hb  thi-  iiimp— I>(i. 
ffCtn  of  nriny  me'*llu«l  di-pnrtmnnfr—llorrors  of  war 
— liad  discipline. 

JuneMlat. — Verily  I  v/imld  ho  *)0M4?r  in  tho  Cop 
tic  Cairo,  narrow  streoted,  dank  buzaared,  many 
filed,  much  \  xod  by  donkeys  and  by  overland 
route  pasHenKt-rs,  timr-  the  horrid  tongue  of  land 
which  licks  tlio  mud',v  margin  of  tiiO  Ohio  and 
the  Mississippi.  Tho  ihormometcr  at  100*  in  the 
shade  before  noon  innu^tes  nowhere  else  such  an 
amount  of  heat  and  suflering,  and  yet  prostrate 
as  I  was,  it  was  my  fato  to  argue  that  Kngjand 
was  jiiHtifled  in  concodjng  belligerent  rights  to 
the  SfMtth,  and  that  tho  attitude  of  neutj-ality  we 
had  aasumod  in  this  terrible  quarrel  is  not  in 
eflcct  an  aggression  on  the  United  Slates;  and 
here  is  a  dillerenco  to  bo  perceived  between  the 
North  and  tho  South. 

Tho  people  of  tho  seceding  States,  awaro  in 
their  consciences  that  they  have  been  most  active 
in  their  hostility  to  Great  Britain,  and  whilst  they 
were  in  power  were  mainly  responsjblo  lor  the 
defiant,  irritating,  and  insulting  tone  commonly 
used  to  us  by  American  statesmen,  aro  anxious 
at  tho  present  moment,  when  so  much  depends 
on  the  action  of  fureign  countries,  to  reoiovo  all 
unfavourable  impressions  from  our  minds  by  de- 
clarations of  good  will  respect,  and  admiration, 
not  quite  compatible  with  tho  language  of  their 
leaders  in  times  not  long  gone  by.  Tho  North, 
as  yet  unconscious  of  tho  loss  of  power,  and  rear- 
ed in  a  school  of  menace  and  violent  assertion  of 
their  rights,  regarding  themselves  as  tho  whole  of 
the  United  States,  and  animated  by  their  own 
feeling  of  commercial  and  political  opposition  to 
Great  Britain,  maintain  the  high  tone  of  a  people 
who  have  never  known  let  or  hindrance  in  their 
passions,  and  consider  it  an  outrage  that  the 
whole  world  does  not  join  in  active  8ynii)athy  for 
a  government  which  in  its  brief  career  has  con- 
trived to  affront  every  nation  in  Europe  with 
which  it  had  any  dealings. 

If  the  United  States  have  astonished  Franco 
by  their  ingratitude,  they  have  certainly  accustom- 
ed England  to  their  petulance,  and  one  can  fancy 
the  satisfaction  with  which  the  Austrian  Slates- 
men  who  remember  Mr.  Webster's  despatch  to 
Mr.  Hulsemann,  contemplate  the  present  condi- 
tion of  the  United  States  in  the  face  of  an  insur- 
rection of  these  sovereign  and  independent  States 
which  the  Cabinet  at  Washington  stigmati.ses  as 
an  outbreak  of  rebels  and  traitors  to  the  royalty 
of  the  Union. 

During  my  short  sojourn  in  this  country  I  have 
never  yet  met  any  person  who  could  show  me 
where  tho  sovereignty  of  the  Union  resides. 
General  Prentiss,  however,  and  his  Illinois  volun- 
teers, are  quite  ready  to  fight  for  it. 

In  the  afternoon  the  General  drove  me  round 
the  camps  in  company  with  Mr.  Washburne, 
Member  of  Congress,  from  Illinois,  his  stafl'  and  a 
party  of  officers,  among  whom  was  Mr.  Oglesby, 
colonel  of  a  regiment  of  State  Volunteers,  who 
struck  me  by  his  shrewdness,  simple  honesty,  and 
zeal.*  He  told  me  that  he  had  begun  life  in  the  ut- 
most obscurity,  but  that  somehow  or  other  he  got 
into  a  lawyer's  oflfice.and  there, by  hard  drudgory,by 
*  Since  died  of  wounds  received  in  action. 


[i 


198 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


/ 


f    I 


iiiotliop  wit  ami  indiislry,  notwitlistandinj?  ii  defec- 
tivo  CMliifalioii,  lio  had  raist-d  liiiiiMclf  not  only  to 
indopondcncc,  Imt  to  hiu.-Ii  a  position  tiiat  1000 
men  had  pillnTfd  at  liis  call  and  Hclcctcd  otio 
wlio  had  ncviT  led  n  company  In  hl.s  lilo  to  ho 
their  colonel ;  in  fact,  ho  in  an  excellent  orator  of 
tho  western  hcIiooI,  and  inado  good  homely,  tell- 
lu}(  speeches  to  his  men. 

,  •'  I'm  not  as  good  as  your  Frenehmon  of  tho 
schools  of  i'aris,  nor  am  I  equal  to  tho  Uussinn 
colonels  I  met  at  St.  Petersburg,  who  sketched 
ino  out  how  they  had  beaten  you  IJrilishers  at 
Sobustopul,"  said  he;  "  but  I  know  I  can  do  good 
straight  lighting  with  my  boys  when  I  get  a 
chance.  Thero  is  a  good  deal  in  training,  to  bo 
sure,  but  nature  tolls  too.  Why  I  believo  I 
would  mako  a  good  artillery  ofUcor  if  I 
was  put  to  it.  General,  you  heard  how  I  laid  one 
of  thorn  guns  tho  other  day  and  touclied  hor  oft"  with 
uiy  own  hand  and  sent  tho  ball  right  into  a  treo 
half-a-iuilo  away."  Tho  colonel  evidently  thought 
ho  had  by  that  feat  proved  his  lltncss  for  the  com- 
mand of  a  Held  battery.  Ono  of  tho  German 
oflicers  who  was  listening  to  tho  lively  old  man's 
talk,  whispered  to  mo,  "  Doro  is  a  good  many  of 
teso  colonels  in  dis  camp." 

At  each  station  the  olllcers  came  out  of  their 
touts,  shook  hands  all  round,  and  gave  an  unfail- 
ing invitation  to  get  down  and  toko  a  drink,  and 
tho  guns  on  tho  General's  approach  Ilred  salutes, 
IS  though  it  was  a  time  of  profoundest  poaco. 
Powder  was  certainly  more  plentiful  than  in  the 
Confederate  camps,  whore  salutes  are  not  permit- 
ted unless  by  special  order  on  groat  occasions. 

Tho  General  remained  for  some  time  in  tho 
camp  of  tho  Chicago  light  artiller}',  which  was 
commanded  by  a  lino  young  Scotchman  of  the 
8axon  genus  Smith,  who  told  mo  that  th'-  pri- 
vates of  his  company  represented  a  million  and  a 
half  of  dollars  in  property.  Their  guns,  horses, 
carriages,  and  accoutrements  wore  all  in  tho  most 
creditable  order,  and  there  was  an  air  about  tho 
men  and  about  thoir  camp  which  showed  they 
did  not  belong  to  tho  same  cla.s3  as  tho  better 
disciplined  Hungarians  of  Milotzky  close  at  hand. 

Whilst  wo  were  seated  in  Captain  Smith's  tent, 
a  number  of  tho  privates  camo  forward,  and  sang 
the  "  Star-spangled  banner  "  and  a  patriotic  song, 
to  the  air  of  "  God  save  tho  Queen,"  and  the  rest 
of  the  artillerymen,  and  a  number  of  stragglers 
from  tlie  other  camps,  assembled  and  then  formed 
line  behind  tho  singers.  When  tho  chorus  was 
over  tliere  arose  a  great  shout  for  Washburne, 
and  the  liono\irablo  Congressman  was  fain  to  come 
forward  and  mako  a  speech,  in  which  ho  assured 
his  hearers  of  a  very  speedy  victory  and  the  ad- 
vent of  liberty  all  over  the  land.  Then  "  General 
Prentiss  "  was  called  for ;  and  as  citizen  soldiers 
command  their  Generals  on  such  occasions,  he  tqo 
was  obliged  to  speak,  and  to  tell  his  audience 
"  the  world  had  never  seen  any  men  more  do- 
voted,  gallant,  or  patriotic  than  themselves." 
"  Oglesby  "  was  next  summoned,  and  the  tall, 
portly,  good-humoured  old  man  stepped  to  the 
front,  and  with  excellent  tact  and  good  sense, 
dished  up  in  the  Buncombe  style,  told  them  the 
time  for  making  speeches  had  passed,  indeed  it 
had  lasted  too  long ;  and  although  it  was  said 
there  was  very  little  fighting  when  there  was 
much  talking,  he  believed  too  much  talking  was 
likely  to  lead  to  a  great  deal  more  fighting  than 
any  one  desired  to  see  between  citizens  of  the 


United  .States  of  America,  except  llieir  enemion, 
wbni,  no  doubt,  wore  nnich  i)eit(r pleased  to  nee 
Americans  fighting  each  other  than  to  lind  them 
engaged  in  any  other employmint.  (Jrcatas  tho 
mi.schief  of  too  much  talking  had  been,  too  much 
writing  had  far  more  of  tho  mischief  to  answer 
for.  Tho  pen  was  keener  than  tho  tongue,  hit 
harder,  and  left  a  more  intiurablo  wound ;  but  tho 
pen  was  better  than  tho  tongue,  because  it  was 
able  to  euro  tho  mischief  it  had  infiicted."  And 
so  by  a  series  of  Hontences  tho  Colonel  got  round 
to  mo,  and  to  my  coustoniation,  romombering 
how  I  had  fared  with  niy  speech  at  the  little  pri- 
vate dinner  on  St.  Patrick's  Day  in  New  Yoik,  I 
was  called  upon  by  stentorian  lungs,  and  hustled 
to  tho  stump  by  a  friendly  circle,  till  I  escaped 
by  uttering  a  few  sentences  as  to  "  mighty  strug- 
gle," "  i'iUropo  gazing,"  "  the  world  anxious," 
"  the  virtues  of  discipline,"  "  the  admirable  les-sona 
of  a  soldier's  life,"  and  the  "aspiration  that  in  a 
quarrel  wherein  a  liritish  subject  was  ordered,  by 
an  authority  ho  was  bound  to  respect,  to  remain 
neutral,  God  might  preserve  tho  right." 

Colonel,  General,  and  all  addrcs-sed  the  soldiers 
as  "  gentlcmon,"  and  their  auditory  did  not  on 
their  part  refrain  from  expressing  their  sentiments 
in  tho  mo8t  unmistakeablo  matmer.  "  Bully  for 
you,  Gcnerall"  "  Bravo,  Wa.shburno  I"  "That's 
so,  Colonell"  and  tho  like,  interrupted  tho  ha- 
rangues, and  when  the  oratorical  exercises  were 
over  the  men  crowded  round  tho  staff,  cheered 
and  hurrahed,  and  tossed  up  their  caps  in  tlto 
greatest  delight. 

With  tho  exception  of  tho  foioign  officers,  and 
some  of  the  Staff,  there  are  very  fow  of  tho  cole 
nels,  majors,  captains,  or  lieutenants  who  kno\. 
anything  of  their  busines.s.  The  men  do  not  care 
for  them,  and  never  think  of  saluting  them.  A 
regiment  of  Germans  was  sent  across  from  Bird's 
Point  this  evening  for  plundering  and  robbing  the 
houses  in  the  district  in  which  they  were  quar- 
tered. 

It  may  be  readily  imagined  that  the  scoundrels 
who  had  to  fly  from  every  city  in  Europe  before 
tho  face  of  tho  police  will  not  stay  their  hands 
when  they  find  themselves  masters  of  the  situa- 
tion in  the  so-called  country  of  an  enemy.  In 
such  matters  the  oflicers  have  little  or  no  control, 
and  discipline  is  exceedingly  lax,  and  punish- 
ments but  sparingly  infiicted,  the  use  of  the  lash 
being  forbidden  altogether.  Fine  as  the  men  are, 
incomparably  better  armed,  clad — and  doubtless 
better  fed — than  the  Southern  troops,  they  will 
scarcely  meet  them  man  to  man  in  the  field  with 
any  chance  of  success.  Among  the  oflicers  are 
bar-room  keepers,  persons  little  above  the  posi- 
tion of  potmen  in  England,  grocers'  apprentices, 
and  such  like — oflon  inferior  socially,  and  in  every 
other  respect,  to  tho  men  whom  thoy  are  suppos- 
ed to  command.  General  Prentiss  has  seen  ser- 
vice, I  believe,  in  Mexico  ;  but  he  appears  to  me 
to  bo  rather  an  ardent  politician,  embittered 
against  slaveholders  and  the  South,  than  a  judi- 
cious or  skilful  military  leader. 

The  principles  on  which  these  isolated  com- 
manders carry  on  the  war  are  eminently  defect- 
ive. Thoy  apply  their  whole  minds  to  petty  ex- 
peditions, which  go  out  from  the  camps,  attack 
some  Secessionist  gathering,  and  then  return, 
plundering  as  they  go  and  come,  exasperating 
enemies,  converting  neutrals  into  opponents,  dis- 
gusting friends,  and  leaving  it  to  the  Secession- 


MV  DIARY  NORTn  AND  SOUin. 


120 


I    to    RL'O 

1(1    tliein 
III  aH  tlio 
M)  iiiiiuli 
)  uiiHwur 
ii(;iic',  liit 
;  but  tlio 
»   it   Wft« 
,"      And 
;ot  round 
oniboritiK 
litllo  pri- 
V  York,  I 
d  liitstlud 
oHCuped 
lity  atrug- 
anxious," 
)lo  IcsHona 
that  iu  a 
rdored,  by 
to  remain 

le  soldiers 
lid  not  on 
(cntinicnts 
"  Bully  for 
'  "TliatH 
;d  tlio  Un- 
•cises  were 
IT,  cheered 
a  pa  in  tlu) 

fficers,  and 
(f  the  cole 
who  kno\i 
do  not  care 
them.  A 
Tom  Bird's 
robbing  the 
were  quar- 

scoundrels 
•opo  before 
their  hands 

the  situa- 
nemy.     In 
no  control, 
nd  punish- 
of  the  lash 
ho  men  are, 
i  doubtless 
,  they  will 
0  hold  with 
ofticera  are 
the  posi- 
apprenticos, 
md  in  every 
are  suppoa- 
19  seen  sor- 
pears  to  me 

embittered 
,han  a  judi- 

olated  com- 
mtly  defect- 
to  petty  ex- 
mpa,  attack 
hen  return, 
sxasperating 
)onents,  dia- 
Secesaion- 


Ist«  to  boast  that  thoy  have  r«'|iii!sp(l  tlioni.  In- 
Btoad  of  ciK^ouragiiig  the  men  and  improving 
their  dlHinpline  tlioHo  ill-ooiidueteil  oxpeditionH 
have  an  oppfj^ito  roHult. 

./itiif  T-iml. — An  active  man  would  unon  go  nmd 
If  iio  wi'iv  ninlhit'd  in  Cairo.  A  nuidl)iink  stri'tcii- 
Ing  nioiig  tlio  couTHO  of  a  muiidy  river  ia  not  at- 
tractive to  a  pcdoMtrian;  and,  as  is  the  case  in 
nioHt  of  the  Southern  citicH,  tliore  is  no  jilaco 
round  Cairo  whore  a  man  can  stn.'lch  hi.s  legs  or 
take  an  honest  walk  in  the  country.  A  walk  in 
the  country  1  The  Anii'ricaiis  have  not  an  idea 
of  wliat  tlu)  tiling  nu;aiiH.  I  Hpcak  now  only  of 
tiio  iuhMhilants  of  tiie  towns  of  tlio  Stat(>s  tlirough 
wliicli  I  have  passed,  as  far  as  I  have  Hoen  of 
tiiem.  Tlio  roads  are  cither  impa.MHalilo  in  mud 
or  knee-deep  in  dust.  There  are  no  green  shady 
lanoH,  no  Hheltering  groves,  no  (luict  paths 
through  green  meadows  beiieatli  umbrageous 
trees.  Oil'  tiio  rail  there  is  a  morass — or,  at  best, 
a  clearing — full  of  stumps.  No  temptations  to 
take  a  stroll.  Down  away  South  the  planters 
ride  or  drive ;  indeed  in  many  places  the  sauu- 
terer  by  the  way-side  would  proi)ably  encounter 
an  alligator,  or  disturb  a  society  of  rattlesnakes. 

To-day  I  managed  to  struggle  along  the  levee 
in  a  kind  of  sirocco,  and  vL^ited  the  works  at  tho 
extremity,  which  were  constructed  by  an  Hunga- 
rian named  Waagner,  one  of  the  emiijrin  who 
came  with  Kossuth  to  the  United  States.  I  found 
him  in  a  hut  full  of  Hies,  sulfering  from  camp 
diarrluea,  and  waited  on  by  Mr.  O'Leary,  who 
Was  formerly  petty  officer  in  our  navy,  served  in 
the  Furious  in  tho  Black  Sea,  and  in  the  Shatinon 
Brigade  in  India,  now  a  lieutenant  in  tho  United 
States'  army,  where  I  should  say  he  feels  himself 
very  much  out  of  place.  Tho  Hungarian  and  tho 
Milesian  were,  however,  quite  agreed  about  tho 
utter  incompetence  of  their  military  friends  around 
them,  and  tho  great  merits  of  heavy  artillery. 
"  When  I  tell  them  hero  tho  way  poor  Sir  Wil- 
liam made  us  rattle  about  them  G8-poundor  guns, 
the  poor  ignorant  creatures  laugh  at  mo — not  one 
of  them  believes  it."  "It  is  most  astonishing," 
says  the  colonel,  "  how  ignorant  they  are :  there 
is  not  one  of  these  men  who  can  trace  a  regular 
work.  Of  Westpoint  men  I  speak  not,  but  of 
the  people  about  here,  r.nd  they  will  not  learn  of 
mo — from  me  who  knows."  However,  the  works 
were  well  enough,  strongly  covered,  commanded 
both  rivers,  and  not  to  bo  reduced  without  trou- 
ble. 

Tho  heat  drove  me  in  among  tho  flics  of  tho 
crowded  hotel,  where  Brigadier  Prentiss  is  plan- 
ning ono  of  those  absurd  expeditions  against  a 
Secessionist  camp  at  Commerce,  in  the  State  of 
Missouri,  about  two  hours'  steaming  up  the  river, 
and  some  twelve  or  fourteen  miles  inland.  Cairo 
abounds  in  Secessionists  and  spies,  and  it  is  need- 
ful to  take  great  precautions  lest  tho  expedition 
be  known;  but,  after  all,  stores  must  be  got 
ready,  and  put  on  board  the  steamers,  and  prepa- 
rations must  be  made  which  cannot  be  concealed 
from  the  world.  At  dusk  700  men,  supported  by 
a  six  pounder  fleld-piece,  were  put  on  board  the 
"  City  of  Alton,"  on  whicli  they  clustered  like 
bees  in  a  swarm,  and  as  the  huge  engine  labour- 
ed up  and  down  against  the  stream,  and  the  boat 
swayed  from  side  to  side,  I  felt  a  con  iderablo  de- 
sire to  see  General  Prentiss  chucked  into  the 
stream  for  his  utter  recklessness  in  cramming  on 
board  one  huge  tinder-box,  all  fire  and  touch- 


wood, so  many  human  beings,  who,  in  event  of 
on  oxploMion,  or  a  shot  in  the  boilrr,  or  of  a  heavy 
musketry  lire  on  the  ImnkH.  wouM  have  been  con- 
verted into  a  great  Hlaiigliler-liouse.  One  Hniall 
boat  hung  from  lier  .stern,  and  although  there 
were  plenty  of  river  liat.s  and  nuinerouH  steamers, 
even  the  horses  belonging  to  the  lleld-pieee  were 
crammed  in  among  tho  men  along  the  deck. 

In  my  lett'T  to  Kurope  I  made,  at  tho  time, 
some  remarks  by  which  tho  belligerents  might 
have  prollted,  and  which  at  tho  time  tlit'se  pages 
are  reproduced  may  strike  them  as  poHse.><sing 
soino  value,  illustrated  as  they  have  been  by 
many  events  in  the  war.  "  A  handful  of  horse- 
men would  have  been  admirable  to  move  in  ad- 
vance, feel  tho  covers,  and  make  prisoners  for 
political  or  other  jiurpo.^es  in  eitse  of  (light ;  but 
the  Americans  persist  in  ignoring  the  u.se  of 
horsemen,  or  at  least  in  depreciating  it,  though 
they  will  at  last  find  that  they  may  shed  nmch 
blood,  and  lose  much  more,  before  they  can  gain 
a  victory  without  the  aid  of  artillery  and  charges 
after  the  retreating  enemy.  From  tho  want  of 
cavalry,  I  suppose  it  is,  tho  unmilitary  practice 
of  *  scouting,'  as  it  is  called  here,  has  arisen.  It 
is  all  very  well  ni  the  days  of  Indian  wars  for  foo; 
men  to  creep  about  in  tho  biishcM,  and  .shoot  or 
bo  shot  by  sentries  and  pickets  ;  but  no  civilised 
war  recognises  such  means  of  annoyance  as  tiring 
upon  seutiniJs,  unless  in  ca,se  of  an  actual  advance 
or  feigned  attack  on  the  lino.  No  camp  can  bo 
safe  without  cavalry  videttes  and  pickets ;  for 
the  enemy  can  pour  in  impetuously  after  the 
alarm  has  been  given,  as  fijst  as  the  outlying  foot- 
men can  run  in.  In  feeling  the  way  for  a  column, 
cavalry  are  invaluable,  and  there  can  bo  little 
chance  of  ambuscades  or  surprises  where  they 
are  judiciously  employed ;  but  '  scouting '  on 
foot,  or  adventurous  private  expeditions  on  horse- 
back, to  have  a  look  at  tho  enemy,  can  do,  and 
will  do,  nothing  but  harm.  Every  day  tho 
papers  contain  accounts  of  '  scouts  '  being  killed, 
and  sentries  being  picked  off.  Tho  latter  is  a 
very  barbarous  and  savage  practice;  and  the 
Russian,  in  his  most  angry  moments,  abstained 
from  it.  If  any  officer  wishes  to  obtain  i;iforma- 
tion  as  to  his  enemy,  ho  has  two  ways  of  doing 
it.  Ho  can  employ  spies,  who  carry  their  lives 
In  their  hands,  'r  he  can  beat  up  their  quarters 
by  a  proper  rcconnoissance  on  his  own  responsi- 
bility, in  which,  however,  it  would  bo  advisable 
not  to  trust  his  force  to  a  railway  train." 

At  night  there  was  a  kind  of  emeute  in  camp. 
The  day,  as  I  have  said,  was  excessively  hot,  and 
on  returning  to  their  tents  and  huts  from  evening 
parade  the  men  found  the  contractor  who  supplies 
thom  with  water  had  not  filled  the  barrels ;  so 
they  forced  the  sentries,  broke  barracks  after 
hours,  mobbed  their  officers,  and  streamed  up  to 
tho  hotel,  which  they  surrounded,  calling  out, 
"  Water,  water,"  in  chorus.  The  General  came 
out,  and  got  up  on  a  rail :  "Gentlemen,"  said  he, 
"  it  is  not  my  foult  you  are  without  water.  It's 
your  officers  who  are  to  blame,  not  me."  ("Groans 
for  the  Quartermaster,"  from  the  men.)  "If  it  is 
the  fault  of  the  contractor,  I'll  see  that  he  is 
punished.  I'll  take  steps  at  once  to  see  that  the 
matter  is  remedied.  And  now,  gentlemen,  I 
hope  you'll  go  back  to  your  quarters;"  and  the 
gentlemen  took  it  into  their  heads  very  good- 
humouredly  to  obey  the  suggestion,  fell  in,  and 
marched  back  two  deep  to  their  huts. 


180 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


A.S  the  General  was  smoking  his  cigar  before 
goinf,  to  bed,  I  asiced  him  why  the  oflicers  had 
not  more  control  over  the  men.  "  "Well,"  said 
he,  "  the  officers  are  to  blame  for  all  this.  The 
truth  is,  tlie  terra  for  whicli  tlieso  volunteers  en- 
listed is  drawing  to  a  close ;  and  they  have  not 
as  yet  enrolled  'umselves  in  the  United  States' 
Army.  Tlioy  are  merely  volunteer  regiments  of 
the  State  of  Illinois,  if  they  were  displeased 
witli  anything,  therefore,  they  might  refuse  to 
enter  tlie  service  or  to  take  fresh  engagements ; 
and  the  officers  would  find  theiuselves  suddenly 
left  without  any  men ;  they  tlierefore  curry  favour 
with  the  privates,  many  of  them,  too,  having  an 
eye  to  the  votes  of  the  men  when  the  elections 
of  offieers  in  the  new  regiments  are  to  take 
place." 

Tl;e  contractors  have  commenced  plunder  on  a 
gigantic  scale ;  and  their  influence  witli  the  autho- 
rities of  the  State  is  so  powerful,  there  is  little 
chance  of  punishing  them.  Besides,  it  is  not 
considered  expedient  to  deter  contractors,  by  too 
scrupulous  an  exactitude,  in  coming  forward  at 
such  a  trying  period;  and  the  Quartermaster's 
department,  which  ought  to  be  the  most  perfect, 
considering  the  number  of  persons  connected 
with  transport  and  carriage,  ia  in  a  most  disgrace- 
ful and  inefficient  condition.  I  told  the  General 
that  one  of  the  Southern  leaders  proposed  to 
hang  any  contractor  who  was  found  out  in  cheat- 
ing the  men,  and  that  the  press  cordially  ap- 
proved of  the  suggestion.  "I  am  afraid,"  said 
he,  "  if  any  such  proposal  was  carried  out  here, 
there  would  scarcely  be  a  contractor  left  through- 
out the  States."  Equal  ignorance  is  shown  by 
the  medical  authorities  of  the  requirements  of  an 
army.  There  is  not  an  ambulance  or  cacolet  of 
any  "kind  attached  to  this  camp ;  and,  as  far  aa  I 
could  see,  not  even  a  litter  was  sent  on  board  the 
steamer  which  has  started  with  the  expedition. 

Although  there  has  scarcely  been  a  fought 
field  or  anything  more  serious  than  the  miserable 
skirmishes  of  Shenck  and  Butler,  the  pressure  of 
war  has  already  told  upon  the  people.  The  Cairo 
paper  makes  an  urgent  appeal  to  the  authorities 
to  relieve  the  distress  and  pauperism  which  the 
sudden  interruption  of  trade  has  brought  upon  so 
many  respectable  citizens.  And  when  I  was  at 
Memphis  the  other  day,  I  observed  a  public  notice 
in  the  jom-rals,  that  the  magistrates  of  the  city 
would  issue  orders  for  money  to  families  left  in 
distress  by  the  enrolment  of  the  male  members 
for  military  service.  When  General  Scott,  sorely 
against  his  will,  was  urged  to  makotpreparations 
for  an  armed  invasion  of  the  seceded  states  in 
case  it  'u^cjame  necessary,  he  said  it  would  need 
some  hiMdreds  of  thousands  of  men  and  many 
millions  of  money  to  effect  that  object  Mr. 
Seward.  Mr.  Chase,  and  Mr.  Lincoln  laughed 
pleasantly  at  this  exaggeration,  but  they  have 
begun  to  find  by  this  time  the  old  general  was 
not  quite  so  much  in  the  wrong. 

In  reference  to  the  discipline  maintained  in  the 
camp,  I  must  admit  that  proper  precautions  are 
used  to  prevent  spies  entering  the  lines.  The 
•sentries  are  posted  closely,  and  permit  no  one  to 
go  in  without  a  pass  in  the  day  and  a  counter- 
sign at  night.  ^  conversation  with  General 
Prentiss  in  the  front  of  the  hotel  was  interrupted 
this  evening  by  an  Irishman,  vvho  ran  past  us 
towards  the  camp,  hotly  pursued  by  two  police- 
men.    The  sentry  on  duty  at  the  pomt  of  the 


lines  close  to  us  brought  him  up  by  the  point  of 
the  bayonet.  "Who  goes  tore?"  "  A  friend, 
shure,  your  honour ;  I'm  a  friend."  "Advance 
three  paces  and  give  the  countersign."  "  I  don't 
know  it,  I  tell  you.  Lot  me  in,  let  mo  in."  But 
the  Germ'' a  was  resolute,  and  the  policemen  now 
coming  up  in  hot  pursuit,  seized  the  culprit,  who 
resisted  violently,  till  G(  neral  Prentiss  rose  from 
his  chair  and  ordered  the  guard,  who  had  turned 
out,  to  make  a  prisoner  of  the  soldier,  and  hand 
him  over  to  the  civil  power,  for  which  the  man 
seemed  to  be  most  deeply  grateful.  As  the 
policemen  were  walking  off,  he  exclaimed,  "  Be 
quiet  wid  ye,  till  I  spake  a  word  to  the  Gineral," 
and  then  bowing  and  chuckling  with  drunken 
gravity  he  said,  "  an'  indeed,  Ginoral,  I'm  much 
obleeged  to  ye  altogither  for  this  kindness.  Long 
life  to  ye.  We've  got  the  better  of  that  dirty 
German.  Hoora  for  Giner:\l  Prentiss."  He  pre- 
ferred a  chance  of  more  whisky  in  the  police  office 
and  a  light  punishment  to  the  work  in  camp  and 
a  heavy  drill  in  the  morning.  An  officer  who 
was  challenged  by  a  sentry  the  other  evening, 
asked  him,  "  do  you  know  the  countersign  your- 
self?" "No,  sir,  it's  not  nine  o'clock,  and  they 
have  not  given  it  o'jt  yet."  Another  sentry  who 
stopped  a  man  because  he  did  not  know  the 
countersign.  The  fellow  said,  "I  dare  say  you 
don't  know  it  yourself"  "  That's  a  lie,"  he  ex- 
claimed, "  it's  Plattsburgh."  "  Plattsburgh  it  is, 
sure  enough,"  said  the  other,  and  walked  on 
without  further  parley. 

The  Americans,  Irish,  and  Germans,  do  not 
always  coincide  in  the  phonetic  value  of  each 
letter  in  the  passwords,  and  several  difficulties 
have  occurred  in  consequence.  An  incautious 
approach  towards  the  posts  at  night  is  attended 
with  risk ;  for  the  raw  sentries  are  very  quick  on 
the  trigger.  More  fatal  and  serious  injuries  have 
been  inflicted  on  the  Federals  by  themselves 
than  by  the  enemy.  "  I  declare  to  you,  sir,  the 
way  the  boys  touched  off  their  irons  at  me  going 
home  to  my  camp  last  night,  was  just  like  a  run- 
ning fight  with  the  Ingins.  I  was  a  little  '  tight,' 
and  didn't  mind  it  a  cuss." 


CHAPTER  XLL 

Impending  battle — By  railway  to  Chicago — Northern 
enlightenments— Mound  City— "  Cotton  Is  King"— 
Land  in  the  States — Dead  level  of  American  society — 
rnturn  into  the  Union — American  homes — Across  tho 
p.airle — White  labourers— New  pillager— Lake  Michi- 
gan. 

June  23rd. — The  latest  information  which  I 
received  to-day  is  of  a  nature  to  hasten  my  de- 
parture for  Washington ;  it  can  no  longer  be 
doubted  that  a  battle  between  the  two  armies 
assembled  in  the  neighbourhood  of  the  capital  is 
imminent.  The  vague  hope  which  from  time  to 
time  I  have  entertained  of  being  able  to  visit 
Richmond  before  I  finally  take  up  my  quarters 
with  the  only  army  from  which  I  can  communi- 
cate regvilarly  with  Europe  has  now  vanished 

At  four  o'clock  in  the  evening  I  started  by  tho 
train  on  the  famous  Central  Illinois  line  from 
Cairo  to  Chicago, 

The  carriages  were  tolerably  well  filled  with 
soldiers,  and  in  addition  to  them  there  wore  a 
few  unfortunate  women,  undergoing  uepoi  uittion 
to  some  less  moral  neighbourhood.    Neither  the 


) 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


181 


e  point  of 

A  friend, 
"  Advance 
"  I  don't 
)in."  But 
3enien  now 
ulprit,  who 

rose  from 
aad  turned 
,  and  baud 
h  tlio  man 
.  As  the 
limed,  "  Be 
16  Gineral," 
th  drunken 
,  I'm  much 
aess.  Long 
'  that  dirty 
I."  Ho  pro- 
police  office 
n  camp  and 
officer  who 
er  evening, 
jrsign  your- 
k,  and  they 

sentry  who 
t  know  the 
aro  say  you 
lie,"  he  ex- 
aburgli  it  ia, 

walked  on 

lans,  do  not 
ilue  of  each 
al  difficulties 
u  incautious 
t  is  attended 
ery  quick  on 
injuries  have 
themselves 
you,  sir,  the 
at  me  going 
5t  like  a  run- 
little  '  tight,' 


ago — Northern 
n  is  King"— 
rican  society — 
es — Across  tho 
r— Lake  Michi- 

ion  which  I 
aston  my  de- 
lo  longer  be 

two  armies 
the  capital  is 

from  time  to 
able  to  visit 

my  quarters 
3an  communi- 
r  vanished 
started  by  tho 
ois  line  from 

311  filled  with 

tlipre  wore  a 

ig  aepoiuittion 

Neither  the 


) 


look,  language,  nor  manners  of  my  follow  passen- 
gers inspired  me  with  an  exalted  notion  of  the 
intelligence,  comfort  and  respectability  of  the 
people  uliicli  are  so  mucli  vaunted  by  Mr.  Sew- 
ard and  American  journals,  and  wiiioh,  though 
truly  attributed,  no  doubt,  to  tho  peoplo  of  tho 
New  England  states,  cannot  be  affirmed  with 
equal  justice  to  belong  to  all  the  other  compo- 
nents of  the  Union. 

As  the  Southerners  say,  their  negroes  are  the 
happiest  people  on  the  earth,  so  the  Northerners 
boast  "  Wo  are  tho  most  enlightened  nation  in 
tlie  world."  The  soldiers  in  the  train  were  in- 
telligent enough  to  think  they  ought  not  to  be 
kept  without  pay,  and  free  enough  to  say  so. 
The  soldiers  abused  Cairo  roundly,  and  indeed  it 
is  wonderful  if  the  people  can  live  on  any  food 
but  quinine.  However,  speculators,  looking  to 
its  natural  advantages  as  tho  point  where  the  two 
great  rivers  join,  bespeak  for  Cairo  a  magnificent 
and  prosperous  future.  The  present  is  not  pro- 
mising. 

Leaving  the  shanties,  which  face  the  levees, 
:ind  some  poor  wooden  houses  with  a  sliort  vista 
of  cross  streets  partially  flooded  at  right  angles  to 
them,  the  rail  suddenly  plunges  into  an  unmis- 
takeable  swamp,  where  a  forest  of  dead  trees 
wave  their  ghastly,  leafless  arms  over  their 
buried  trunks,  like  plumes  over  a  hearse — a 
cheerless,  miserable  place,  sacred  to  the  ague  and 
fever.  This  occurs  close  to  the  clej-ired  space  on 
which  tho  city  is  to  stand, — when  it  is  finished — 
and  the  rail,  which  runs  on  the  top  of  the  em- 
bankment or  levee,  here  takes  to  the  trestle,  and 
is  borne  over  the  water  on  the  usual  timber  frame- 
work. 

"  Mound  City,"  which  is  the  first  station,  is 
composed  of  a  mere  heap  of  earth,  like  a  ruined 
brick-kiln,  which  rises  to  some  height  and  is 
covered  with  fine  white  oaks,  beneath  which  are 
a  few  log  huts  and  hovels,  giving  the  place  its 
proud  name.  Tents  were  pitched  on  tho  mound 
side,  from  which  wild-looking  banditti  sort  of 
men,  with  arms,  emerged  as  the  train  stopped. 
"  I've  been  pretty  well  over  Europe,"  said  a  me- 
ditative voice  beside  me,  "  and  I've  seen  the 
despotic  armies  of  the  old  world,  but  I  don't 
think  they  equal  that  set  of  boys."  The  question 
was  not  worth  arguing — the  boys  were  in  fact 
"  very  weedy,"  "  splinter-shinned  chaps,"  as 
another  critic  insisted. 

There  were  some  settlers  in  the  woods  around 
Mound  City,  and  a  jolly-looking,  corpulent  man, 
who  introduced  himself  as  one  of  tho  officers  of 
tho  land  department  of  the  Central  Illinois  rail- 
road, described  them  as  awful  warnings  to  the 
emigrants  not  to  stick  in  the  south  part  of  Illi- 
nois. It  was  suggestive  to  find  that  a  very 
genuine  John  Bull,  "  located,"  as  they  say  in  the 
States,  for  many  years,  had  as  mucli  aversion  to 
the  principles  of  the  abolitionists  as  if  he  had 
been  born  a  Southern  planter.  Anotlier  country- 
man of  his  and  mine,  steward  on  board  tho 
steamer  to  Cairo,  eagerly  aaked  mo  what  I 
thought  of  the  quarrel,  and  whicli  side  I  would 
back.  I  declined  to  say  more  than  I  tiiought  the 
North  possessed  very  great  superiority  of  means 
if  the  conflict  were  to  be  fouglit  on  tlie  same 
terms.  "Whereupon  my  Saxon  friend  exclaimed, 
"  all  the  Nortliern  States  and  all  the  power  of  tho 
world  can't  beat  tho  South ;  and  why  ?— because 
the  South  has  got  cotton,  and  cotton  ia  king." 


Tho  Central  Illinois  officer  did  not  suggest  the 
propriety  of  purchasing  lota,  but  lie  did  intimate  I 
would  bo  doing  service  if  I  informed  tho  world  at 
largo,  they  could  get  excellent  1;  d,  at  sums 
varying  from  ten  to  twenty-five  dollars  an  acre. 
In  America  a  man's  income  is  represented  by 
capitalizing  all  that  he  is  worth,  and  whereas  in 
England  wo  say  a  man  has  so  much  a  year,  the 
Americans,  in  representing  his  value,  observe 
that  he  is  worth  so  many  dollars,  by  which  tliey 
mean  that  all  he  has  in  tho  world  would  realise 
the  amount. 

It  sounds  very  well  to  an  Irish  tenant  farmer, 
an  English  cottier,  or  a  cultivator  in  the  Lothians, 
to  hear  that  he  can  get  land  at  tlio  rate  of  from 
£2  to  £5  per  acre,  to  be  his  for  ever,  liable  only 
to  state  taxes ;  but  when  he  comes  to  see  a  par- 
allelogram marked  upon  the  map  as  "  good  soil, 
of  unfathomable  richness,"  and  finds  in  efiect 
that  he  must  cut  down  trees,  eradicate  stumps, 
drain  off  water,  build  a  house,  struggle  for  high- 
priced  labour,  and  contend  with  imperfect  roads, 
the  wani  of  many  tilings  to  whicli  he  has  been 
accustomed  in  the  old  country,  tho  land  may  not 
appear  to  him  such  a  bargain.  In  the  wooded 
districts  he  has,  indeed,  a  sufficiency  of  fuel  as 
long  as  trees  and  stumps  last,  but  they  are,  of 
course,  great  impediments  to  tillage.  If  he  goes 
to  tho  prairie  ho  finds  that  fuel  is  scarce  and 
water  by  no  means  wholesome. 

When  we  left  this  swamp  and  forest,  and  came 
out  alter  a  run  of  many  miles  on  the  clear  lands 
which  abut  upon  tho  prairie,  large  fields  of  corn 
lay  around  us,  which  boro  a  peculiarly  blighted 
and  harassed  look.  These  fields  were  suffering 
from  tlie  ravages  of  an  insect  called  the  "  army 
worm,"  almost  as  destructive  to  corn  and  crops 
as  tho  locust-like  hordes  of  North  and  South, 
which  are  vying  with  each  other  in  laying  waste  . 
the  fields  of  Virginia.  Night  was  falling  as  the 
train  rattled  out  into  the  wild,  flat  sea  of  waving 
grass,  dotted  by  patch-like  Indian  corn  enclo- 
sures ;  but  halts  at  such  places  as  Jonesburgh 
and  Cobden,  enabled  us  to  see  that  these  settle- 
ments in  Illinois  were  neither  very  flourishing 
nor  very  civilised. 

There  is  a  level  modicum  of  comfort,  which 
may  be  consistent  with  the  greatest  good  of  the 
greatest  number,  but  which  makes  the  standard 
of  the  highest  in  point  of  well-being  very  low 
indeed.  I  own,  that  to  me,  it  would  be  more 
agreeable  to  see  a  flourisliing  community  placed 
on  a  high  level  in  all  that  relates  to  the  comfort 
and  social  status  of  all  its  members  tlian  to 
recognise  the  old  typos  of  European  civilisation, 
which  place  the  castle  on  tho  hill,  surround  its 
outer  walls  with  the  mansion  of  doctor  and  law- 
yer, and  drive  the  peoplo  into  obscure  hovels 
outside.  But  then  one  must  confess  that  there 
are  in  the  castle  some  elevating  tendencies  which 
cannot  bo  found  in  the  uniform  level  of  citizen 
equality.  There  are  traditions  of  nobility  and 
noble  deeds  in  tho  family ;  there  are  paintings  on 
the  walls;  the  library  is  stored  with  valuable 
knowledge,  and  from  its  precincts  are  derived 
the  lessons  not  yet  unlearned  in  Europe,  that 
though  man  may  be  equal  tlio  condition  of  men 
must  vary  as  the  accidents  of  life  or  the  eft'ects 
of  individual  character,  called  fortune,  may  deter- 
mine. 

The  towns  of  Jonesburgh  and  Cobden  have 
their  little  teapot-looking  churches  and  meeting- 


:n  '■ 


133 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


P 


:l  II 


:»      . 


r: 


houses,  their  lagor-bier  saloons,  their  restaurants, 
their  small  libraries,  institutes,  and  reading  rooms, 
and  no  doubt  they  have  also  tlieir  political  cliques, 
social  distinctions  and  favouritisms;  but  it  re- 
quires, nevertheless,  little  sagacity  to  perceive 
that  the  highest  of  the  bourgeois  who  leads  the 
mass  at  meeting  and  praj'er,  has  but  little  to  dis- 
tinguish him  from  the  very  lowest  member  of  the 
same  body  politic.  Cobden,  for  example,  has  no 
less  than  four  drinking  saloons,  all  on  the  line  of 
rail,  and  no  doubt  the  highest  citizen  in  the  place 
fivquents  some  one  or  other  of  them,  and  meets 
there  the  worst  rowdy  in  the  place.  Even 
thougli  they  do  carry  a  vote  for  each  adult  man, 
"  locations"  here  would  not  appear  very  enviable 
in  the  eyes  of  the  most  miserable  Dorsetshire 
small  farmer  ever  ferreted  out  by  "  S.  G.  0." 

A  considerable  number  of  towns,  formed  by 
accretions  of  small  stores  and  drinking  places, 
called  magazines,  round  the  original  shed  wherein 
I'we  the  station  master  and  his  assistants,  mark 
the  course  of  the  railway.  Some  are  important 
enough  to  possess  a  hank,  which  is  generally 
represented  by  a  wooden  hut,  with  a  large  board 
nailed  in  front,  bearing  the  names  of  the  presi- 
dent and  cashier,  and  announcing  the  success  and 
liberality  of  the  management.  The  stores  are 
also  decorated  with  large  signs,  recommending 
the  names  of  the  owners  to  the  attention  of  the 
public,  and  over  all  of  them  Is  to  be  seen  the 
significant  announcement,  "  Cash  for  produce." 

At  Carbondale  there  was  no  coal  at  all  to  be 
found,  but  several  miles  farther  to  the  north,  at  a 
place  called  Dugoine,  a  field  of  bituminous  deposit 
crops  out,  which  is  sold  at  the  pit's  mouth  for 
one  dollar  twenty-five  cents,  or  about  5s.  2d.  a-ton. 
Darkness  and  night  fell  as  I  was  noting  such 
meagre  particulars  of  the  new  district  .s  could  be 
learned  out  of  the  window  of  a  railway  carriage ; 
and  finally  with  a  delicious  sensation  of  cool  night 
air  creeping  in  through  the  windows,  the  first  I 
had  experienced  for  many  a  long  day,  we  made 
ourselves  up  for  repose,  and  were  borne  steadily, 
if  not  rapidly,  through  the  great  prairie,  having 
halted  for  tea  at, the  comfbrtablo  refreshment 
rooms  of  Centralia. 

There  were  no  physical  signs  to  mark  tho 
transition  from  the  land  of  the  Secessionist  to 
Union-loving  soil.  Until  the  troops  were  quar- 
tered there,  Cairo  was  for  Secession,  and  South- 
ern Illinois  is  supposed  to  be  deeply  tainted  with 
disaffection  to  Mr.  Lincoln.  Placards  on  which 
were  printed  the  word.s,  "  Vote  for  Lincoln  and 
Hamlin,  for  Union  and  Freedom,"  and  tho  old 
battle-cry  of  the  last  election,  still  cling  to  the 
wooden  walls  of  the  groceries  often  accompanied 
by  bitter  words  or  offensive  additions. 

One  of  my  friends  argues  that  as  slavery  is  at 
the  base  of  Secession,  it  follows  that  States  or 
portions  of  States  will  bo  disposed  to  join  che 
Confederates  or  the  Federalists  just  as  tho  climate 
may  be  favourable  or  adverse  to  tho  growth  of 
slave  produce.  Thus  in  the  mountainous  parts 
of  the  border  States  of  Kentucky  and  Tennessee, 
in  the  north-western  part  of  Virginia,  vulgarly 
called  the  pan  handle,  and  in  the  pine  woods  of 
North  Carolina,  where  white  men  can  work  at 
tlie  rosin  and  naval  store  manufactories,  there  is 
fl  decided  feeling  in  favour  of  the  Union ;  in  fact, 
it  becomes  a  matter  of  isotiiermal  lines.  It 
would  be  very  wrong  to  judge  of  the  condition 
of  a  people  from  tho  windows  of  a  railway  car- 


nage, but  the  external  n.spcct  of  tho  setlloments 
along  the  line,  far  superior  to  that  of  slave  ham- 
lets, does  not  equal  my  expectations.  We  all 
know  the  aspect  of  a  wood  in  a  gentleman's  park 
which  is  submitting  to  the  axe,  and  has  been 
partially  cleared,  how  raw  and  bleak  the  stumps 
look,  and  how  dreary  is  the  naked  land  not  yet 
turned  into  arable.  Take  such  a  patch  and  fancy 
four  or  five  houses  made  of  pine  planks,  some- 
times not  painted,  lighted  by  windows  in  which 
there  is,  or  has  been,  glass,  each  guarded  by  a 
paling  around  a  piece  of  vegetable  garden,  a  pit; 
house,  and  poultry  box;  let  one  be  a  grocery, 
which  means  a  whisky  shop,  another  the  post- 
oflice,  and  a  third  the  store  where  "cash  is  given 
for  produce."  Multiply  these  groups  if  you 
desire  a  larger  settlement,  and  place  a  wooden 
church  with  a  Brobdignag  spire  and'  Lilliputian 
body  out  in  a  waste,  to  be  approached  only  by  a 
causeway  of  planks ;  before  each  grocery  let  there 
be  a  gathering  of  tall  men  in  sombre  clothing,  of 
whom  the  majority  have  small  newspapers  and 
all  of  whom  are  chewing  tobacoo ;  near  the  stores 
let  there  bo  some  light  wheeled  carts  and  ragged 
horses,  around  which  are  knots  of  unmistakeably 
German  women ;  then  see  the  deep  tracks  which 
lead  off  to  similar  settlements  in  the  forest  or 
prairie,  and  you  have  a  notion,  if  your  imagination 
is  strong  enough,  of  one  of  these  civilising  centres 
which  the  Americans  assert  to  be  the  homes  of 
the  most  cultivated  and  intelligent  communities 
in  the  world. 

Next  morning,  just  at  dawn,  I  woke  up  and 
got  out  on  tho  platfprm  of  the  carriage,  which  is 
tho  favourite  resort  of  smokers  and  their  antithe- 
tics,  those  who  iove  pure  fresh  air,  notwithstand- 
ing the  printed  caution  "  It  is  dangerous  to  stand 
on  tho  platform ;  "  and  under  tho  eye  of  early 
morn  saw  spread  around  a  flat  sea-like  expanse 
not  yet  warmed  into  colour  and  life  by  the  sun. 
The  line  was  no  longer  guarded  from  daring 
Secessionists  by  soldiers'  cutposts,  and  small 
camps  had  disappeared.  The  train  sped  through 
the  centre  of  the  great  verdant  circle  as  a  sliip 
througli  the  sea,  leaving  the  rigid  iron  wake 
behind  it  tapering  to  a  point  at  the  horizon,  and 
as  the  light  spread  over  it  the  surface  of  the 
crisping  corn  waved  in  broad  undulations  beneath 
the  breeze  from  east  to  west.  This  is  the  prairie 
indeed.  Hereabouts  it  is  covered  w  th  the  finest 
crops,  some  already  cut  and  stacked.  Looking 
around  one  could  sec  cliurch  spires  rising  in  tiie 
distance  from  the  white  patches  of  houses,  and 
by  degrees  the  tracks  across  the  fertile  waste 
became  apparent,  and  then  carts  and  horses  were 
seen  toiling  through  the  rich  soil. 

A  large  species  of  partridge  or  grouse  appeared 
very  abundant,  and  rose  in  flocks  from  tlie  long 
grass  at  tho  side  of  the  rail  or  from  the  rich  carpet 
of  flowers  on  tho  margin  of  the  com  fields.  They 
sat  on  the  fence  almost  unmoved  by  the  rushing 
engine,  and  literally  swarmed  along  the  line. 
These  are  called  "  prairie  chickens"  by  the  pe-i;;'.?. 
and  afford  excellent  sport.  Another  bird  about 
the  size  of  a  thrush,  witii  a  yellow  brea.st  and  a 
harsh  cry,  I  learned  was  "the  sky-lark;"  and 
ajyrajws  of  tho  unmusical  creature,  I  was  very 
briskly  attacked  by  a  young  lady  patriot  for  find- 
ing fault  with  tlie  sharp  noise  it  made.  "  Oh, 
ray  I  And  you  not  to  know  that  your  Shelley 
loved  it  above  all  things !  Didn't  ho  write  some 
verses— quite  beautiful,  too,  thej  are — to  the  sky- 


Btlloments 
lavo  ham- 
.  We  all 
nan's  park 

has  been 
lie  stumpa 
id  not  yet 

and  fancy 
nks,  some- 
8  in  which 
.rded  by  a 
•den,  a  pi^ 
a  grocery, 

tlie  post- 
sh  is  given 
ps  if  you 
I  a  wooden 
Lilliputian 

only  by  a 
ry  lot  there 
lothing,  of 
)aper3  and 
r  the  stores 
and  ragged 
uistakeably 
acks  which 
3  forest  or 
magination 
iing  centres 
)  homes  of 
oramunities 

ko  up  and 
je,  which  is 
leir  antithe- 
•twithstand- 
)us  to  stand 
)ye  of  early 
ce  expanse 
by  the  sun. 
rom   daring 

and  small 
)ed  through 
le  as  a  ship 

iron  wake 
lorizon,  and 
rface  of  the 
ans  beneath 

the  prairie 
;h  the  finest 
Looking 
sing  in  tlie 
houses,  and 
3rtile  waste 
horses  were 

se  appeared 
m  the  long 
3  rich  carpet 
ields.  They 
the  rushing 
g  the  line, 
r  the  pe;-p!e. 
'  bird  about 
)reast  and  a 
-lark;"  and 
I  was  very 
riot  for  find- 
lade.  "  Oh. 
'our  Shelley 
write  some 
-to  the  sky- 


MT  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH 


133 


lark."  And  so  "  the  Britisher  was  dried  up,"  as 
I  read  in  a  paper  afterwards  of  a  similar  occur- 
rence. 

At  the  little  stations  which  occur  at  every  few 
miles — tliere  are  some  forty  of  them,  at  each  of 
which  the  train  stops,  in  3G5  miles  between  Cairo 
and  Chicago — the  Union  flag  floated  in  the  air ; 
but  we  had  left  all  the  circumstance  of  this  inglo- 
rious war  behind  us,  and  the  train  rattled  boldly 
over  the  bridges  across  rare  streams,  no  longer  in 
danger  from  Secession  liatchets.  The  swamp  had 
given  place  to  the  corn  field.  No  black  foces 
were  turned  up  from  the  mowing,  and  free  white 
labour  was  at  work,  and  the  type  of  the  labourers 
was  German  and  Irish. 

The  Yorkshireraan  expatiated  on  the  fertility 
of  the  land,  and  on  the  advantages  it  held  out  to 
the  emigrant.  But  I  observed  all  the  lots  by  the 
side  of  the  rail,  and  apparently  as  far  as  the  eye 
could  reach,  were  occupied.  "  Some  of  the  very 
best  land  lies  beyond  on  each  side,"  isaid  he. 
"  Out  over  there  in  the  fat  places  is  where  we 
put  our  Englishmen."  By  digging  deep  enough 
good  water  is  always  to  be  had,  and  coal  can  bo 
i3arried  from  the  rail,  where  it  costs  only  7s.  or  8«. 
a  ton.  Wood  there  is  little  or  none  in  the  prai- 
ries, and  it  was  rarely  indeed  a  clump  of  trees 
could  be  detected,  or  anything  higher  than  some 
scrub  brushwood.  These  little  communities  which 
we  passed  were  but  the  growth  of  a  few  years, 
and  as  we  approached  the  Northern  portion  of 
the  line  we  could  see,  as  it  were,  the  village 
swelling  into  the  town,  and  the  town  spreading 
out  to  the  dimensions  of  the  city.  "  I  daresay, 
Major,"  says  one  of  the  passengers,  "  this  gentle- 
man never  saw  anything  like  these  cities  before. 
I'm  told  they've  nothin' like  them  in  Europe?" 
"  Bless  you,"  rejoined  the  Major,  with  a  wink, 
"just  leaving  out  London,  Edinlsro',  Paris,  and 
Manchester,  there's  nothing  on  eartk  to  ekal 
them."  My  friend,  who  is  a  shrewd  fellow,  by 
way  of  explanation  of  his  military  title,  says,  "  I 
was  a  major  once,  a  major  in  the  Queen's  Bays, 
but  they  would  put  troop-sergeant  before  it  them 
d.'kys."  Like  many  Englishmen  he  complains  that 
the  jealous}  of  native-born  Americans  efl'ectually 
bars  the  way  to  political  position  of  any  natural- 
ised citizen,  and  all  the  places  are  kept  by  the 
natives. 

The  scene  now  began  to  change  gradually  as 
we  approached  Chicago,  the  prairie  subsided  into 
swampy  land,  and  thick  belts  of  trees  fringed  the 
horizon ;  on  our  right  glimpses  of  the  sea  could 
be  caught  through  openings  in  the  wood — the 
inland  sea  on  which  stands  the  Queen  of  the 
Lakes.  Michigan  looks  broad  and  blue  as  the 
Mediterranean.  Large  farmhouses  stud  the  coun- 
try, and  houses  which  must  be  the  retreat  of  mer- 
chants and  citizens  of  means ;  and  when  the  train, 
leaving  the  land  altogether,  dashes  out  on  a  pier 
and  causeway  built  along  the  borders  of  the  lake, 
we  see  linos  of  noble  houses,  a  fine  boulevard,  a 
forest  of  masts,  huge  isolated  piles  of  masonry,  the 
famed  grain  elevators  by  which  so  many  have 
been  hoisted  to  fortune,  churches  and  public  edi- 
fices, and  the  apparatus  of  a  great  city ;  and  just 
at  nine  o'clock  the  train  gives  its  last  steam  shout 
and  comes  to  a  standstill  in  the  spacious  station 
of  the  Central  Illinois  Company,  and  in  half-an- 
hour  more  I  am  in  comfortable  quarters  at  the 
Richmond  House,  where  I  find  letters  waiting 
for  me,  by  which  it  appears  that  the  necessity  for 


my  being  in  Washington  in  all  haste,  no  longer 
exists.  The  wary  General  who  commands  the 
army  is  aware  that  the  advance  to  Richmond,  tor 
whicii  so  many  journals  are  clamouring,  would 
be  attended  with  serious  risk  at  present,  and  the 
politicians  must  bo  content  to  wait  a  little  longer. 


CHAPTER  XLIL 

Progress  of  events— Policy  of  Groat  Britain  as  regarded 
by  the  North — The  Amerlcin  Press  and  its  ooiiiinoi:ts 
— Privacy  a  luxury — Chicago— Senator  Douglas  and  his 
widow— American  ingratitude — Apathy  in  volunteer- 
ing—Colonel  Turchin's  camp. 

I  SHALL  here  briefly  recapitulate  what  has  oc- 
curred since  the  last  mention  of  political  events. 

In  the  first  place  the  South  has  been  develojj- 
ing  every  day  greater  energy  in  widening  the 
breach  between  it  and  the  North,  and  preparing 
to  fill  it  with  dead;  and  the  North,  so  far  as  I  can 
judge,  lias  been  busy  in  raising  up  the  Union  as 
a  nationality,  and  making  out  the  crime  of  treason 
from  the  act  of  Secession.  The  South  has  been 
using  conscription  in  Virginia,  and  is  entering 
upon  the  conflict  with  unsurpassable  determina- 
tion. The  North  is  availing  itself  of  its  greater 
resources  and  its  foreign  vagabondage  and  desti- 
tution to  swell  the  ranks  of  its  volunteers,  and 
boasts  of  its  eno^;mous  armies,  as  if  it  supposed 
conscripts  well  led  do  not  fight  better  than  volun- 
teers badly  officered.  Virginia  has  been  invaded 
on  three  points,  one  below  and  two  above  Wash- 
ington, and  passports  are  now  issued  on  both 
sides. 

The  career  open  to  the  Southern  privateers  is 
eflectually  closed  by  the  Duke  of  Newcastle's  no- 
tification that  the  British  Government  will  not 
permit  the  cruisers  of  either  side  to  bring  their 
prizes  into  or  condemn  them  in  P]ngiisli  ports ; 
but,  strange  to  say,  the  Northerners  feel  indignant 
against  Great  Britain  for  an  act  which  deprives 
their  enemy  of  an  enormous  advantage,  and  which 
must  reduce  their  privateering  to  the  mere  work 
of  plunder  and  destruction  on  the  high  seas.  In 
the  same  way  the  North  all'ects  to  consider  the 
declaration  of  neutrality,  and  the  concession  of 
limited  belligerent  rights  to  the  seceding  States, 
as  deeply  injurious  and  insulting;  whereas  our 
course  has,  in  fact,  removed  the  greatest  difficulty 
from  the  path  of  the  Washington  Cabinet,  and 
saved  us  from  inconsistencies  and  serious  risks  in 
our  course  of  action. 

It  is  commonly  said,  "What  would  Great 
Britain  have  done  if  we  had  declared  ourselves 
neutral  during  the  Canadian  rebellion,  or  had 
conceded  limited  belligerent  rights  to  the  Se- 
poys?" as  if  Canada  and  Hindostan  have  the 
same  relation  to  the  British  Crown  that  the 
seceding  States  had  to  the  Northern  States.  But 
if  Canada,  with  its  parliament,  judges,  courts  uf 
law,  and  its  people,  declared  it  was  independent 
of  Great  Britain ;  and  if  the  Government  of 
Great  Britain,  months  af\er  that  declaration  was 
made  and  acted  upon,  permitted  the  new  State 
to  go  free,  whilst  a  large  number  of  her  States- 
men agreed  that  Canada  was  perfectly  right,  we 
could  find  little  fault  with  the  United  States' 
Government  for  issuing  a  proclamation  of  neu- 
trality the  same  as  our  own,  when  after  a  long 
interval  of  quiescence  a  war  broke  out  between 
the  two  countries. 


« 


184 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


li:' 


i" 


Secession  was  an  accomplished  fact  months 
before  Mr.  Liucohi  came  into  office,  but  we  heard 
no  talk  of  rebels  and  pirates  till  Sumter  had 
fallen,  and  the  North  was  perfectly  quiescent — 
not  only  that — the  people  of  wealth  in  New 
York  were  calmly  considering  the  results  of 
Secession  aa  an  accomplished  fact,  and  seeking 
to  make  the  best  of  it;  nay,  more,  when  I 
arrived  in  Washington  some  members  of  the 
Cabinet  were  perfectly  ready  to  let  the  South 

go- 
One  of  the  flrst  questions  put  to  me  by  Mr. 

Chase  in  my  first  interview  with  him,  was 
whether  I  thought  a  very  injurious  effect  would 
be  produced  to  the  p-estige  of  the  Federal  Go- 
vernment in  Europe  if  the  Northern  States  let 
the  South  have  its  own  way,  and  told  them  to  go 
in  peace.  "For  my  own  part,"  said  he,  "I 
should  not  be  averse  to  let  them  try  it,  for  I  be- 
lieve they  would  soon  find  out  their  mistake." 
Mr.  Chase  may  be  finding  out  his  mistake  just 
now.  "When  I  lefl  England  the  prevalent  opinion, 
as  far  as  I  could  judge,  was,  that  a  family  quarrel, 
in  which  the  South  was  in  the  wrong,  had  taken 
place,  and  that  it  would  be  better  to  stand  by 
and  let  the  Government  put  forth  its  strength  to 
chastise  rebellious  children.  But  now  we  see 
the  house  is  divided  against  itself,  and  that  the 
family  are  determined  to  set  up  two  separate 
establishments.  These  remarks  occur  to  me  with 
the  more  force  because  I  see  the  New  York 
papers  are  attacking  me  because  I  described  a 
calm  in  a  sea  which  was  afterwards  agitated  by 
a  storm.  "  What  a  false  witness  is  this,"  they 
cry.  "  See  how  angry  and  how  vexed  is  our  Ber- 
mooth'ds,  and  yet  the  fellow  say^  it  was  quite 
placid." 

I  have  already  seen  so  many  statements  re- 
specting my  sayings,  my  doings,  and  my  opinions, 
in  the  American  papers,  that  I  have  resolved  to 
follow  a  general  rule,  with  few  exceptions  in- 
deed, which  prescribes  as  the  best  course  to  pur- 
sue, not  so  much  an  indifference  to  these  remarks 
as  a  fixed  purpose  to  abstain  from  the  hopeless 
task  of  correcting  them.  The  "  Quicklys"  of  the 
press  are  incorrigible.  Commerce  may  well  be 
proud  of  Chicago.  I  am  not  going  to  reiterate 
what  every  Crispinus  from  the  old  country  has 
said  again  and  again  concerning  this  wonderful 
place — not  one  word  of  statistics,  of  corn  eleva- 
tors, of  shipping,  or  of  the  piles  of  buildings 
raised  from  the  foundation  by  ingenious  applica- 
tions ol  screws.  Nor  am  I  going  to  enlarge  on 
the  splendid  future  of  that  which  has  bo  much 
present  prosperity,  or  on  the  benefits  to  mankind 
opened  up  by  the  Illinois  Central  Railway.  It  is 
enough  to  say  that  by  the  borders  of  this  lake 
there  has  sprung  up  in  thirty  years  a  wonderful 
city  of  fine  streets,  luxurious  hotels,  handsome 
shops,  magnificent  stores,  great  warehouses,  ex- 
tensive quays,  capacious  docks ;  and  that  aa  long 
as  corn  holds  its  own,  and  the  mouths  of  Europe 
are  open,  and  her  hands  full,  Chicago  will  acquire 
greater  importance,  size,  and  wealth  with  every 
year.  The  only  drawback,  perhaps,  to  the  com- 
fort of  the  money-making  inhabitants,  and  of  the 
stranger  witliin  the  gates,  ia  to  be  found  in  the 
clouds  of  dust  and  in  the  unpaved  streets  and 
thoroughfares,  which  give  anguish  to  horse  and 
man. 

I  spent  thrtee  days  here  writing  my  letters  and 
repairing  the  wear  and  tear  of  my  Southern  ex- 


pedition ;  and  although  it  was  hot  enough,  the 
breeze  from  the  lake  carried  health  and  vigour  to 
the  frame,  enervated  by  tiio  suu  of  Louisiana  and 
Mississippi.  No  need  now  to  wipe  the  large 
drops  of  moisture  from  the  languid  brow  lest 
they  blind  the  eyes,  nor  to  sit  in  a  state  of  semi- 
clothing,  worn  out  and  exhausted,  and  tracing 
Vviih  moist  hand  imperfect  characters  on  the 
paper. 

I  could  not  satisfy  myself  whether  there  was, 
a.s  I  have  been  told,  a  peculiar  state  of  feeling  in 
Cliicago,  which  induced  many  people  to  support 
the  Government  of  Mr.  Lincoln  because  thoy 
believed  it  necessary  for  their  own  interests  to 
obtain  decided  advantages  over  the  South  in  tlie 
field,  whilst  they  were  opposed  totia  viribus  to  tlie 
genius  of  emancipation  and  to  the  views  of  the 
black  Republicans.  But  the  genius  and  elo- 
quence of  the  little  giant  have  left  their  impress 
on  the  facile  mould  of  democratic  thought,  and 
he  who  argued  with  such  acuteness  and  ability 
last  March  in  Washington,  in  his  own  study, 
against  the  possibility,  or  at  least  the  constitu 
tional  legality,  of  using  the  national  forces,  and 
the  militia  and  volunteers  of  the  Northern  Slates, 
to  subjugate  the  Southern  people,  carried  away 
by  the  great  bore  which  rushed  through  the 
placid  North  when  Sumter  fell,  or  perceiving  his 
inability  to  resist  its  force,  sprung  to  the  crest  of 
the  wave,  and  carried  to  excess  the  violence  of 
the  Union  reaction. 

Whilst  I  was  in  the  South  I  had  seen  his  name 
in  Northern  papers  with  sensation  headings  and 
descriptions  of  his  magnificent  crusi^de  fijr  the 
Union  in  the  west.  I  had  heard  his  name  reviled 
by  those  who  had  once  been  his  warm  political 
allies,  and  his  untimely  death  did  not  seem  to 
satisfy  their  hatred.  His  old  foes  in  the  North 
admired  and  applauded  the  sudden  apostasy  of 
their  eloquent  opponent,  and  were  loud  in  lamen- 
tations over  hia  loss.  Imagine,  then,  how  I  felt 
when  visiting  his  grave  at  Chicago,  seeing  his 
bust  in  many  houses,  or  his  portrait  in  all  the 
shop-windows,  I  was  told  that  the  enormously 
wealthy  community  of  which  he  waa  the  idol 
were  permitting  his  widow  to  live  in  a  state  not 
far  removed  from  penury. 

"Senator  Douglas,  sir,"  observed  one  of  his 
friends  to  me,  "  died  of  bad  whisky.  He  killed 
himself  with  it  while  he  waa  stumping  for  the 
Union  all  over  the  country."  "  Well,''  I  said,  "  I 
suppose,  sir,  the  abstraction  called  the  Union,  for 
which  by  your  own  account  he  killed  himself,  will 
give  a  pension  to  his  widow."  Virtue  is  its  own 
reward,  and  so  is  patriotism,  unless  it  takes  the 
form  of  contracts. 

As  far  as  all  considerations  of  wife,  children,  or 
family  are  concerned,  let  a  man  serve  a  decent 
despot,  or  even  a  constitutional  country  with  an 
economising  House  of  Commons,  if  he  wants  any- 
thing more  substantial  than  lip-service.  The  his- 
tory of  the  great  men  of  America  is  full  of  in- 
stances of  national  ingratitude.  They  give  more 
praise  and  less  pence  to  their  benefactors  than  any 
nation  on  the  face  of  the  earth.  Washington  got 
little,  though  the  plundering  scouts  who  captured 
Andre  were  well  rewarded ;  and  the  men  who 
fought  during  the  War  of  Independence  were  long 
lefl  in  neglect  and  poverty,  sitting  in  sack-clotli 
and  ashes  at  the  doorsteps  of  the  temple  of  liber- 
ty, whilst  the  crowd  rushed  inside  to  worship 
Plutus. 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


135 


nougli,  the 
.1  vigour  to 
lisiana  and 
the  large 
brow  lest 
te  of  semi- 
lid  tracing 
(r8  on  the 

there  was, 
f  feeling  in 
to  support 
3auso  they 
nteresta  to 
outh  in  the 
ribm  to  the 
iews  of  the 
13  and  elo- 
leir  impress 
lought,  and 
and  ability 
own  study, 
lie  constitu 
forces,  and 
uern  States, 
irried  away 
hrough  the 
rceiviug  his 
the  crest  of 
violence  of 

en  his  name 
eadings  and 
ado  for  the 
lame  reviled 
irm  political 
aot  seem  to 
n  the  North 

apostasy  of 
ud  in  lanieu- 
3,  how  I  felt 
»,  seeing  his 
it  in  all  the 

enormously 
^■as  the  idol 
0.  a  state  not 

I  one  of  his 
.  He  killed 
iping  for  the 
1,"  I  said,  "  I 
le  Union,  for 
I  himself,  will 
ue  is  its  own 
I  it  takes  the 

),  children,  or 
irve  a  decent 
ntry  with  an 
le  wants  any- 
ice.  The  his- 
is  full  of  iu- 
ey  give  more 
itors  than  any 
ashington  got 
who  captured 
the  men  who 
nee  were  long 
in  sack-cloth 
imple  of  liber- 
e  to  worship 


If  a  native  of  the  British  isles,  of  the  natural  ig- 
norance of  his  own  imperfections  which  should 
characterise  him,  desires  to  be  subjected  to  a  se- 
ries of  moral  shower-baths,  douches,  and  sham- 
pooing with  a  rough  glove,  let  him  come  to  tiio 
United  States.  In  Chicago  he  will  be  told  that 
the  English  people  are  fed  by  the  beneficence  of 
the  United  States,  and  that  aU  the  trade  "and  com- 
merce of  England  are  simply  directed  to  the  one 
end  of  obtaining  gold  enough  to  pay  the  western 
States  lor  the  breadstuffs  exported  for  our  popu- 
lation. We  know  what  the  Soiith  think  of  our 
dependence  on  cotton.  The  people  of  the  east 
think  thoy  are  striking  a  great  blow  at  their  ene- 
my by  the  Morrill  taritf,  and  I  was  told  by  a  pa- 
triot in  North  Carolina,  "  Why,  creation  1  if  you 
let  the  Yankees  shut  up  our  ports,  the  whole  of 
your  darned  ships  will  go  to  rot.  Where  will  you 
get  your  naval  stores  from  ?  Why,  I  guess  in  a 
year  you  could  not  scrape  up  enough  of  tarpen- 
tine  in  the  whole  of  your  country  for  Queen  Vic- 
toria to  paint  her  nursery-door  with." 

Nearly  one  half  of  the  various  companies  en- 
rolled in  this  district  are  Germans,  or  are  the  de- 
scendants of  German  parents,  and  speak  only  the 
language  of  the  old  country ;  two-thirds  of  the 
remainder  are  Irish,  or  of  immediate  Irish  'la- 
scent;  but  it  is  said  that  a  grand  reserve  vf 
Americans  bom  lies  behind  this  avante  jarde, 
who  will  come  into  the  battle  should  there  ever 
be  need  for  their  services. 

Indeed  so  long  as  the  Northern  people  furnish 
the  means  of  paying  and  equipping  armies  per- 
fectly competent  to  do  their  work,  and  equal  in 
numbers  to  any  demands  made  for  men.  they  i  -r 
rest  satisfied  with  the  acoomplishment  of  tii  - 
duty,  and  with  contributing  from  their  ranks  the 
great  majority  of  the  superior  and  even  of  the 
subaltern  officers;  but  with  the  South  it  is  far 
different.  Their  institutions  have  repelled  immi- 
gration ;  the  black  slave  has  barred  the  door  to 
the  white  free  settler.  Only  on  the  seaboard  and 
in  the  large  cities  are  German  and  Irish  to  be 
found,  and  they  to  a  man  have  come  forward  to 
fight  for  the  South ;  but  the  proportion  they  bear 
to  the  native-born  Americana  who  have  rushed 
to  arms  in  defence  of  tlieir  menaced  borders,  is 
of  course  far  less  than  it  is  as  yet  to  the  number 
of  Americans  in  the  Northern  States  who  have 
volunteered  to  fight  for  the  Union. 

I  was  invited  before  I  left  to  visit  the  camp  of 
a  Colonel  Turchin,  who  was  described  to  me  as  a 
Russian  officer  of  great  ability  and  experience  in 
European  warfare,  in  coiVimand  of  a  regiment  con- 
sisting of  Poles,  Hungarians,  and  Germans,  who 
were  about  to  start  for  the  seat  of  war ;  but  I 
was  only  able  to  walk  through  his  tents,  where 
I  was  astonished  at  the  amalgam  of  nations  that 
constituted  his  battalion ;  though,  on  inspection, 
I  am  bound  to  say  there  proved  to  be  an  Ameri- 
can element  in  the  ranks  which  did  not  appear 
to  have  coalesced  with  the  bulk  of  the  rude  and, 
I  fear,  predatory  Cossacks  of  the  Union.  Many 
young  men  of  good  position  ha'e  gone  to  the 
wars,  although  there  was  no  complaint,  as  in 
Southern  cities,  that  merchants'  offices  have  been 
•  deserted,  and  great  establishments  left  destitute 
of  clerks  and  working  hands.  In  warlike  opera- 
tions, however,  Chicago,  with  its  communication 
open  to  the  sea,  its  access  to  the  head  waters  of 
the  Mississippi,  its  intercourse  with  the  marts  of 
commerce  and  of  mauiifacture,  may  be  considered 


to  possess  greater  belligerent  power  and  strength 
than  tlio  groat  city  of  New  Orleans;  and  thero  is 
much  greater  probability  of  Chicago  sending  its 
contingent  to  attack  the  Crescent  City  than  tiiero 
is  of  tiie  latter  being  able  to  despatch  a  soldier 
within  five  hundred  miles  of  its  stroota. 


CHAPTER  XLIII. 

Nlasanv — ImproMton  of  t,ho  Fnlls— Battle  scenes  In  the 
neighbourhood— A  village  of  Indians— General  Sc^ott- 
Hostile  movements  on  both  sides — The  Hudson — Mili- 
tary school  at  West  Point— Return  to  New  York— Al- 
tered appearance  of  the  city — Misery  and  suffering— 
Altered  state  of  pnbUc  opinion,  as  to  the  Union  and  to- 
wards Great  Britain. 

At  eight  o'clock  on  the  morning  of  the  27th  I 
left  Chicago  for  Niagara,  which  was  so  temptingly 
near  that  I  resolved  to  make  a  detour  by  tl-.at 
route  to  New  York.  The  line  from  the  city  which 
I  took  skirts  the  «f--:thern  extremity  of  Lake  Mi- 
chigan for  many  miles,  and  leaving  its  borders  at 
New  BuffiUo,  traverses  the  southern  portion  of 
the  8t3i,e  of  Michigan  by  Albion  and  Jj'CKSon  to 
the  town  of  Detroit,  or  the  outflow  of  Lake  St. 
Clair  Into  Lake  Erie,  a  distance  oi  284  miles, 
which  was  accomplished  in  about  twelve  hours. 
The  most  enthusiastic  patriot  could  not  affirm  the 
country  was  interesting.  The  names  of  the  sta- 
tions were  certainly  novel  to  a  Britisher.  Thus 
we  had  Kalumet,  Pokagon,  Dowagiac,  Kalama- 
zoo, Ypsilanti,  among  the  more  familiar  titles  of 
Chelsea,  Marengo,  Albion,  and  Parma. 

It  was  dusk  when  we  reached  the  steam  ferry- 
boat at  Detroit,  which  took  us  across  to  Windsor ; 
but  through  the  dusk  I  could  perceive  the  Union 
Jack  waving  above  the  unimpressive  little  town 
which  bears  a  name  so  respected  by  British  ears. 
The  customs'  inspections  seemed  very  mild  ;  and 
I  was  not  much  impressed  by  the  representative 
of  the  British  crown,  who,  with  a  brass  button  on 
his  coat  and  a  very  husky  voice,  exercised  his 
powers  on  behalf  of  Her  Majesty  at  the  landing- 
place  of  Windsor.  The  officers  of  tiie  railway 
company,  who  received  me  as  if  I  had  been  an 
old  friend,  welcomed  me  as  if  I  had  just  got 
out  of  a  battle-field.  "  Well,  I  do  wonder  them 
Yankees  have  ever  let  you  come  out  alive." 
"  May  I  ask  why  ?"  "  Oli,  because  you  have  not 
been  praising  them  all  round,  sir.  Why  even  the 
Northern  chaps  get  angry  with  a  Britisher,  as 
they  call  us,  if  he  attempts  to  say  a  word  against 
those  curf  J  niggers." 

It  did  not  appear  the  Americans  are  quite  so 
thin-skinned,  for  whilst  crossing  in  the  steamer  a 
passage  of  arms  between  the  Captain,  who  was  a 
genuuie  John  Bull,  and  a  Michigander,  in  the 
style  whicl;  is  called  chaff  or  slang,  diverted 
most  of  the  auditors,  although  it  was  very  much 
to  the  disadvantage  of  the  Union  champion.  The 
Michigan  man  liad  threatened  the  Captain  that 
Canada  would  be  annexed  as  the  consequence  of 
our  infamous  conduct.  "  Why,  I  tell  you,"  said 
the  Captain,  "  we'd  just  draw  up  the  negro  chaps 
from  our  barbers'  shops,  and  tell  them  we'd  send 
them  to  Illinois  if  they  did  not  lick  you ;  and  I 
believe  every  creature  in  Michigan,  pigs  and  all, 
would  run  before  them  into  Pennsylvania.  We 
know  what  you  are  up  to,  you  and  them  Maine 
chaps ;  but  Lor'  bless  you,  sooner  than  take  such 
a  lot,  we'd  give  you  ten  dollars  a  head  to  make 
you  stay  in  your  own  country ;  and  we  know 


136 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


you  would  go  to  the  next  worst  place  before 
your  time  for  lialf  tlie  money.  The  very  Blue- 
noses  would  secede  if  you  wore  permitted  to 
come  under  the  old  Hag." 

All  night  we  travelled.  A  long  day  through 
a  dreary,  ill-settled,  pine-wooded,  half-cleared 
conntry,  swarming  with  mosquitoes  and  biting 
Hies,  and  famous  for  fevers.  Just  about  daybreak 
the  train  stopped. 

"Now,  then,"  said  an  English  voice;  "now, 
then,  who's  for  Clifton  Hotel?  All  paf-sengers 
leave  cars  for  this  side  of  the  Falls."  Consigning 
our  baggage  to  the  commis.sioner  of  the  Clittou, 
ray  companion,  Mr.  Ward,  and  myself  resolved  to 
walk  along  the  banks  of  the  river  to  the  hotel, 
which  is  some  two  miles  and  a  half  distant,  and 
set  out  whilst  it  was  still  so  obscure  tliat  the 
outline  of  the  beautiful  bridge  which  springs  so 
lightly  across  the  chasm,  filled  with  furious  hur- 
rying waters,  hundreds  of  feet  below,  was  visible 
only  as  is  tlie  tracery  of  some  cathedral  arch 
through  the  dim  light  of  the  cloister. 

The  road  follows  the  course  of  the  stream, 
which  whirls  i-.nd  gurgles  in  an  Alpine  torrent, 
many  times  magnified,  in  a  deep  gorge  like  that 
of  the  Tote  Noire.  As  the  rude  bellow  of  the 
steam-engine  and  the  rattle  of  the  train  procee  1- 
ing  on  its  journey  were  dying  a%vay,  the  echoes 
seemed  to  swell  into  a  sustained,  reverberating, 
hollow  sound  from  the  perpendicular  banks  of 
the  St.  Lawrence.  We  listened.  "  It  is  the 
noise  of  the  Falls,"  said  my  companion;  and  as 
we  walked  on  tlie  sound  became  louder,  filling 
the  air  with  a  strange  quavering  note,  which 
played  about  a  trctiendous  uniform  bass  note, 
and  silencing  every  other..  Trees  closed  in  the 
road  on  the  river  side,  bul,  when  we  had  walked 
H  mile  or  so,  the  lovely  light  of  morning  spread- 
ing with  our  steps,  suddenly  through  an  opening 
iu  the  branches  there  appeared,  closing  up  the 
vista — white,  Hickering,  indistinct,  and  shroud- 
like— the  Falls,  rushing  into  a  grave  of  black 
waters,  and  uttering  that  tremendous  cry  which 
can  never  be  forgotten. 

I  have  heard  many  people  say  they  were  dis- 
appointed with  the  first  impression  of  Niagara. 
Let  those  who  desire  to  see  the  water-leap  in  all 
its  grandeur,  approach  it  as  I  did,  and  I  cannot 
conceive  what  their  expectations  are  if  tlJey  do 
not  confess  the  sight  exceeded  their  highest  ideal. 
I  do  not  pretend  to  describe  the  sensations  or  to 
endeavour  to  give  the  effect  produced  on  me  by 
the  scene  or  by  the  Falls,  then  or  subsequently ; 
but  I  must  say  words  can  do  no  more  than  con- 
fuse the  writer's  own  ideas  of  the  grandeur  of 
the  sight,  and  mislead  altogether  those  who  read 
them.  It  is  of  no  avail  to  do  laborious  statistics, 
and  tell  us  how  many  gallons  rush  over  in  that 
down-fiung  ocean  every  second,  or  how  wide  it 
is,  how  high  it  is,  how  deep  the  earth-piercing 
caverns  beneath.  For  my  own  part,  I  always 
feel  the  distance  of  the  sun  to  be  insignificant, 
when  I  read  it  is  so  many  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  miles  away,  compared  with  tiie  feeling  of  utter 
inaccessibility  to  anything  human  which  is  caus- 
ed by  it  when  its  setting  rays  illuminate  some 
purple  ocean  studded  with  golden  islands  in 
dreamland. 

Niagara  is  rolling  its  waters  over  the  barrier. 
Larger  and  louder  it  grows  upon  us. 

"I  hope  the  hotel  is  not  full,"  quoth  my 
friend.    I  confess,  for  the  tune,  I  forgot  all  about 


Niagara,  and  was  perturbed  concerning  a  brcak- 
fastless  ramble  and  a  hunt  after  lodgings  by  tlio 
borders  of  the  great  river. 

liut  althougli  Clifton  Hotel  was  full  enough, 
there  was  room  for  us,  too ;  and  for  two  da}'s  a 
strange,  wcird-kmd  of  life  I  led,  alternating  be- 
tween the  roar  of  the  cataract  outside  and  tiie 
din  of  politics  within;  for,  bo  it  known,  that  at 
the  Canadian  side  of  the  Falls  many  Americans 
of  the  Southern  States,  who  would  not  pollute 
their  footsteps  by  contact  with  the  soil  of  Yan- 
kee-land, were  sojourning,  and  that  merchants 
and  bankers  of  New  York  and  other  Northern 
cities  had  selected  it  as  their  summer  retreat, 
and,  indeed,  with  reason ;  for  af^er  excursions  on 
both  sides  of  the  Falls,  the  comparative  seclusion 
of  the  settlements  on  the  left  bank  appears  to  mo 
to  render  it  infinitely  preferable  to  the  llosher- 
villo  gentism  and  semi-rowdyism  of  the  largo 
American  hotels  and  settlements  on  the  other 
side. 

It  was  distressing  to  find  that  Niagara  was 
surrounded  by  the  paraphernalia  of  a  fixed  fair. 
I  had  looked  forward  to  a  certain  degree  of  soli- 
tude. It  appeared  impossible  that  man  could 
cockneyfy  such  a  magnificent  display  of  force 
and  grandeur  in  nature.  But,  alas  1  it  is  haunted 
by  what  poor  Albert  Smith  used  to  denominate 
"  harpies."  The  hateful  race  of  guides  infest  the 
precincts  of  the  hotels,  waylay  you  in  the  lanes, 
and  prowl  about  the  unguarded  moments  of  re- 
verie. There  are  miserable  little  peepshows  and 
photographers,  bird  stuffers,  shell  polishers,  col- 
lectors of  crystals,  and  proprietors  of  natural 
curiosity  shops. 

There  is,  besides,  a  large  village  population. 
There  is  a  watering-side  air  about  the  people 
who  walk  along  the  road  worse  than  all  their 
mills  and  factories  working  their  water  privileges 
at  both  sides  of  the  stream.  At  the  American 
side  there  is  a  lankj',  pretentious  town,  with  big 
hotels,  shops  of  Indian  curiosities,  and  all  the 
meagre  forms  of  the  bazaar  life  reduced  to  a 
minimum  of  attractiveness  which  destroy  the 
comfort  of  a  traveller  in  Switzerland.  I  had 
scarcely  been  an  hour  in  the  hotel  before  I  was 
asked  to  look  at  the  Falls  through  a  little  piece 
of  coloured  glass.  Next  I  was  solicited  to  pur- 
chase a  collection  of  muddy  photographs,  repre- 
senting what  I  could  look  at  with  my  own 
eyes  for  nothing.  Not  finally  by  any  means,  I 
was  assailed  by  a  gentleman  who  was  particu- 
larly desirous  of  selling  me  an  enormous  pair 
of  cow's-horns  and  a  stuffed  hawk.  Small 
booths  and  peepshows  corrupt  the  very  margin 
of  the  bank,  and  close  by  the  remnant  of  the 
"Table  Rock,"  a  Jew  (who,  by-the-bye,  de- 
serves infinite  credit  for  the  zeal  and  energy  lie 
has  thrown  into  the  collections  for  his  museum), 
exhibits  bottled  rattle-snakes,  stufted  monkeys, 
Egyptian  mummies,  series  of  coins,  with  a  small 
living  menagerie  attached  to  the  shop,  in  which 
articles  of  Indian  manufacture  are  exposed  fur 
.sale.  It  was  too  bad  to  bo  asked  to  admire 
such  liLsus  naturce  as  double-headed  calves  and 
dogs  with  three  necks  by  the  banks  of  Niagara 

As  I  said  before,  I  am  not  going  to  essay  the 
impossible  or  to  describe  the  Falls.  On  the 
English  side  there  are,  independently  of  other 
attractions,  some  scenes  of  recent  historic  interest, 
for  close  to  Niagara  are  Lundy's  Lane  and  Chip- 
pewa.   There  are  few  persona  in  England  aware 


) 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


18t 


a  brcak- 

:8  by  tlio 

I  enough, 
ro  cliiyH  a 
atiiig  bo- 
)  and  tlio 
n,  tlial  at 
liTiericaus 
ot  pollute 
1  ofYaii- 
nercliaiita 
Nortliera 
r  retreat, 
iirsious  oil 
I  soclusiou 
;ars  to  me 
10  Roslier- 
tlio  largo 
the  other 

agara  \va3 
tixed  fair, 
eo  of  soli- 
man  could 
y  of  force 
is  haunted 
lenominate 
5  infest  the 
the  lanes, 
lents  of  re- 
)shows  and 
ishers,  col- 
of  natural 

population, 
the  people 
m  all  their 
r  privileges 
American 
n,  with  big 
ud  all  the 
duced  to  a 
icstroy  the 
ud.  I  had 
efore  I  was 
little  piece 
itod  to  pur- 
iplis,  repre- 

niy  own 

means,  I 
ras  particu- 
)rmous  pair 
^k.  Small 
'ery  margin 
lant  of  the 
hc-byo,  de- 
1  energy  he 
s  rnuaenm), 

monkeys, 
vith  a  small 
p,  in  which 
xposed  for 
to  admire 
calves  and 
f  Niagara 
;o  es.say  the 
On  the 
ly  of  other 
•ric  interest, 

and  Chip- 
land  aware 


i\ 


of  the  exceedingly  severe  fighting  which  charac- 
terised the  contests  between  tlie  Americans  and 
the  English  and  Canadian  troops  during  the  cam- 
paign of  1814.  At  Chippewa,  for  example, 
Major-Gcneral  Riall,  who,  with  2000  men,  one 
howitzer,  and  two  24-ponnder9,  attacked  a  force 
of  Amerieans  of  a  similar  strength,  was  repulsed 
with  a  loss  of  500  killed  and  wounded ;  and  on 
the  morning  of  the  25th  of  July  the  action  of 
Lundy's  Lane,  between  four  brigades  of  Ameri- 
cans and  seven  lield-pieccs,  and  3100  men  of  the 
liriiisli  and  seven  lleld-pieces,  took  place  in  which 
the  Americans  were  worsted,  and  retired  with  a 
loss  of  85i  men  and  two  guns,  whilst  the  British 
lost  878.  On  the  14th  of  August  following  Sir 
Gordon  Drummond  was  repulsed  with  a  loss  of 
9o5  men  out  of  his  small  force  in  an  attack  on 
Fort  Erie ;  and  on  the  17th  of  September  aa 
American  sortie  from  the  place  was  defeated  with 
a  loss  of  510  killed  and  wounded,  the  British 
having  lost  609.  In  effect  the  American  cam- 
paign was  unsuccessful :  but  their  failures  were 
redeemed  by  their  successes  on  Lake  Champlain, 
and  in  tiie  aifair  of  Plattsburgh. 

There  was  more  hard  fighting  than  strateg]'  in 
these  battles,  and  their  results  wore  not,  on  the 
whole,  creditable  to  the  military  skill  of  either 
party.  They  wer"  sanguinary  in  proportion  to 
the  number  of  tioops  engaged,  but  they  were 
very  potty  skirmishes  considered  in  the  light  of 
contests  between  two  great  nations  for  the 
purpose  of  obtaining  specific  results.  As  Eng- 
land was  engaged  in  a  great  war  in  Europe,  was 
far  removed  from  the  scene  of  operations,  was 
destitute  of  stearapower,  whilst  America  was 
lighting,  as  it  were,  on  her  own  soil,  close  at 
hand,  with  a  full  opportunity  of  putting  forth  all 
her  strength,  the  complete  defeat  of  the  Ameri- 
can invasion  of  Canada  was  more  honourable  to 
our  arms  than  the  successes  which  the  Americans 
achieved  in  resisting  aggressive  demonstrations. 

In  the  great  hotel  of  Clifton  we  had  every  day 

a  little  war  of  our  own,  for  there  were but 

why  should  I  mention  names  ?  Has  not  govern- 
ment its  bastiles?  There  were  in  effect  men, 
and  women  too,  who  regarded  the  people  of  the 
Northern  States  and  the  government  they  hai 
selected  very  much  as  the  men  of  "98  looked  up- 
on the  government  and  people  of  England ;  but 
withal  these  strong  Southerners  were  not  very 
favourable  to  a  country  which  they  regarded  as 
the  natural  ally  of  the  abolitionists,  simply  because 
it  had  resolved  to  be  neutral. 

On  the  Canadian  side  these  rebels  wore  secure. 
British  authority  was  embodied  in  a  respectable 
old  Scottish  gentleman,  whoso  duty  it  was  to 
prevent  smuggling  across  the  boiling  waters  of 
the  St.  Lawrence,  and  who  performed  it  with 
zeal  and  diligence  worthy  of  a  higher  post. 
There  was  indeed  a  withered  triumphal  arch 
which  stood  over  the  spot  where  the  young 
Prince  of  our  royal  house  had  passed  on  his  way 
to  the  Table  Hock,  but  beyond  these  signs  and 
tokens  there  was  nothing  to  distinguish  the  Ame- 
rican from  the  British  side,  except  the  greater 
size  and  activity  of  the  settlements  upon  the 
right  bank.  There  is  no  power  in  nature,  accord- 
ing to  great  engineers,  which  cannot  bo  forced  to 
succumb  to  tho  influence  of  money.  The  Ame- 
rican papers  actually  announce  that  "  Niagara  is 
to  bo  sold;"  the  proprietors  of  tho  land  upon 
their  side  of  the  water  have  resolved  to  sell  their 


water  privileges  I  A  cai)italist  could  render  tho 
islands  tho  most  beautifully  uttraelivo  places  in 
tho  world. 

Life  at  Niagara  is  like  that  at  most,  watering- 
places,  thougli  it  is  a  desecration  to  apply  such  a- 
term  to  tho  Falls,  and  there  is  no  batiiing  there, 
except  that  which  is  confined  to  tho  precincts  of 
tho  hotels  and  to  the  ingenious  establishment  on 
the  American  side,  which  permits  ono  to  enjoy 
tho  full  rush  of  tho  current  in  covered  rooms  with 
sides  pierced,  to  let  it  come  through  with  undi- 
minished force  and  with  perfect  security  to  liie 
bather.  There  are  drives  and  picnics,  and  mild 
excursions  to  obscure  places  in  the  neighbour- 
hood, where  only  tho  roar  of  tho  Falls  gives  an 
idea  of  their  presence.  The  rambles  about  the 
islands,  and  tho  views  of  the  boiling  rapids  above 
them,  are  delightful,  but  I  am  glad  to  hear  from 
one  of  the  guides  that  the  gro!^  excitement  of 
seeing  a  man  and  boat  carried  over  occurs  but 
rarely.  Every  year,  however,  hapless  ereaturea 
crossing  from  one  shore  to  tho  other,  by  some 
error  of  judgment  or  miscalculation  of  strength, 
or  malign  influence,  are  swept  awfiy  into  the 
rapids,  and  then,  notwithstanding  the  wonderful 
rescues  efl'ected  by  the  American  blacksmith  and 
unwonted  kindnesses  of  fortune,  there  is  litilo 
chance  of  saving  body  corporate  or  incorporate 
from  tho  headlong  swoop  to  destruction. 

Next  to  the  purveyors  of  curiosities  and  hotel 
keepers,  the  Indians,  who  live  in  a  village  at 
some  distance  from  Niagara,  reap  the  largest 
profit  from  the  crowds  of  visitors  who  repair 
annually  to  the  Falls.  They  are<*i  harmless  and 
by  no  means  elevated  race  of  semi-civilised 
savages,  whoso  energies  are  expended  on  whis- 
key, feather  fans,  bark  canoes,  ornamental  mocas- 
sins, and  carved  pipe  stems.  I  had  arranged  for 
an  excursion  to  see  them  in  their  wigwams  one 
morning,  when  tlie  news  was  brought  to  me  that 
General  Scott  had  ordered,  or  been  forced  to 
order,  the  advance  of  tho  Federal  troops  encamped 
in  front  of  Washington,  under  the  command  of 
McDowell,  against  the  Confederates,  commanded 
by  Beauregard,  who  was  described  as  occupying 
a  mos  tformidable  position,  covered  with  entrench- 
ments and  batteries  in  front  of  a  ridgo  of  hills, 
through  which  the  railway  passes  to  liichmoud. 

The  New  York  papers  represent  tUo  Federal 
army  to  be  of  some  grand  indefinite  strength,  va- 
rying from  60,000  to  120,000  men,  full  of  fight, 
admirably  equipped,  well  disciplined,  and  pro- 
vided with  an  overwhelming  force  of  artillery 
General  Scott,  I  am  very  well  a.ssured,  did  not 
feel  such  confidence  in  the  result  of  an  invasion 
of  Virginia,  that  he  would  hurry  raw  levies  and  a 
rabble  of  regiments  to  undertake  a  most  arduous 
military  operation. 

The  day  I  was  introduced  to  the  General  he 
was  seated  at  a  table  in  the  unpretending  room 
which  served  as  his  boudoir  in  tho  still  humbler 
house  where  he  held  his  head-quarters.  On  the 
table  before  him  were  some  plans  and  maps  of 
the  harbour  defences  of  the  Southern  ports.  I 
Inferred  he  was  about  to  organise  a  force  for  the 
occupation  of  positions  along  tho  coast.  But 
when  I  mentioned  my  impression  to  ono  of  his 
officers,  he  said,  "  Oh,  no,  the  General  advised 
that  long  ago ;  but  ho  is  now  convinced  we  are 
too  late.  AH  he  can  hope,  now,  is  to  be  allowed 
time  to  prepare  a  force  for  the  field,  but  there  are 
hopes  that  some  compromise  will  yet  take  place." 


138 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


•I 
I,!' 


Tlio  probabilities  of  this  compromiHO  havo  va- 
ulslicil :  fow  entertain  tlioin  now.  They  have 
boon  hang'n^'  Seccsaionisla  in  Illinois,  and  Iho 
courthouse  itself  has  been  niado  tho  Hcono  of 
Lj-neh  huv  murder  in  Of?lo  county.  Petitions, 
prepared  by  citizens  of  New  York  to  the  Presi- 
dent, for  a  general  convention  to  consider  a  com- 
promise, have  been  seized.  The  Confederates 
Lave  raised  batteries  along  tho  Virginia  shore  of 
tho  Potomac.  General  Banks,  at  Baltimore,  has 
deposed  the  police  authorities  '^proprio  7no<M,"in 
spite  of  tho  protest  of  the  board.  Engagements 
liavo  occurred  between  tho  Federal  steatiiers  and 
tho  Confederate  batteries  on  tho  Potomac.  On 
all  points,  wherever  the  Federal  pickets  have  ad- 
vanced in  Virginia,  they  have  encountered  oppo- 
sition and  havo  been  obliged  to  halt  or  to  retire. 

ifc  »  i|e  )|(  «  i|i 

As  I  stood  .on  the  verandah  this  morning, 
looking  for  tho  last  time  on  the  Falls,  which  were 
covered  with  a  grey  mist,  that  rose  from  the 
river  and  towered  unto  the  sky  in  columns  which 
wore  lost  in  the  clouds,  a  voice  beside  me  said, 
"  Mr.  Russell,  that  is  something  like  the  present 
condition  of  our  country,  mists  and  darkness  ob- 
scure it  now,  but  wo  know  tho  great  waters  are 
rushing  behind,  and  will  flow  till  eternity."  The 
speaker  was  an  earnest,  thoughtful  man,  but  the 
country  of  whicli  he  spoke  was  tho  land  of  the 
South.  "  And  do  you  think,"  said  I,  "  when  the 
mists  clear  away  the  Falls  will  be  as  full  and  as 
grand  as  before?"  ""Well,"  he  replied,  "they 
are  great  as  it  is,  though  a  rock  divides  them ; 
we  have  merely  thrown  our  rock  into  the  waters, 
— they  will  meet  all  the  same  in  the  pool  below." 
A  coloured  boy,  who  has  waited  on  mo  at  the 
hotel,  hearing  I  was  going  away,  entreated  mo  to 
take  him  on  any  terms,  which  were,  I  found,  an 
advance  of  nine  dollars,  and  twenty  dollars  a 
month,  and,  as  I  heard  a  good  account  of  him 
from  tho  landlord,  I  installed  tho  young  man  into 
my  service.  In  the  evening  I  left  Niagara  on 
my  way  to  New  York. 

Julti  2nd. — At  early  dawn  this  morning,  looking 
out  of  the  sleeping  car,  I  saw  through  the  mist  a 
broad,  placid  river  on  the  right,  and  on  tho  left 
high  wooded  banks  running  sharply  into  the 
stream,  against  tho  base  of  which  the  rails  were 
laid.  West  Point,  which  is  celebrated  for  its 
picturesque  scenery,  as  much  as  for  its  military 
school,  could  not  bo  seen  through  the  fog,  and  I 
regretted  time  did  not  allow  mo  to  stop  and  pay 
a  visit  to  the  academy.  I  was  obliged  to  content 
myself  with  the  handiwork  of  some  of  the  ex- 
pupils.  The  only  camaraderie  I  havo  witnessed 
in  America  exists  among  the  "West  Point  men. 
It  is  to  Americans  what  our  great  public  schools 
are  to  young  Englishmen.  To  take  a  high  place 
at  West  Point  is  to  be  a  first-class  man,  or 
wrangler.  The  academy  turns  out  a  kind  of  mi- 
litary aristocracy,  and  I  have  heard  complaints 
that  tho  Irish  and  Germans  are  almost  com- 
pletely excluded,  because  the  nominations  to 
West  Point  are  obtained  by  political  influence ; 
and  the  foreign  element,  though  powerful  at  the 
ballot  box,  has  no  enduring  strength.  The  Mur- 
phies and  Schmidts  seldom  succeed  in  shoving 
theii'  sons  into  the  American  institution.  North 
and  South,  I  have  observed,  the  old  pupils  refer 
everything  military  to  West  Point.  "  I  was  with 
Beauregard  at  West  Point.  He  was  three  above 
mo."    Or,  "  M'Dowell  and  I  were  in  the.  same 


class."  An  ofllcer  is  mea.sured  by  what  he  did 
there,  and  if  jirofossional  jealousies  date  from  llio 
state  of  common  pupilugo,  so  do  lasting  friend- 
ships. I  heard  Beauregard,  Lawton,  Uardeo, 
Bragg,  and  others,  speak  of  M'Dowell,  Lyon, 
M'Clellan,  and  other  men  of  tho  academy,  as 
their  names  turned  up  in  tho  Northern  papers, 
evidently  judging  of  tiiem  by  the  old  school 
standard.  Tho  number  of  men  who  have  been 
educated  thoro  greatly  exceeds  tlio  modest  re- 
quirements of  the  army.  But  there  is  likelihoo'' 
of  their  being  all  in  full  work  very  soon. 

At  about  nine  a.m.,  the  train  reached  New 
York,  and  in  driving  to  the  house  of  Mr.  Duncan, 
who  accompanied  mo  from  Niagara,  the  first 
thing  which  struck  me  was  tho  changed  aspect 
of  tho  streets.  Instead  of  peaceful  citizens,  men 
in  military  uniforms  thronged  the  pathways,  and 
such  multitudes  of  United  States'  flags  floated 
from  tho  windows  and  roofs  of  the  houses  aa  to 
convey  tho  impression  that  it  was  a  great  holiday 
festival.  The  appearance  of  New  York  when  I 
first  saw  it  was  very  different.  For  one  day,  in- 
deed, after  my  arrival,  ther^  were  men  in  uniform 
to  be  seen  in  the  streets,  but  they  disappeared 
after  St.  Patrick  had  been  duly  honoured,  and  it 
was  veiy  rarely  I  ever  saw  a  man  in  soldier's 
clothes  during  tho  rest  of  my  stay.  Now,  fully  a 
third  of  the  people  carried  arms,  and  were  dressed 
in  some  kind  of  martial  garb. 

Tho  walls  are  covered  with  placards  from  mi- 
litary companies  oflbring  inducements  to  recruits. 
An  outburst  of  military  tailors  has  taken  place  iu 
the  streets ;  shops  are  devoted  to  militia  equip- 
ments ;  rifles,  pistols,  swords,  plumes,  long  boots, 
saddle,  bridle,  camp  beds,  canteens,  tents,  knap- 
sacks, havo  usurped  tho  place  of  the  ordinary 
articles  of  traffic.  Pictures  and  engravings — bad, 
and  very  bad— of  the  "battles"  of  Big  Bethel  and 
Vienna,  full  of  furious  charges,  smoke  and  dis- 
membered bodies,  have  driven  the  French  prints 
out  of  tho  windows.  Innumerable  "General 
Scotts"  glower  at  you  from  every  turn,  making 
the  General  look  wiser  than  he  or  any  man  ever 
was.  Ellsworths  in  almost  equal  proportion, 
Grebles  and  Winthrops — the  Union  martyrs — and 
Jompkins,  the  temporary  hero  of  Fairfax  court- 
house. 

The  "  flag  of  our  country  "  is  represented  in  a 
coloured  engraving,  the  original  of  which  was  not 
destitute  of  poetical  feeling,  as  an  angry  blue  sky 
through  which  meteors  fly  streaked  by  tho  winds, 
whilst  between  the  red  stripes  the  stars  just  shine 
out  from  the  heavens,  the  flag-stafi' being  typified 
by  a  forest  tree  bending  to  the  force  of  the  blast. 
The  Americans  like  this  idea — to  my  mind  it  is 
significant  of  bloodshed  and  disaster.  And  why 
not  I  What  would  become  of  all  these  pseudo- 
Zouaves  who  have  come  out  like  an  eruption 
over  the  States,  and  are  in  no  respect,  not  even 
in  their  baggy  breeches,  like  their  great  originals, 
if  this  war  were  not  to  go  on  ?  I  thought  I  had 
had  enough  of  Zouaves  in  New  Orleans,  but  dis 
aliter  visum. 

They  are  overrunning  society,  and  the  streets 
here,  and  the  dress  which  becomes  the  broad- 
chested,  stumpy,  short-legged  Celt,  who  seems 
specially  intended  for  it,  is  singularly  unbecom- 
ing to  the  tall  and  slightly-built  American. 
Songs  "  On  to  glory,"  "  Our  country,"  new  ver- 
sions of  "  Hail,  Columbia,"  which  certainly  can- 
not be  considered  by  even  American  complacency 


platfoJ 
almosi 


MT  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


139 


liat  he  did 
to  from  the 
;iDg  friond- 
1,  UnrUoo, 
kroll,  Lyoti, 
sadoiny,  as 
em  pupora, 
old  school 
have  been 
modest  ro- 
i  likelihoo'^ 
n. 

iched  New 
Ir.  Duncan, 
[I,  the  first 
iged  aspect 
tizens,  men 
hways,  and 
Hags  floated 
louses  aa  to 
reat  holiday 
ork  when  I 
one  day,  in- 
1  in  uniform 
disappeared 
>ured,  and  it 
in  soldier'8 
Now,  fully  a 
vore  dressed 

rds  from  mi- 
8  to  recruits, 
ken  place  in 
nilitia  equip- 
I,  long  boota, 
tents,  knap- 
the  ordinary 
avings — bad, 
ig  Bethel  and 
oke  and  dis- 
French  prints 
lie   "  General 
turn,  making 
my  man  ever 
I   proportion, 
martyrs — and 
Fairfax  court- 
presented  in  a 
vhich  was  not 
ngry  blue  sky 
,  by  the  winds, 
rtars  just  shine 
"being  typified 
e  of  the  blast, 
ny  mind  it  is 
or.    And  why 
these  pseudo- 
:e  an  eruption 
ipect,  not  even 
^reat  originals, 
thought  I  had 
rleans,  but  dis 

;nd  the  streets 
lies  the  broad- 
ilt,  who  seems 
larly  unbecom- 
uilt  American, 
itry,"  new  ver- 
i  certainly  can- 
3in  complacency 


a  "  happy  land  "  when  lis  inliabitants  are  prepar- 
ing to  cut  cacli  otlier's  throats,  of  the  "  star- 
epaiiglod  bannor,"  are  displayed  in  booksellera' 
and  music-shop  windows,  and  patriotic  sontencos 
emblazoned  on  flags  float  from  many  houses.  The 
ridiculous  habit  of  dressing  up  children  and 
young  people  up  to  ten  and  twelve  years  of  ago 
as  Zouaves  and  vivandiiircs  has  been  caught  up 
by  the  old  people,  and  Mars  would  die  with 
laughter  if  lie  suw  some  of  the  abdominous,  be- 
spectacled light  infantry  men  who  are  hobbling 
along  the  paveinout'. 

There  has  been  indeed  a  change  m  New  York : 
externally  it  is  most  remarkable,  but  I  cunnc^t  at 
all  admit  that  the  abuse  with  which  I  v/as  assailed 
for  describing  the  iudifi'erence  which  prevailed  on 
my  arrival  was  in  the  least  degree  justified.  I 
v.aa  desirous  of  learning  how  far  the  tone  of  con- 
versation "in  the  city"  had  altered,  and  soon 
after  breakfast  I  went  down  Broadway  to  Pino 
Street  ana  Wall  Street.  The  street  in  all  its 
length  was  almost  draped  with  flags  —  the 
warlike  character  of  the  shops  was  intensified. 
In  front  of  one  shop  window  there  was  a  largo 
crowd  gazing  with  interest  at  some  object  which 
I  at  last  succeeded  in  feasting  my  eyes  upon.  A 
grey  cap  with  a  tinsel  badge  in  front,  and  the 
cloth  stained  with  blood,  was  displayed,  with  the 
words,  "  Cap  of  Secession  ofQcer  liillud  in  action." 
On  my  way  I  observed  another  crowd  of  women, 
some  vdth  children  in  their  arms,  standing  in 
front  of  \  large  house  and  gazing  up  earnestly  and 
angrily  at  the  windows.  I  found  they  were 
wives,  mothers,  and  sisters,  and  daughters  of 
volunteers  who  had  gone  oif  and  left  them  des- 
titute. 

The  misery  thus  caused  has  boon  so  great  that 
tlie  citizens  of  New  York  have  raised  a  fund  to 
provide  food,  clothes,  and  a  little  money — a  poor 
relief,  in  fact,  for  them,  and  it  was  plain  that  they 
were  much  needed,  though  some  of  the  applicants 
did  not  seem  to  belong  to  a  class  accustomed  to 
seek  aid  from  the  public.  This  already !  But  Wall 
Street  and  Pine  Street  are  bent  on  battle.  And 
so  this  day,  hot  from  the  South  and  impressed 
with  the  firm  resolve  of  the  people,  and  finding 
that  the  North  has  been  lashing  itself  into  fury,  I 
sit  down  and  write  to  England,  on  my  return 
to  the  city.  "At  present  dismiss  entirely  the 
idea,  no  matter  how  it  may  originate,  that  there 
will  be,  or  can  be,  peace,  compromise,  union,  or 
secession,  till  war  has  determined  the  issue." 

As  long  as  there  was  a  chance  that  the  strug- 
gle might  not  take  place,  "the  merchants  of  Now 
York  were  silent,  fearful  of  offending  their  South- 
ern friends  and  connections,  but  inflicting  infinite 
damage  on  their  own  government  and  misleading 
both  sides.  Their  sentiments,  sympathies,  and 
business  bound  them  with  the  South ;  and,  in- 
deed, tUl  "the  glorious  uprising,"  the  South  be- 
lieved New  York  was  with  them,  as  might  be 
credited  from  the  tone  of  some  organs  in  the 
press,  and  I  remember  hearing  it  said  by  Soutli- 
ernors  in  Washington,  that  it  was  very  likely 
New  York  would  go  out  of  the  Union  I  When 
the  merchants,  however,  saw  that  the  South  was 
determined  to  quit  the  Union,  they  resblved  to 
avert  the  permanent  loss  of  the  great  profits  de- 
rived from  their  connection  with  the  South  by 
some  present  sacrifices.  They  rushed  to  the 
platforms — the  battle-cry  was  sounded  from 
ahnost  every  pulpit — flag  raisings  took  place  in 


every  square,  like  tiie  planting  of  the  tree  of 
liberty  in  France  in  1848,  and  the  oath  was  taken 
to  trample  Secession  under  foot,  and  to  quench 
tlie  fire  of  tlie  Southern  heart  for  ever. 

The  change  in  manner,  in  tone,  in  argmnont, 
is  n'ost  remarkable.  I  met  men  to-day  who  last 
March  argued  coolly  and  philosophically  about 
tlie  right  of  Secession.  Tney  are  now  furious 
nt  tho  idea  of  such  wickedness — furious  with 
England,  because  she  does  not  deny  their  own 
famous  doctrine  of  tho  sacred  right  of  insurrec- 
tion. "  Wo  must  maintain  our  glorious  Union, 
sir."  "  We  must  have  a  country."  "  Wo  can- 
not allow  two  nations  to  grow  up  on  this  Conti- 
nent, sir."  "  Wo  must  possess  the  entire  control 
of  tho  Mississippi."  These  "musts,"  and  "can'ts," 
and  "won'ts,"  are  tho  angry  utterances  of  a  spi- 
rited people  who  have  had  their  will  so  long  that 
they  at  last '  ■'^vo  it  is  omnipotent.  Assuredly, 
they  will  noi,  ..i.ve  it  over  tho  South  without  a 
tremendous  and  long  sustained  contest,  in  wliich 
they  must  put  forth  every  exertion,  and  use  all 
tho  resources  and  superior  means  they  so  abun- 
dantly possess. 

It  is  absurd  to  assert,  as  do  tho  Now  York 
people,  to  give  some  semblance  of  reason  to  their 
sudden  outburst,  that  it  was  caused  by  tho  Insult 
to  tho  flag  at  Symter.  Why,  the  flag  had  been 
fired  on  long  before  Sumter  was  attacked  by  tho 
Charleston  batteries  I  It  had  been  torn  down 
from  United  States'  arsenals  and  forts  all  over  tho 
South ;  and  but  for  tho  accident  which  placed 
Major  Anderson  in  a  position  from  which  he 
could  not  retire,  there  would  have  been  no  bom- 
bardment of  tho  fort,  and  it  would,  when  evacu- 
ated, have  shared  the  fate  of  all  the  other  Federal 
works  on  tho  Southern  coast.  Some  of  the  (^^„ 
tlemon  who  are  now  so  patriotic  and  Unionistio, 
were  last  March  prepared  to  maintain  that  if  tlio 
President  attempted  to  reinforce  Sumter  or 
Pickens,  ho  would  be  responsible  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  Union.  Many  journals  in  New  York 
and  out  of  it  held  the  same  doctrine. 

One  word  to  these  gentlemen.  I  am  pretty 
well  satisfied  that  if  they  had  always  spoken, 
written,  and  acted  as  they  do  now,  the  people  of 
Charleston  would  not  have  attacked  Sumter  so 
readily.  The  abrupt  outburst  at  the  North  and 
the  demonstration  at  New  York  filled  tho  South, 
first  with  astonishment,  and  then  with  something 
like  fear,  which  was  rapidly  fanned  into  anger  by 
the  press  and  the  politicians,  as  well  as  by  the 
pride  inherent  in  slaveholders. 

I  wonder  what  Mr.  Seward  will  say  when  I 
get  back  to  Washington.  Before  I  left,  he  was 
of  opinion — at  all  events,  he  stated — that  all  the 
States  would  come  back,  at  the  rate  of  one  a 
month.  The  nature  of  the  process  was  not  stated; 
but  we  are  told  there  are  250,000  Federal  troops 
now  under  arms,  prepared  to  try  a  new  one. 

Combined  with  the  feeling  of  animosity  to  the 
rebels,  there  is,  I  perceive,  a  good  deal  of  ill-feel- 
ing towards  Great  Britain.  The  Southern  papers 
are  so  angry  with  us  for  the  Order  in  Council 
closing  British  ports  against  privateers  and  their 
prizes,  that  they  advise  Mr.  Rust  and  Mr. Yancey 
to  leave  Europe.  We  are  in  evil  case  between 
North  and  South.  I  met  a  reverend  doctor,  who 
is  most  bitter  i^i  his  expressions  towards  us ;  and 
I  dare  say.  Bishop  and  General  Leonidas  Polk, 
down  South,  would  not  be  much  better  disposed. 
The. clergy  are  active  on  both  sides;  and  their 


« 


no 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


1  J 


!      'i 


flocks  approve  of  tlioir  lioly  violence.  One  jour- 
nal tt'lU  with  imu'li  jjustoofn  blaHpliumoua  chap, 
lain,  a  reiiiarlialjly  Kootl  ritio  nhot,  who  went  into 
ono  of  the  HkirmiHhcH  hiloly,  and  killed  a  number 
of  rebels — tlio  joko  bein^f  in  the  tiiet,  that  each 
time  ho  Ured  and  broujjht  down  his  man,  ho  ex- 
claimed, piously,  "  Jfuy  Heaven  have  mercy  on 
your  Houl!''  One  Father Moone}',  who  performed 
the  novel  act  for  a  ch-rKyman  of  "christening:"  a 
bi^  gun  at  Waahington  Uio  other  day,  wound  up 
tho  speech  he  made  on  tho  occasion,  by  declaring 
"  tho  echo  of  its  voice  would  bo  sweet  vtusic, 
invitiiiK  tho  children  of  Columbia  to  share  tho 
comforts  of  his  father's  homo."  Can  impiety,  and 
folly,  and  bad  taste,  go  further  ? 


CHAPTER  XLIV. 

Doimrtufp  for  Washington — A.  "  sorvnnt  " — Tho  Amerl- 
van  I'rcsB  on  tbo  War — Military  HSpect  of  tho  Status  — 
rhilu(lel|ihia — Baltimore— Wo8hiiigto;i — Lord  Lyons — 
Mr.  Suiiinor — Irritation  oguinst  Oroat  ISritain — "  Indo- 
imndcnoo"  day — Meeting  of  Congress— Ounerul  state 
of  att'airs. 

July  'ird. — Up  early,  breakfasted  at  five  a.  m., 
and  left  my  hospitable  host's  roof,  on  my  way  to 
"Washington.  The  ferry-boat,  which  is  a  long 
way  off,  starts  for  tho  train  at  seven  o'clock ;  and 
80  bad  are  tho  roads,  I  nearly  missod  it.  On 
hurrying  to  secure  my  place  in  tho  train,  I  said 
to  one  of  tho  railway  officers,  "  If  you  see  a 
coloui-ed  man  in  a  cloth  cap  and  dark  coat  with 
metal  buttons,  will  you  bo  good  enough,  sir,  to 
tell  him  I'm  in  this  carriage."  "  Why  so,  sir?" 
"  He  is  my  sorvant."  "  Servant,"  ho  repeated  ; 
" \'our  servant !  I  presume  you're  a  Britisher; 
and  if  he's  your  servant,  I  think  you  may  as  well 
let  him  find  you."  And  so  ho  walked  away, 
delighted  with  his  cleverness,  his  civility,  and  his 
rebuke  of  an  aristocrat. 

Nearly  four  months  since  I  wont  by  this  road 
to  Washington.  Tho  change  which  has  since 
occurred  is  beyond  belief  Men  were  then  speak- 
ing of  place  under  Government,  of  couipromises 
between  North  and  South,  and  of  peace;  now 
they  only  talk  of  war  and  battle.  Ever  since  I 
came  out  of  the  South,  and  could  see  the  news- 
papers, I  have  been  struck  by  tho  easiness  of  tho 
American  people,  by  their  excessive  credulity. 
Whether  they  wish  it  or  not,  they  are  certainly 
deceived.  Not  a  day  has  passed  without  tho  an- 
nouncement that  the  Federal  troops  were  moving, 
and  that  "  a  great  battle  was  expected  "  by  some- 
body unknown,  at  some  place  or  other. 

1  could  not  help  observing  the  arrogant  tone 
with  which  writers  of  stupendous  ignorance  on 
military  matters  write  of  the  operations  which 
they  think  the  Generals  should  undertake.  They 
demand  that  an  army,  which  has  neither  adequate 
transport,  artillery,  nor  cavalry,  shall  be  pushed 
forward  to  Richmond  to  crush  out  Secession,  and 
at  the  same  time  their  columns  teem  with  accounts 
from  tho  army,  which  prove  that  it  is  not  only  ill- 
disciplined,  but  that  it  is  ill-provided.  A  general 
outcry  has  been  raised  against  the  war  depart- 
ment and  the  contractors,  and  it  is  openly  stated 
that  Mr.  Cameron,  tho  Secretary,  has  not  clean 
hands.  One  journalist  denounces  "  the  swindling 
and  plunder"  which  prevailed  un(Jer  his  eyes.  A 
minister  who  is  disposed  to  be  corrupt  can  bo  so 
with  facility  under  the  system  of  the  United 
States,  because  he  has  absolute  control  over  the 


contracts,  which  ore  rising  to  an  i  nornious  majf- 
nitude,  its  the  war  preparations  aHsnmo  more  II )r- 
midablo  dimensions.  Tiio  greater  part  of  tho 
military  stores  of  tho  Stale  are  iti  the  South — 
arms,  ordnance,  clothing,  amnmnition,  ships,  ma- 
chinery, and  all  kinds  of  luatiriel  must  be  pro- 
pared  in  a  hurry. 

Tho  condition  in  which  tho  States  present 
themselves,  particularly  at  sea,  is  a  curious  com- 
mentary on  the  olfensive  and  warlike  tone  of 
their  Statesmen  in  their  dealings  with  the  lirst 
maritime  power  of  the  world.  They  cannot 
blockade  a  single  port  elfectually.  Tho  Conft'de- 
rate  steamer  Sumter  has  escaped  to  sea  from  ^ew 
Orleans,  and  ships  run  in  and  out  of  Charleston 
almost  as  they  please.  Coming  so  recently  from 
tho  South,  I  can  see  the  great  diH'erenco  which 
exi.sts  between  tho  two  races,  as  they  nmy  bo 
called,  exemplified  in  tho  men  I  have  seen,  and 
those  who  are  in  the  train  going  towards  Wash- 
ington. Those  volunteers  have  none  of  the  swash- 
buckler bravado,  gallant-swaggering  air  of  the 
Southern  men.  They  are  staid,  quiet  men,  and 
the  Pennsylvanians,  who  are  on  their  way  to 
join  their  regiment  in  Baltimore,  are  very  inferior 
in  size  and  strength  to  the  Tonnesseaus  and  Caro- 
linians. 

The  train  is  full  of  men  in  uniform.  When  I 
last  went  over  tho  lino,  I  do  not  believe  there 
was  a  sign  of  soldiering  beyond  perhaps  the 
"  conductor,"  who  is  always  described  in  the 
papers  as  being  "  gentlemanly,"  with  his  badge. 
And,  n-pro2)os  of  badges,  I  see  that  civilians  have 
taken  to  wearing  shields  of  metal  on  their  coats, 
enamelled  with  the  stars  and  stripes,  and  that 
men  who  are  not  in  the  army  try  to  make  it 
seem  they  are  soldiers  by  atfecting  military  caps 
and  cloaks. 

Tho  country  between  Washington  and  Piiila- 
delphia  is  destitute  of  natural  beauties,  but  it 
affords  abundant  evidence  that  it  is  inhabited  by 
a  prosperous,  comfortable,  middlc-cla.ss  commu- 
nit}'.  From  every  village  church,  and  from  many 
houses,  the  Union  fiag  Avas  displayed.  Four 
months  ago  not  one  was  to  be  seen.  When  wo 
were  crossing  in  tho  steam  ferry-boat  at  Philadel- 
phia, I  saw  some  volunteers  looking  up  and  smil- 
ing at  a  hatchet  which  was  over  tlie  cabin  door, 
and  it  was  not  till  I  saw  it  had  the  words  "  States 
Plights'  Fire  Axe  "  painted  along  tho  handle  I 
could  account  for  the  attraction.  It  would  fare 
ill  with  any  vessel  in  Southern  waters  which 
displayed  an  axo  to  the  citizens  inscribed  with 
"  Down  with  States  *  Rights"  on  it.  There  is 
certainly  less  vehemence  and  bitterness  among 
tho  Northerners  ;  but  it  might  be  ^erroneous  to 
suppose  there  was  less  determination. 

Below  Philadelphia,  from  Havre-de-GrAco  all 
me  way  to  Baltimore,  and  thence  on  to  Washing- 
ton, the  stations  on  the  rail  were  guarded  by 
soldiers,  as  though  an  enomy  were  expected  to 
destroy  the  bridges  and  to  tear  up  the  rails. 
Wooden  bridges  and  causeways,  carried  over 
piles  and  embankments,  are  necessary,  in  conse- 
quence of  the  nature  of  the  country ;  and  at  each 
of  these  a  small  camp  was  formed  for  the  .sol- 
diers who  have  to  guard  the  approaches.  Senti- 
nels are  posted,  pickets  thrown  out.  and  in  the 
open  field  by  the  way-side  troops  are  to  be  seen 
moving,  as  though  a  battle  was  close  at  hand. 
In  one  word,  wa  are  in  the  State  of  Maryland. 
By  these  means  alone  are  communications  main- 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


141 


fiioiis  niasf- 
J  nioi'f  I'or- 
iirt  of  llio 
10  Suutli — 
ships,  mil- 
iHt  bo  pro- 

09  present 
riouH  cotn- 
co  tone  of 
,li  tlio  tlrst 
loy   cniniot 

10  Coiit'tido- 
i  IVoni  New 

Cliarleslon 
cently  I'rom 
onco  which 
ley  niny  bo 
3  seen,  and 
(I'ds  Wash- 
f  tiicswash- 
•  nir  of  tlio 
t  men,  and 
loir  way  to 
rery  inferior 
13  and  Oaro- 

1.  When  I 
dHovo  Ihero 
)orliaps  tlie 
bed  in  the 
1  his  badj^o. 
iviUansiiave 
:  their  coat3, 
es,  and  that 
to  make  it 
nilitary  caps 

and  Piiila- 

iities,  but  it 
nhabited  by 
ass  commu- 
d  from  many 
lyed.     Four 
When  wo 
at  Philadel- 
up  and  smil- 
3  cabin  door, 
ords  '-States 
ho  handle  I 
t  would  faro 
aters  which 
iscribed  with 
it.     There  is 
rness  among 
erroneous  to 
1. 

de-GrAco  all 
to  Washing- 
guarded  by 
expected  to 
up  tho  rails, 
carried  over 
,ry,  in  conso- 
and  at  each 
for  the  sol- 
ches.     Senti- 
and  in  tho 
,re  to  be  seen 
ose  at  hand, 
of  Maryland. 
:ationa  inaia- 


tained  between  llie  North  and  the  capital.  As 
wo  approach  Ilaltiinoro  the  nnmbc.'r  of  sentinels 
and  camps  increase,  and  eartliwo;ks  have  been 
thrown  up  on  tho  hi^h  grounds  (;oninianding  the 
city.  The  display  of  Feileral  Hags  from  the  pub- 
lic buildings  and  some  shipping  in  tiio  river  was 
80  limiteil  as  to  contrast  strongly  with  those  sym- 
bols of  Union  sentiments  in  the  Northern  cities. 

Since  I  last  passed  through  this  city  tho  Hlreets 
have  been  a  sceiio  of  blood.thed.  Tho  conductor 
of  the  car  on  which  wo  travelled  from  one  termi- 
nus to  the  other,  along  the  street  railway,  pointed 
out  the  marks  of  tho  bullets  on  tho  walls  and  in 
tho  window  frames,  "Tliai's  tho  way  to  deal 
with  tho  Plug  Ugrics,"  exclaimed  ho;  a  namo 
given  popularly  to  the  lower  classes  called  Row- 
dies in  New  York.  '•  Yes,"  said  a  fellow-passen- 
ger quietly  to  mo,  "  these  aro  tho  sontimenta 
which  are  now  uttered  in  tho  country  which  wo 
call  the  land  of  freedom,  and  men  like  that  desiro 
nothing  better  than  brute  force.  There  is  no  city 
in  Europe — Vonico,  Warsaw,  or  Rome — subject 
to  such  tyranny  as  Baltimore  at  this  moment.  In 
this  Pratt  Street  there  have  been  murders  as  foul 
as  ever  soldiery  committed  in  tho  streets  of  Pari.s." 
Here  was  evidently  tho  judicial  blindness  of  a 
States  Rights  fanatic,  who  considers  tho  despatch 
of  Federal  soldiers  through  tho  State  of  Maryland 
without  the  permission  of  tho  authorities  an  out- 
rage so  flagrant  as  to  justify  tho  people  in  shoot- 
ing them  ilown,  whilst  tho  soldiers  become  mur- 
derers if  they  resist.  At  the  corners  of  tho  streets 
strong  guards  of  soldiers  were  posted,  and  patrols 
moved  up  and  down  the  thoroughfares.  Tho 
inhabitants  looked  sullen  and  sad.  A  small  war 
is  waged  by  the  police  recently  appointed  by  tho 
Federal  authorities  against  the  women,  who 
exhibit  much  ingenuity  in  expressing  their  ani- 
mosity to  tho  stars  and  stripes — dressing  tho 
children,  and  ovon  dolls,  in  tho  Confederato 
colours,  and  wearing  tho  same  in  ribbons  and 
bows.  Tho  negro  population  alone  seemed  just 
tho  same  as  before. 

The  Secession  newspapers  of  Baltimore  have 
been  suppressed,  but  tho  editors  contrive  never- 
theless to  show  their  sympathies  in  the  selection 
of  tlioir  extracts.  In  to-day's  paper  there  is  an 
account  of  a  skirmish  in  the  West,  given  by  one 
of  the  Confederates  who  took  part  in  it,  in  which 
it  is  stated  that  tho  officer  commanding  tho  party 
"  scalped  "  twenty-three  Federals.  For  tho  first 
time  since  I  left  the  South  I  see  those  advertise- 
ments headed  by  tho  figure  of  a  negro  running 
with  a  bundle,  and  containing  descriptions  of  the 
fugitive,  and  tho  reward  ollered  for  imprisoning 
him  or  her,  so  that  tho  owner  may  receive  his 
property.  Among  tlio  insignia  enumerated  aro 
scars  on  the  back  and  over  tho  loins.  The  whip 
is  not  only  used  by  the  masters  and  drivers,  but 
by  the  police ;  and  in  every  report  of  petty  police 
cases  sentences  of  so  many  lashes,  and  severe 
floggings  of  women  of  colour,  are  recorded. 
•  It  is  about  forty  miles  from  Baltimore  to  Wash- 
ington, and  at  every  quarter  of  a  mile  for  tho 
whole  distance  a  picket  of  soldiers  guarded  tho 
rails.  Camps  appeared  on  both  sides,  larger  and 
more  closely  packed  together ;  and  the  rays  of 
the  setting  sun  fell  on  countless  lines  of  tents  as 
we  approached  tho  unfinished  dome  of  tho  Capi- 
tol. On  tiie  Virginian  side  of  the  river,  columns 
of  smoke  rising  from  tho  forest  marked  tho  site  of 
Federal  encampments  across  the  stream.    Tho 


fields  around  Washington  resoundi'd  witii  the 
words. of  command  and  tramp  of  iiil'ii,  and  tiaslit'd 
with  wheeling  arms.  I'arks  of  artillery  studdi'd 
tho  wasto  ground,  and  long  trains  of  white-cover- 
ed wagons  lillcd  up  tho  open  spaces  in  tho 
suburbs  of  Washington. 

To  mo  all  this  was  a  wonderfiil  sight.  As  I 
drove  up  IVmisylvania  .\venuo  1  could  scarco 
credit  that  busy  thoroughfare — all  rod,  white,  and 
blue  with  fiags,  tilled  with  dust  from  galloping 
chargers  and  commissariat  carts;  the  side-walks 
thronged  with  people,  of  whom  a  largo  proportion 
carried  sword  or  bayonet ;  shops  full  of  life  ami 
activity — was  the  .same  as  that  through  which  I 
had  driven  the  first  morning  of  my  arrival. 
Washington  now,  indepd,  is  the  capital  of  tho 
United  States ;  but  it  is  no  longer  tho  scone  of 
bencrtccut  legislation  and  of  peaceful  government. 
It  is  tho  representative  of  aryied  force  engaged  in 
war — menaced  whilst  in  the  very  act  of  raising  its 
arm  by  the  enemy  it  seeks  to  strike. 

To  avoid  tho  tumult  of  Willard's,  I  requested 
a  friend  to  hire  apartments  and  drove  to  a  houso 
in  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  close  to  the  War  De- 
partment, where  ho  had  succeeded  in  engaging  a 
sitting-room  about  twelve  feet  square,  and  a  bed- 
room to  corie8i)ond,  in  a  very  small  mansion, 
next  door  to  a  spirit  merchant's.  At  tho  Lega- 
tion I  saw  Lord  Lyons,  and  gave  him  a  brief 
account  of  what  I  had  seen  in  tho  South.  I  wna 
sorry  to  observe  ho  looked  rather  careworn  and 
pale. 

Tho  relations  of  tho  United  States'  Govern- 
ment with  Great  Britain  have  probably  been  con- 
siderably alVected  by  Mr.  Seward's  failure  ir» 
his  prophecies.  As  tho  Southern  Confederacy 
develops  its  power,  the  Foreign  Secretary  assumes 
higher  ground,  and  becomes  more  exacting  and 
defiant.  In  these  hot  summer  days.  Lord  Lyons 
and  tho  members  of  the  Legation  dine  early,  and 
enjoy  the  cool  of  the  evening  in  tho  garden  :  so 
after  a  while  I  took  my  leave,  and  proceeded  to 
Gautier's.  On  my  way  I  met  Mr.  Sumner,  who 
asked  me  for  Southern  news  very  anxiously,  and 
in  tho  course  of  conversation  with  him  I  was  con- 
firmed in  my  impressions  that  the  feeling  between 
tho  two  countries  was  not  as  friendly  as  could  bo 
desir  )d.  Lord  Lyons  had  better  means  of  know- 
ing what  is  going  on  in  the  South,  by  communi- 
cations from  the  British  Consuls;  but  even  ho 
seemed  unaware  of  facts  which  had  occurred 
whilst  I  waa  there,  and  Mr.  Sumner  appeared  to 
bo  as  ignorant  of  the  whole  condition  of  things 
below  Mason  and  Dixon's  line  as  he  waa  of  tlie 
politioa  of  Timbuctoo. 

The  importance  of  maintaining  a  friendly  feel- 
ing with  England  appeared  to  me  very  strongly 
impressed  on  tho  Senator's  mind.  Mr.  Seward 
has  been  fretful,  irritable,  and  acrimonious ;  and 
it  is  not  too  much  to  suppose  Mr.  Sumner 
has  been  useful  in  allaying  irritation.  A  certain 
despatch  was  written  last  June,  which  amounted 
to  little  loss  than  a  declaration  of  war  against 
Great  Britain.  Most  fortunately  tho  President 
was  induced  to  exercise  his  power.  The  despatch 
was  modified,  though  not  without  opposition,  and 
was  forwarded  to  tho  English  Minister  with  its 
teeth  drawn.  Lord  Lyons,  who  is  one  of  the 
suavest  and  quietest  of  diplomatists,  has  found  it 
difficult,  I  fear,  to  maintain  personal  relations 
with  Mr  Seward  at  times.  Two  despatches  have 
boon  prepared  for  Lord  John  RusseU,  which  could 


ua 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTIT. 


Imvo  lind  no  result  but  to  lend  to  a  bronch  of  tlio 
puaco,  lind  not  soriio  frioudly  iiitorixmitor  buc- 
tvotloci  iu  uvortiug  tlio  wruth  of  tho  ForoiifU  Mi- 
nister. 

Mr.  Sumnor  ia  more  snnguino  of  imnicdiato 
success  tban  I  nin.  from  tho  niiiitnry  oi)erutiona 
wliich  are  to  conitnoiico  when  (Jcnoral  Scott  con- 
siders tho  army  lit  to  take  the  Hold.  At  Guutior'a 
1  met  a  number  of  olllcorH,  who  oxpressod  a  great 
diversity  of  views  in  reference  to  those  oporutious. 
tleneral  M'Dowell  is  popular  with  them,  but 
they  admit  tho  great  dollcieucios  of  the  subaltern 
and  company  olUcora  General  Scott  is  too  inllrra 
to  tako  tho  Held,  and  the  burdens  of  administra- 
tion press  tho  veteran  to  tho  earth. 

July  'Uh. — "Independence  Day."  Fortunate 
to  escape  this  great  national  festival  in  tho  largo 
cities  of  tho  Union  where  it  is  celebrated  with 
many  days  before  and  after  of  surplus  rejoicing, 
by  ttreworks  and  an  incessant  fusillade  in  tho 
streets,  I  was,  nevertheless,  subjected  to  the 
small  ebullition  of  tho  Washington  juveniles,  to 
boll-ringing  and  discharges  of  cannon  and  mus- 
ketry. On  this  day  Congress  meets.  Never  be- 
fore has  any  legislative  body  assembled  under 
circumstances  so  grave.  By  their  action  they  will 
decide  whether  the  Union  can  over  bo  restored, 
and  will  determine  whether  tho  States  of  the 
North  are  to  commence  an  invasion  for  tho  pur- 
pose of  subjecting  by  force  of  arms,  and  depriv- 
ing of  then*  freedom,  the  States  of  the  South. 

Congress  met  to-day,  merely  for  tho  purpose  of 
'  forming  itself  into  a  regular  body,  and  there  was 
no  debate  or  business  of  public  importance  intro- 
duced. Mr.  "Wilson  gave  mo  to  understand,  how- 
ever, that  some  military  movements  of  the  utmost 
importance  might  be  expected  in  a  few  days,  and 
that  General  M'Dowell  would  positively  attack 
tho  rebels  in  front  of  Washington.  The  Confe- 
derates occupy  the  whole  of  Northern  Virginia, 
commencing  from  the  peninsula  above  Fortress 
Monroe  on  the  right  or  east,  and  extending  along 
the  Potomac,  to  the  extreme  verge  of  the  State, 
by  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  RaQway.  This  im- 
mense line,  however,  is  broken  by  great  intervals, 
and  the  army  with  which  M'Dowell  will  have  to 
deal  may  be  considered  as  detached,  covering  the 
approaches  to  Richmond,  whilst  its  left  flank  ia 
protected  by  a  corps  of  observation,  stationed 
near  Winchester,  under  General  Jackson.  A 
Federal  corps  is  being  prepared  to  watch  the 
corps  and  engage  it,  whilst  M'Dowell  advances 
on  the  main  body.  To  the  right  of  this  again,  or 
further  west,  another  body :  of  Federals,  under 
General  M'Clellan,  is  operating  in  the  valleys  of 
tlie  Shenandoah  and  in  Western  Virginia ;  but  I 
did  not  hear  any  of  these  things  from  Mr.  Wil- 
son, who  was,  I  am  sure,  in  perfect  ignorance  of 
the  plans,  in  a  military  sense,  of  the  general  I 
sat  at  Mr.  Sumner's  desk,  and  wrote  the  final  pa- 
ragraphs of  a  letter  describing  my  impressions  of 
the  South  in  a  place  but  little  disposed  to  give  a 
favourable  colour  to  them. 


CIIAI'Trm  XLV. 

« 

Int<»rvlow  with  Mr.  Scwnnl— ^(y  [xwnport— Afr.  Howard's 
vii!WitiMt<)  till!  wiir — Illiitiiiiiiitloii  at  WiiBliliiKtuii— My 
"»«'rvont"  ubHiMitit  hlriiitcir— New  York  JimrtmllHm— 
Tho  Cnpltol— Interior  of  loiiiireits— Tho  rrciililoiit's 
MoiMMiKii— Hiicoclii'N  III  Oon»(r('M — Lord  Lyoim— 4h'iiii- 
rul  M'l)owull— Low  ftUindiiril  In  tho  Briny— Accldi'iit 
to  tho  "  Htiirs  and  Strljtcs  "—A  itreet  row— Mr.  UIko- 
low— Mr.  N.  1*.  WlUln. 

WuE>f  tho  Senate  had  adjourned,  I  drove  to 
tho  State  Department,  ami  saw  Mr.  Seward,  who 
looked  nmch  more  worn  and  haggard  than  when 
I  saw  him  last,  tiiree  months  ago.  lie  congralu- 
latod  mo  on  my  sufo  return  from  tho  South  in 
time  to  witness  some  stirring  events.  "  Weil, 
Mr.  Secretary,  I  am  quite  sure  that,  if  all  tiio 
South  are  of  the  same  mind  as  those  I  met  in  my 
travels,  there  will  be  many  battles  before  they 
submit  to  the  Federal  Government." 

"  It  is  not  submission  to  the  Government  wo 
want ;  it  is  to  assent  to  the  principles  of  the  Con- 
stitution, When  you  left  Washington  we  Imd  a 
few  hundred  regulars  and  some  hastily-levied 
militia  to  defend  tho  national  capital,  and  a  bat- 
tery and  a  half  of  artillery  under  the  command  of 
a  traitor.  The  Navy-yard  wtA  in  the  hands  of  a 
disloyal  officer.  Wo  were  surrounded  by  treason. 
Now  wo  are  supported  by  the  loyal  States  which 
have  come  forward  in  defence  of  the  best  Govern- 
ment on  the  face  of  the  earth,  and  tho  unfortu- 
nate and  desperate  men  who  have  commenced 
this  struggle  will  have  to  yield,  or  experience  tlie 
punishment  due  to  their  crimes." 

"  But,  Mr.  Seward,  has  not  thia  great  exhibi- 
tion of  strength  been  attended  by  some  circum- 
stances calculated  to  inspire  apprehension  that 
liberty  in  tho  free  States  may  be  impaired ;  for 
instance,  I  hear  that  I  must  procure  a  passport 
in  order  to  travel  through  the  States  and  go  into 
the  camps  in  front  of  Washington." 

"  Yes,  sir;  you  must  send  your  passport  here 
from  Lord  Lyons,  with  his  signature.  It  will  bo 
no  good  till  I  have  signed  it,  and  then  it  must  be 
sent  to  General  Scott,  as  Commander-in-Chief  of 
the  United  States  army,  who  will  subscribe  it, 
after  which  it  will  be  available  for  all  legitimate 
purposes.  You  are  not  in  any  way  impaired  in 
your  liberty  by  the  procesa" 

"Neither  is,  one  may  say,  the  man  who  ia 
under  surveillance  of  the  police  in  despotic  coun- 
tries in  Europe ;  he  has  only  to  submit  to  a  cer- 
tain formality,  and  he  is  all  right;  in  fact,  it  is 
said  by  pome  people,  that  the  protection  aflbrded 
by  a  passport  is  worth  all  the  trouble  connected 
with  having  it  in  order." 

Mr.  Seward  seemed  to  think  it  was  quite  likely. 
There  were  corresponding  measures  taken  in  tho 
Southern  States  by  tho  rebels,  and  it  was  neces- 
sary to  have  some  control  over  traitors  and  dis- 
loyal persons.  "In  this  contest,"  said  he,  "the 
Government  will  not  shrink  from  using  all  the 
means  which  they  consider  necessary  to  restore 
the  Union."  It  was  not  my  place  to  remark  that 
such  doctrines  were  exactly  identical  with  all 
that  despotic  governments  in  Europe  have  ad- 
vanced as  the  ground  of  action  in  cases  of  revolt, 
or  with  a  view  to  the  maintenance  of  their  strong 
Governments.  "The  Executive,"  said  he,  "has 
declared  in  the  inaugural  that  the  rights  of  the 
Federal  Government  shall  be  fully  vindicated. 
We  are  dealing  with  an  insurrection  within  our 
own  country,  of  our  own  people,  and  the  Govern- 
ment of  Great  Britain  have  thought  fit  to  recognise 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


148 


Mr.  Sowftrd's 
liliijftiiii  -My 
JtiiirniillKm — 
I  I'rfMlcloiit'B 
jyoiiiv— <lt'im- 
ly — Ac('i<li'Mt 
nr— Mr.  lll«o- 

I  drove  to 

oward,  wlio 

than  wlicn 

0  congralu- 
10  Soulli  ill 
ts.  "  Well, 
,t,  if  all  tlio 
;  mot  in  my 
boforo  tliey 

jmraont  wo 
i  of  tlio  Con- 
in  wo  liad  a 
aatily-leviod 
I,  and  a  bat- 
command  of 
P  hands  of  a 

1  by  treason, 
States  which 
best  Govcrn- 
tho  unfortu- 

commoneod 
:periouce  the 

^oat  exhibi- 
ome  circum- 
hension  that 
inpaired;  for 
re  a  passport 
i  and  go  into 

jassport  here 
■  It  will  be 
Bn  it  must  be 
)r-in-Chief  of 
subscribe  it, 
ill  legitimate 

7  impaired  ia 

man  who  ia 
espotic  coun- 
bmit  to  a  cer- 
;  in  fact,  it  is 
3tion  aflforded 
ble  connected 

8  quite  likely. 
3  taken  in  tho 
it  was  neces- 
itors  and  dis- 
said  he,  "the 
using  all  the 
ary  to  restore 
;o  remark  that 
itical  with  all 
rope  have  ad- 
•ases  of  revolt, 
3f  their  strong 

said  he,  "  has 
e  rights  of  the 
lly  vindicated, 
ion  within  our 
id  the  Govern- 
fit  to  recognise 


that  mmirrortion  boforo  wo  woroablc  to  bring  tlio 
Htrfiiglli  of  ihi.>  Union  to  hi-iir  against  it,  by  oori- 
WHliiig  to  it  till)  ntalus  of  Ix-liigfrt'iit.  Aitliuiigh 
wo  might  justly  complain  of  Hiich  nn  uiifrit.'iKlly 
act  in  a  inaiinor  that  might  injure  tho  tVioiidly 
relatioiiH  botwoon  tho  two  coiuitrioH,  wo  do  not 
doHiro  to  give  any  exous(»  I'or  foreign  iiiti'ifi.'roiico; 
although  wo  do  not  hoHiiato,  in  caHo  of  nocosHity, 
to  roaint  it  to  tho  uttormoHt,  wo  have  Ichh  to  fear 
from  a  foreign  war  than  any  country  in  tho  world. 
If  any  i'luropoan  Towor  provokes  a  war,  wo  hIuiU 
not  shrink  from  it.  A  contest  btftwoen  Great 
13ritaiii  and  tho  United  States  woulil  wrap  the 
world  in  llro,  and  at  l\w  end  it  would  not  bo  tho 
United  States  which  would  have  to  lament  tho 
results  of  tho  condict." 

I  could  not  but  admire  tho  confldonco — may  I 
Bay  tho  coolness  ? — of  tho  Htatesman  who  sat  in 
his  motlest  littlo  room  within  tho  sound  of  tho 
enemy's  guns,  in  a  capital  menaced  by  tlieir 
forces,  who  spoko'  so  foarlessly  of  war  with  a 
Power  which  could  have  blottod  out  tho  paper 
blockade  of  the  Southern  forts  and  coast  in  a  few 
hours,  and,  in  conjunction  with  the  Southern 
armies,  have  repeated  tho  occupation  and  des- 
truction of  the  capital. 

Tho  President  sent  for  Mr.  Seward  whilst  I 
was  in  tho  State  Department,  and  I  walked  up 
Pennsylvania  Avenue  to  my  lodgings,  through  a 
crowd  of  men  in  uniform  who  were  celebrating 
Indepetidenco  Day  in  their  own  fashion — some 
by  the  largo  internal  use  of  firo-wator,  others  by 
an  external  display  of  fire-works. 

Directly  opposite  my  lodgings  .no  tho  head- 
quarters of  General  Mansfield,  commanding  tho 
district,  which  are  marked  by  a  guard  at  the 
door  and  a  couple  of  six-pounder  guns  pointing 
down  the  street.  I  called  upon  tho  General,  but 
ho  was  busy  examining  certain  inhabitants  of 
Alexandria  and  of  Washington  itself,  who  had 
been  brought  before  him  on  tho  charge  of  being 
Secessionists,  and  I  left  my  card,  and  proceeded 
to  General  Scott's  head-quarters,  which  I  found 
packed  with  ofllcers.  The  General  received  me 
in  a  small  room,  and  expressed  his  gi-atitication 
at  my  return,  but  I  saw  he  was  so  busy  with 
reports,  despatches,  and  maps,  that  I  did  not 
trespass  on  his  time,  I  dined  with  Lord  Lyons, 
and  afterwards  went  with  some  members  of  the 
Legation  to  visit  the  camps,  situated  in  the  pub- 
lic square. 

All  the  population  of  Washington  had  turned 
out  in  their  best  to  listen  to  the  military  bands, 
tho  music  of  which  was  rendered  nearly  inaudible 
by  the  constant  discharge  of  fireworks.  The 
camp  of  the  12th  New  York  presented  a  very 
pretty  and  animated  scene.  The  men  liberated 
from  duty  were  enjoying  themselves  out  and  in- 
side their  tents,  and  the  sutlers'  booths  were 
driving  a  roaring  trade.  I  was  introduced  to 
Colonel  Butterfield,  commanding  the  regiment, 
who  was  a  merchant  of  New  York ;  but  notwith- 
standing the  training  of  the  counting-house,  he 
looked  very  much  like  a  soldier,  and  had  got  his 
regiment  very  fairly  in  hand.  In  compliance 
with  a  desire  of  Professor  Henry,  the  Colonel 
had  prepared  a  number  of  statistical  tables  in 
which  the  nationality,  height,  weight,  breadth  of 
chest,  age,  and  other  particulars  respecting  the 
men  under  his  command  were  entered.  I  looked 
over  the  book,  and  as  far  as  I  could  judge,  but 
two  out  of  twelve  of  the  soldiers  were  native- 


born  AmoricanH,  tlio  rest  being  Tri^ih,  flcrm.nn, 
Mnglish,  and  Kuropoan-borii  gcneruily,  Aecord- 
iiig  to  tho  comiiiaiiiliiig  olllcer  they  were  in  Iho 
highest  Htato  of  disciplino  and  ohi'ilienei'.  Ho 
had  given  thoin  leave  to  go  out  ns  they  pliused 
for  tho  day,  but  at  tattoo  only  11  men  out  ol"  looO 
were  ab.seiit,  and  .soiiio  of  those  li;ul  been  no- 
counted  for  by  reports  that  they  were  iiieapahlo 
of  locomotion  owing  to  the  hospilalily  of  llio 
citi/.ens. 

When  I  rcturnod  to  my  lodgings,  tho  coloured 
boy  whom  1   had  hired  at  Niagara  wiw  ♦• 

and  I  was  told  lie  had  not  come  in  r  .  >.Vii 
night  bet'oro.     "Tlieso  free  coloured  b  ■  ■  d 

my  landlord,  "are  a  bad  set ;  now  they  .'  .ho 

than  ever;  tho  olllcors  of  tlio  army  aro  alxing 
them  all  away  from  us;  it's  jnst  tho  life  tlioy 
like;  they  get  lilllo  work,  liavo  good  pay;  but 
what  they  like  most  is  robbing  and  plundering 
tho  farmers'  houses  over  in  V^irginia ;  what  with 
Germans,  Irish,  and  free  niggers.  Lord  help  tho 
poor  Virginians,  I  say ;  but  they'll  give  them  a 
turn  yet." 

The  sounds  in  Washington  to-night  might  liavo 
led  one  to  believe  tho  city  was  carried  by  storm. 
Constant  ex[)losion  of  fire-arms,  fireworks,  sliout- 
ing,  an^l  cries  in  the  streets,  wliieli  eoniljinod 
with  the  heat  and  the  abominable  odours  of  llio 
undraiiicd  houses  and  mosquitoes,  to  drive  sleep 
far  away. 

July  \)th. — As  the  young  gentleman  of  colour, 
to  whom  I  had  given  egregious  ransom  as  well 
as  an  advance  of  wages,  did  not  appear  this 
morning,  I  was,  after  an  abortive  aUenq)!  to  boil 
water  for  cofiee  and  to  get  a  piece  of  toast,  com- 
pelled to  go  in  next  door,  and  avail  myself  of  the 
liospitality  of  Captain  Cecil  Johnson,  who  waa 
installed  in  the  drawing-room  of  Madame  Jost. 
In  the  forenoon,  Mr.  John  liigelow,  whose  ac- 
quaintance I  made,  much  to  my  gratification  in 
time  gone  by,  on  the  margin  of  tho  Luko  of  Tliun, 
found  mo  out,  and  proflbred  his  services ;  which, 
aa  tho  whileom  editor  of  the  Bvcning  Post  and  aa 
a  leading  Republican,  he  was  in  a  position  to 
render  valuable  and  most  eflfective ;  but  ho  could 
not  make  a  Bucephalus  to  order,  and  I  have  been 
running  through  the  stables  of  Washington  in 
vain,  hoping  to  find  something  up  to  my  weight 
— such  ttankless,  screwy,  shoulderless,  cat-like 
creatures  woro  never  seen — four  of  them  would 
scarcely  furnish  ribs  and  legs  enough  to  carry  a 
man,  but  tho  owners  thought  that  each  of  them 
was  fit  for  Baron  Rothschild;  and  then  tliore 
waa  saddlery  and  equipments  of  all  sorts  to  be 
got,  which  the  infiux  of  officers  and  the  badnesa 
and  dearnoss  of  the  material  put  quite  beyond 
one's  reach.  Mr.  Bigelow  was  of  opinion  that 
the  array  would  move  at  once;  "but,"  said  I, 
"  where  is  the  transport— where  the  cavalry  and 
guns?"  "  Oh,"  replied  he,  "  I  suppose  we  have 
got  everything  that  is  required.  I  know  nothing 
of  these  things,  but  I  am  told  cavalry  are  no  use 
in  tho  wooded  country  towards  Richmond."  I 
have  not  yet  been  able  to  go  through  tho  camps, 
but  I  doubt  very  much  whether  the  material  or 
commissariat  of  the  grand  army  of  the  North  ia 
at  all  adequate  to  a  campaign. 

The  presumption  and  ignorance  of  the  New 
York  journals  would  be  ridiculous  were  they  not 
so  mischievous.  They  describe  "  this  horde  of 
battalion  companies — unofficered,  clad  in  all 
kinda  of  different  uniform,  diversely  equipped, 


w 


144 


MY  DIAEY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


\C 


I 


perfectly  ipnorant  of  the  principles  of  military 
obedierico  uud  concerted  action," — for  so  I  hear 
it  described  by  United  States  officers  themselves 
— as  being  "  the  greatest  army  tlie  world  ever 
saw;  perfect  in  officers  and  discipline;  unsur- 
passed in  devotion  and  courage ;  furnished  with 
every  requisite ;  and  destined  on  its  tkat  marru 
to  sweep  into  Richmond,  and  to  obliterate  from 
the  Potomac  to  New  Orleans  every  tract;  of 
rebellion." 

The  Congress  met  to-day  to  hear  the  Presi- 
dent's Message  read.  Somehow  or  other  there  is 
not  such  anxiety  and  eagerness  to  hear  what  Mr. 
Lincoln  has  to  say  as  one  could  expect  on  such  a 
momentous  occasion.  It  would  seem  as  if  the 
forthcoming  appeal  to  arms  had  overshadowed 
every  other  sentiment  in  the  minds  of  the  people. 
They  are  waiting  for  deeds,  and  care  not  for 
words.  The  contidence  of  the  New  York  papers, 
and  of  the  citizens,  soldiers,  and  public  speakers, 
contrast  with  the  dubious  and  gloomy  views  of 
the  military  men ;  but  of  this  Message  itself  there 
are  some  mcidents  independent  of  the  occasion  to 
render  it  curious,  if  not  interesting.  The  Presi- 
dent has,  it  is  said,  written  much  of  it  in  his  own 
fashion,  which  has  been  revised  and  ah. -fed  by 
his  Ministers ;  but  he  has  written  it  a^:un  and 
repeated  himself,  and  after  many  struggles  a 
good  deal  of  pure  Lincoluism  goes  down  to 
Congress. 

At  a  little  after  half-past  eleven  I  went  down 
to  the  Capitol.  Pennsylvania  Avenue  was 
thronged  as  before,  but  on  approaching  Capitol 
Hill,  the  crowd  rather  thinned  away,  as  though 
they  shunned,  or  had  no  curiosity  to  hear,  the 
President's  Message.  One  would  have  thought 
that,  where  every  one  who  could  get  in  was  at 
liberty  to  attend  the  galleries  in  both  Houses, 
there  would  have  been  an  immense  pressure 
from  the  inhabitants  and  strangers  in  the  city,  as 
well  as  from  the  citizen  soldiers,  of  which  such 
multitudes  were  in  the  street ;  but  when  I  looked 
up  from  the  floor  of  the  Senate,  I  was  astonished 
to  see  that  the  galleries  were  not  more  than 
three  parts  tilled.  There  is  always  a  ruinous 
look  about  an  unfinished  building  when  it  is 
occupied  and  devoted  to  business.  The  Capitol 
is  situated  on  a  hill,  one  face  of  which  is  scarped 
by  the  road,  and  has  the  appearance  of  being 
formed  of  heaps  of  rubbish.  Towards  Pennsyl- 
vania Avenue  the  long  frontage  abuts  on  a  lawn 
shaded  by  trees,  through  which  walks  and  ave- 
nues lead  to  the  nany  entrances  under  the  porti- 
coes and  colonnades;  the  face  which  corresponds 
on  the  other  side  looks  out  on  heaj  s  of  brick  and 
mortar,  cut  stone,  and  a  waste  of  marble  blocks 
lying  half  buried  in  the  earth  and  cumbering  the 
ground,  which,  in  the  magnificent  ideas  of  the 
founders  and  planners  of  the  city,  was  to  be  occu- 
pied by  stately  streets.  The  cleverness  of  certain 
speculators  in  land  prevented  the  execution  of 
the  original  idea,  which  was  to  radiate  all  the 
main  avenues  of  the  city  from  the  Capitol  as  a 
centre,  tiie  intermediate  streets  being  formed  by 
circles  drawn  at  regularly-increasing  intervals 
from  tlie  Capitol,  and  intersected  by  the  radii. 
The  speculators  purchased  up  the  land  on  the 
Bide  between  the  Navy-yard  and  the  site  of  the 
Capitol ;  the  result — the  land  is  unoccupied,  ex- 
cept by  paltry  houses,  and  the  capitalists  are 
ruined. 

The  Capitol  would  be  best  described  by  a  aeries 


of  photographs.  Like  the  Great  Republic  itself, 
it  is  uufinisiied.  It  resembles  it  in  another  re- 
spect :  it  looks  best  at  a  distance  ;  and,  again,  it 
is  incongruous  in  its  parts.  The  passages  are  so 
dark  that  artificial  light  is  often  required  to  enable 
one  to  find  his  way.  The  offices  and  bureaux 
of  the  committees  are  better  than  the  chambers 
of  the  Senate  and  the  House  of  Representatives. 
All  the  encaustics  and  the  white  marble  and 
stone  staircases  suffer  from  tobacco  juice,  though 
there  is  r  liberal  display  of  spittoons  at  every 
corner.  The  official  messengers,  doorkeepers, 
and  porters  wear  no  distinctive  badge  or  dress. 
No  policemen  are  on  duty,  as  in  our  Houses  of 
Parliament ;  no  soldiery,  gendarmerie,  or  sergens- 
de-ville  in  the  precincts;  the  crowd  wanders 
about  the  passages  as  it  pleases,  and  shows  the 
utmost  propriety,  never  going  where  it  ought  not 
to  intrude.  There  is  a  special  gallery  set  apart 
for  women;  the  reporters  are  com m odiously 
placed  in  an  ample  gallery,  above  the  Speaker's 
chair;  the  diplomatic  circle  have  their  gallery 
facing  the  reporters,  and  they  are  placed  so  low 
down  in  the  somewhat  depressed  Chamber,  that 
every  word  can  bo  heard  from  speakers  in  the 
remotest  parts  of  the  house  very  distinctly. 

The  seats  of  the  nicmbers  are  disposed  in  a 
manner  somewhat  like  those  in  the  French 
Chambers.  Instead  of  being  in  parallel  rows  to 
tho  walls,  and  at  right  angles  to  the  Chairman's 
seat,  the  separate  chairs  and  desks  of  the  Sena- 
tors are  arranged  in  semicircular  rows.  The 
jpace  between  the  walls  and  the  outer  semicircle 
is  called  the  floor  of  the  house,  and  it  is  a  high 
compliment  to  a  stranger  to  introduce  him  within 
this  privileged  place.  There  are  leather  cush- 
ioned seats  and  lounges  put  for  tho  accommoda- 
tion of  those  who  may  be  intj-oduced  by  Senators, 
or  to  whom,  as  distinguished  members  of  Con- 
gress in  former  days,  the  permission  is  given  to 
take  their  seats.  Senators  Sumner  and  Wilson 
introduced  me  to  a  chair,  and  made  me  acquaint- 
ed with  a  number  of  Senators  before  tho  business 
of  the  day  began. 

Mr.  Sumner,  as  th^  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Foreign  Relations,  is  supposed  to  be  viewed 
with  some  jealousy  by  Mr.  Seward,  on  account 
of  the  disposition  attributed  to  him  to  interfere 
in  diplomatic  questions ;  but  if  he  does  so,  we 
shall  have  no  reason  to  complain,  as  tho  Senator 
is  most  desirous  of  keeping  the  peace  between 
tho  two  countrie,-,  and  of  mollifying  any  little 
acerbities  and  irritations  which  may  at  present 
exist  between  them.  Senator  Wilson  is  a  man 
who  has  risen  from  what  would  be  considered  in 
any  country  but  a  republic  the  lowest  ranks  of 
the  people.  He  apprenticed  himself  to  a  poor 
shoemaker  when  ho  was  twenty-two  years  of 
age,  and  when  he  was  twenty-four  years  old  he 
began  to  go  to  school,  and  devoted  all  his  earn- 
ings to  the  improvement  of  education.  He  got 
on  by  degrees,  till  he  set  up  as  a  master  shoe- 
maker and  manufactiiror,  became  a  "major- 
general"  of  State  militia;  finally  was  made  Sena- 
tor of  tho  United  States,  and  is  now  "  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  of  the  Senate  on  Military  Af- 
fairs." Ho  is  a  bluff  man,  of  about  fifty  years 
of  age,  with  a  peculiar  eye  and  complexion,  and 
seems  honest  and  vigorous.  But  is  he  not  going 
ultra  crepidam  in  such  a  post  ?  At  present  he 
is  much  perplexed  by  the  drunkenness  which 
prevails  among  the  troops,  or  rather  by  the  de- 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


U5 


lublic  itself, 
another  ro- 
id,  again,  it 
ages  are  so 
(d  to  enable 
id  bureaux 
e  chambers 
38eutatives. 
narble  and 
ice,  though 
IS  at  every 
oorkeepers, 
ge  or  dress. 
'  Houses  of 
or  sergens- 
'd  wanders 
1  shows  the 
it  ought  not 
y  set  apart 
;nmodiously 
.0  Speaker's 
leir  gallery 
aced  so  low 
amber,  that 
ikers  in  the 
inctly. 
sposed  in  a 
the   French 
lUel  rows  to 
Chairman's 
of  the  Sena- 
rows.      The 
jr  semicircle 
.  it  is  a  high 
)  him  within 
jather  cush- 
accommoda- 
by  Senators, 
lers  of  Con- 
.  is  given  to 
and  Wilson 
no  acquaint- 
tho  business 

e  Committee 
be  viewed 
on  account 
to  interfere 
does  so,  we 
the  Senator 
ace  between 
ig  any  little 
y  at  present 
on  is  a  man 
;onsidered  in 
;st  ranks  of 
If  to  a  poor 
wo  years  of 
years  old  he 
all  his  earn- 
on.     He  got 
master  shoe- 
a    "  major- 
I  made  Sena- 
r  "  Chairman 
Military  Af- 
ut  fifty  years 
iplexion,  and 
he  not  going 
Vt  present  he 
nncss  which 
er  by  the  de- 


sire  of  the  men  for  spirits,  as  ho  has  a  New  Eng- 
land mania  on  that  point.  One  of  the  most  re- 
markablo-looking  men  in  the  House  is  Mr.  Sum- 
ner. Mr.  Breckinridge  and  ho  would  probably 
be  the  first  persons  to  excite  the  curiosity  of  a 
stranger,  so  far  as  to  induce  him  to  ask  for  their 
names.  Save  in  height — and  both  are  a  good 
deal  over  six  feet — tiiore  is  no  resemblance  be- 
tween the  champion  of  States  Rights  and  the 
orator  of  the  Black  Republicans.  The  massive 
head,  the  great  chin  and  jaw,  and  the  penetrat- 
ing eyes  of  Mr.  Breckinridge  convey  the  idea  of 
a  man  of  immense  determination,  courage,  and 
sagacity.  Mr.  Sumner's  features  are  indicative 
of  a  philosophical  and  poetical  turn  of  thought, 
and  one  might  easily  conceive  that  he  would  bo 
a  great  advocate,  but  an  indiiforeut  leader  of  a 
party. 

It  was  a  hot  day ;  but  there  was  no  excuse  for 
the  slop  coats  and  light-coloured  clothing  and  felt 
wide-awakes  worn  by  so  many  Senators  in  such 
a  place.  They  gave  the  meeting  the  aspect  of  a 
gathering  of  bakers  or  millers :  nor  did  the  con- 
stant use  of  the  spittoons  beside  their  desks, 
their  reading  of  newspapers  and  writing  letters 
during  the  dispatch  of  business,  or  the  hurrying 
to  and  fro  of  the  pages  of  the  House  between  the 
seats,  do  anything  but  derogate  from  the  dignity 
of  the  "assemblage,  and,  according  to  European 
notions,  violate  the  respect  duo  to  a  Senate 
Chamber.  The  pages  alluded  to  are  smart  boys, 
from  twelve  to  fifteen  years  of  age,  who  stand 
below  the  President's  table,  and  are  employed  to 
go  on  errands  and  carry  official  messages  by  the 
members.  They  wear  no  particular  uniform,  and 
are  dressed  as  the  taste  or  means  of  their  parents 
dictate. 

The  House  of  Representatives  exaggerates  all 
the  peculiarities  I  ht^ve  observed  in  tlie  Senate, 
but  tlie  debates  are  not  regarded  with  so  much 
interest  as  those  of  the  Upper  House ;  indeed, 
they  are  of  far  less  importance.  Strong-minded 
statesmen  and  officers — Presidents  or  Ministers 
— do  not  care  much  for  the  House  of  Represen- 
tatives, so  long  as  they  are  sure  of  the  Senate ; 
and,  for  the  matter  of  that,  a  President  like  Jack- 
son does  not  care  much  for  Senate  and  House 
together.  There  are  privileges  attached  to  a 
seat  in  either  branch  of  the  Legislature,  indepen- 
dent of  the  great  fact  that  tliey  receive  mileage 
and  are  paid  for  their  services,  which  may  add 
some  incentive  to  ambition.  Thus  the  members 
can  order  whole  tons  of  stationery  for  their  use, 
not  only  when  they  are  in  session,  but  during 
the  recess.  Their  frank  covers  parcels  by  mail, 
and  it  is  said  that  Senators  without  a  conscience 
have  sent  sewing-machines  to  their  wives  and 
pianos  to  tlieir  daughters  as  little  piu-ccls  by  post. 
I  had  almost  forgotten  that  much  the  same 
abuses  were  in  vogue  in  England  some  century 
ago. 

The  galleries  were  by  no  means  full,  and  in 
that  reserved  for  the  diplomatic  body  the  most 
notable  person  was  M.  Mercier,  the  Minister  of 
France,  who,  fixing  his  intclligeiit  and  e^ger 
face  between  both  hands,  watched  with  keen 
Bcrutiny  the  attitude  and  conduct  of  the  Senate. 
None  of  the  members  of  tiie  Englisli  Legation 
were  present.  After  the  lapse  of  an  hour,  Mr. 
Hay,  the  President's  Secretary,  made  his  appear- 
ance on  the  floor,  and  sent  in  the  Message  to  the 
Clerk  of  the  Senate,  Mr.  Forney,  who  proceeded 


to  read  it  to  the  House.  It  was  listened  to  in 
silence,  .scarcely  broken  except  when  some  Sena- 
tor murmured  "Good,  that  is  so;"  but  in  fact 
the  general  purport  of  it  was  already  known  to 
the  supporters  of  the  Ministry,  and  not  a  sound 
came  from  the  galleries.  Soon  after  Mr.  Forney 
had  finished,  the  galleries  were  cleared,  and  I 
returned  up  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  in  which  the 
crowds  of  soldiers  around  bar-room.s,  oyster 
shops,  and  restaurants,  the  groups  of  men  in 
officers'  uniform,  and  the  clattering  of  disorderly 
mounted  cavaliers  in  the  dust,  increased  my  ap- 
prehension that  discipline  was  very  little  re- 
garded, and  that  the  army  over  the  Potomac  had 
not  a  very  strong  hand  to  keep  it  within  bounds. 

As  I  was  walking  over  with  Captain  Johnson 
to  dine  with  LoiW  Lyons,  I  met  General  Scott 
leaving  his  office  and  walking  with  great  diffi- 
culty between  two  aides-de-camp.  He  was 
dressed  in  a  blue  frock  with  gold  lace  shoulder 
straps,  fastened  round  the  waist  by  a  yellow 
sash,  and  with  large  yellow  lapels  turned  back 
over  the  chest  in  the  old  stylo,  and  moved  with 
great  difficulty  along  the  pavement.  "  You  see 
I  am  trying  to  hobble  along,  but  it  is  hard  for 
mo  to  overcome  my  many  infirmities.  I  regret 
I  could  not  have  the  pleasure  of  granting  you  an 
interview  to-day,  but  I  shall  cause  it  to  be  inti- 
mated to  you  when  I  may  have  the  pleasure  of 
seeing  you ;  meantime  I  shall  provide  you  with  a 
pass  and  the  necessary  introductions  to  aflbrd 
you  all  facilities  with  the  army." 

After  dinner  I  made  a  round  of  visits,  and 
heard  the  diplomatists  speaking  of  the  Message ; 
few,  if  any  of  them,  in  its  favour.  With  the  ex- 
ception perhaps  of  Baron  Gerolt,  the  Prussian 
Minister,  there  is  not  one  member  of  the  Lega- 
tions who  justifies  the  attempt  of  the  Northern 
States  to  assert  the  supremacy  of  the  Federal 
Government  by  the  force  of  arms.  Lord  Lyons, 
indeed,  in  maintaining  a  judicious  reticence  when- 
ever he  does  speak,  gives  utterance  to  senti- 
ments becoming  the  representative  of  Great 
Britain  at  the  court  of  a  friendly  Power,  and 
the  Minister  of  a  people  who  have  been  prota- 
gonists to  slavery  for  many  a  long  year. 

July  Gih. — I  breakfasted  with  Mr.  Bigelow 
this  morning,  to  meet  Gen.  McDowell,  who  com- 
mands the  army  of  the  Potomac,  now  so  soon  to 
move.  He  came  in  without  an  aide-de-camp, 
and  on  foot,  from  his  quarters  in  the  city.  He  is 
a  man  about  forty  years  of  age,  square  and  pow- 
erfully built,  but  with  rather  a  stout  and  clumsy 
figure  and  limbs,  a  good  head  covered  with  close- 
cut  thick  dark  hair,  small  light-blue  eyes,  short 
nose,  large  cheeks  and  jaws,  relieved  by  an  iron- 
grey  tuft  somewhat  of  the  French  type,  and 
affecting  in  dress  the  style  of  our  gollant  allies. 
His  manner  is  frank,  simple,  and  agreeable,  and 
he  did  not  hesitate  to  speak  witli  great  openness 
of  the  difficulties  he  had  to  contend  with,  and  the 
imperfection  of  all  the  arrangements  of  the  army. 

As  an  officer  of  tlie  regular  army  lie  has  a 
thorough  contempt  for  what  he  calls  "political 
generals  " — the  men  who  use  their  infiuenco  with 
President  and  Congress  to  obtain  military  rank, 
whicii  in  time  of  war  places  them  before  the  pub- 
lic in  tlie  front  of  events,  and  gives  them  an 
appearance  of  leading  in  the  greatest  of  all  politi- 
cal movements.  Nor  is  General  McDowell  ena- 
moured of  volunteers,  for  he  served  in  Mexico,  and 
has  from  what  he  saw  there  formed  rather  an  un- 


146 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


'   \    rii^ 


•■'»    '^f 


favourable  opinion  of  their  capabilities  in  the  field. 
Ho  is  inclined,  however,  to  hold  the  Southern 
troops  in  too  liltlo  respect ;  and  he  told  me  that 
the  volunteers  from  the  slave  states,  who  entered 
the  field  full  of  exultation  and  boastings,  did  not 
make  good  their  words,  and  that  they  suflered 
especially  from  sickness  and  disease,  in  conse- 
quence of  their  disorderly  habits  and  dissipation. 
His  regard  for  old  association^  was  evinced  in 
many  questions  he  asked  me  about  Beauregard, 
with  wliora  he  had  been  a  student  at  West  Point, 
where  the  Confederate  commander  was  noted  for 
his  studious  and  reserved  habits,  and  his  excel- 
lence in  feats  of  strength  and  athletic  exorcises. 

As  proof  of  the  low  standard  established  in 
his  army,  he  mentioned  that  some  officers  of  con- 
siderable rank  were  more  thanftuspected  of  sell- 
ing rations,  and  of  illicit  connections  with  sutlers 
for  purposes  of  pecuniary  advantage.  The  Gene- 
ral walked  back  with  me  as  far  as  my  lodgings, 
and  I  observed  that  not  one  of  the  many  soldiers 
he  passed  in  the  streets  saluted  him,  though  his 
rank  was  indicated  by  his  velvet  collar  and  cuffs, 
and  a  gold  star  on  the  shoulder  strap. 

Having  written  some  letters,  I  walked  out  with 
Captain  Johnson  and  one  of  the  attaches  of  the 
British  Legation,  to  the  lawn  at  the  back  of  the 
White  House,  and  listened  to  the  excellent  band 
of  the  United  States  Marines,  playing  on  a  kind 
of  dais  under  the  large  flag  recently  hoisted  by 
the  President  himself;  in  the  garden.  The  occa- 
sion was  marked  by  rather  an  ominous  event. 
As  the  President  pulled  the  halyards  and  the  flag 
floated  aloft,  a  branch  of  a  tree  caught  the  bunt- 
ing and  tore  it,  so  that  a  number  of  the  stars  and 
stripes  were  detached  and  hung  dangling  beneath 
the  rest  of  the  flag,  half  detached  from  the 
staflf. 

I  dined  at  Captain  Johnson's  lodgings  next 
door  to  mine.  Beneath  us  was  a  wine  and  spirit 
store,  and  crowds  of  officers  and  men  flocked 
indiscriminately  to  make  their  purchases,  with  a 
good  deal  of  tumult,  which  increased  as  the  night 
came  on.  Later  still,  there  was  a  groat  disturb- 
ance in  the  city.  A  body  of  New  York  Zouaves 
wrecked  some  houses  of  bad  repute,  in  one  of 
which  a  private  of  the  regiment  was  murdered 
early  this  morning.  The  cavalry  patrols  were 
called  out  and  charged  the  rioters,  who  were  dis- 
persed with  difficulty  after  resistance  in  which 
men  on  both  sides  were  wounded.  There  is  no 
police,  no  provost  guard.  Soldiers  wander  about 
the  streets,  and  beg  in  the  fashion  of  the  mendi- 
cant in  "Gil  Bias  "  for  mcney  to  get  whiskey. 
My  coloured  gentleman  has  been  led  away  by  the 
Saturnalia  and  has  taken  to  gambling  in  the 
camps,  which  are  surrounded  by  hordes  of  rascal- 
ly followers  and  sutlers'  servants,  and  I  find  my- 
self on  the  eve  of  a  campaign,  without  servant, 
horse,  equipment,  or  means  of  transport. 

Julyllh. — Mr.  Bigelow  invited  me  to  breakfast, 
to  meet  Mr.  Senator  King,  Mr.  Olmsted,  Mi. 
Thurlow  Weed,  a  Senator  from  Missouri,  a  West 
Point  professor,  and  others.  It  was  indicative  of 
the  serious  difficulties  which  embarrass  tlie  action 
of  the  Govennnent  to  hear  Mr.  Wilson,  the 
Chairman  of  the  Military  Committee  of  the 
Senate,  inveigh  against  the  officers  of  the  regular 
army,  and  attack  West  Point  itself.  Whilst  the 
New  York  paper?  were  lauding  Gon.  Scott  and 
his  plans  to  the  skies,  the  Washington  politicians 
were  speaking  of  him  as  obstructive,  obstinate, 


and  prejudiced— unfit  for  the  times  and  the  occa- 
sion. 

General  Scott  refused  to  accept  cavalry  and 
artillery  at  the  beginning  of  the  levy,  and  said 
that  they  wore  not  required ;  now  he  was  calling 
for  both  arms  most  urgently.  The  officers  of  the 
regular  army  had  followed  suit.  Although  they 
were  urgently  pressed  by  the  politicians  to  occupy 
Harper's  Ferry  and  Manassas,  they  refused  to  do 
either,  and  the  result  is  that  the  enemy  have 
obtained  invaluable  supplies  from  the  first  place, 
and  are  now  assembled  in  force  in  a  most  formi- 
dable position  at  the  second.  Everything  as  yet 
accomplished  has  been  done  by  political  generals 
— not  by  the  officers  of  the  regular  army.  Butler 
and  Banks  saved  Baltimore  in  spite  of  General 
Scott  There  was  an  attempt  made  to  cry  up 
Lyon  in  Missouri ;  but  in  fact  it  was  Frank  Blair, 
the  brother  of  the  Postmaster-General,  who  had 
been  the  soul  and  body  of  all  the  actions  in  that 
State.  The  first  step  taken  by  McClellan  in 
Western  Virginia  was  atrocious — ho  talked  of 
slaves  in  a  public  document  as  property.  Butler, 
at  Monroe,  had  dealt  with  them  in  a  very  difl'er- 
ent  spirit,  and  had  used  them  for  State  purposes 
under  the  name  of  contraband.  One  man  alone 
displayed  powers  of  administrative  ability,  and 
that  was  Quartermaster  Meigs ;  and  unquestion- 
ably from  all  I  heard,  the  praise  was  well  bestow- 
ed' It  is  plain  enough  that  the  political  leaders 
fear  the  consequences  of  delay,  and  that  they  are 
urging  the  military  authorities  to  action,  which 
the  latter  have  too  much  professional  knowledge 
to  take  with  their  present  means.  These  Northern 
men  know  nothing  of  the  South,  and  with  them 
it  is  omne  ignotum  pro  minimo.  The  West  Point 
professor  listened  to  them  with  a  quiet  smile,  and 
exchanged  glances  with  me  now  and  then,  as 
much  as  to  say,  "  Did  yoa  ever  hear  such  fools  in 
your  life  ?" 

But  the  conviction  of  ultimate  success  is  not 
less  strong  here  than  it  is  in  the  South.  The  dif- 
ference between  these  gentlemen  and  the  South- 
erners is,  that  in  the  South  the  leaders  of  the 
people,  soldiers  and  civilians,  are  all  actually 
undv.'  arms,  and  are  ready  to  make  good  their 
words  by  exposing  their  bodies  in  battle. 

I  walked  home  with  Mr.  N.  P.  Willis,  who  is 
at  Washington  for  the  purpose  of  writing  sketches 
to  the  little  family  journal  of  which  ho  is  editor, 
and  giving  war  "anecdotes;"  and  with  Mr.  Olm- 
sted, who  is  acting  as  a  member  of  the  New  York 
Sanitary  Commission,  here  authorised  by  the  Go- 
vernment to  take  measures  against  the  reign  of 
dirt  and  disease  in  the  Federal  camp.  The  Re- 
publicans are  very  much  afraid  that  there  is,  evPG 
at  the  present  moment,  a  conspiracy  against  the 
Union  in  Washington — nay,  in  Congress  itself; 
and  regard  Mr.  Breckenridge,  Mr.  Bayard,  Mr. 
Vallandigham,  and  others  as  most  dangerous  ene- 
mies, who  should  not  bo  permitted  to  remain  in 
the  capital.  I  attended  the  Episcopal  church  and 
heard  a  very  excellent  discourse,  free  from  any 
political  allusion.  The  service  differs  little  from 
our  own,  except  that  certain  euphemisms  are 
introduced  in  the  Litany  and  elsewhere,  and  the 
prayers  for  Queen  and  Parliament  are  oftbred  up 
Twmine  mutaio  for  President  and  Congress. 


' 


I 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


147 


I  tho  occa- 

valry  and 
,  and  said 
vas  calling 
3er9  of  the 
augh  they 
i  to  occupy 
ased  to  do 
emy  have 
Irst  place, 
lost  Ibrmi- 
ing  as  yet 
al  generals 
y.  Butler 
of  General 
to  cry  up 
rank  Blair, 
,  who  had 
>us  in  that 
Clellan  in 
talked  of 
y.  Butler, 
^ery  difler- 

0  purposes 
man  alone 
bility,   and 
inquestion- 
rcW  bestow- 
ical  leaders 
at  they  are 
ion,  which 
knowledge 
50  Northern 
with  them 
West  Point 
it  smile,  and 
id   then,   as 
such  foola  in 

ccess  is  not 
h.     The  dif- 

1  the  South- 
dera  of  the 
all  actually 

good  their 
ttlo. 

illia,  who  is 
ing  sketches 
lie  is  editor, 
th  Mr.  01m- 
e  New  York 
i  by  the  Go- 
the  reign  of 
p.    Tho  Re- 
liere  is,  evPTi 
•  against  the 
igress  itself; 
Bayard,  Mr. 
ngerous  ene- 
to  remain  in 
1  church  and 
BO  from  any 
rs  little  from 
hemisms  are 
lere,  and  the 
re  olVered  up 
igress. 


I 


CHAPTER  XLVI. 

Arlington  TleiarhtB  and  tho  I'Dtom.ic— Washliuyton— The 
Fedenil  camii — General  M'Dowell — Klyin«  rumours — 
Newspaper cix/resiMindonts—Ooiieral  Froinont — Silonc- 
Inp  tuiD  I'ress  and  Tolofymph — A  l.oan  Bill — Intcrvlow 
with  Mr.  Clamoron — Newspaiier  criticism  on  Lord  Ly- 
ons—Kumours  about  M'Olollun— Tho  Northern  army 
as  reported  and  as  It  Is — General  M'Olellan. 

July  8th. — I  hired  a  horse  at  a  livery  stable, 
and  rode  out  to  Arlington  Heights,  at  the  other 
side  of  the  Potomac,  where  the  Federal  army  is 
encamped,  if  not  on  the  sacred  soil  of  Virginia, 
certainly  on  tho  soil  of  the  district  of  Columbia, 
ceded  by  that  State  to  Congress  for  the  purposes 
of  the  Federal  Government.  Tho  Long  Bridge 
which  spans  the  river,  here  more  than  a  mile 
broad,  is  an  ancient  wooden  and  brick  structure, 
partly  of  causeway,  and  partly  of  platform,  laid 
on  piles  and  uprights,  witii  drawbridges  for  vessels 
to  pass.  The  Potomac,  which  in  peaceful  times 
is  covered  with  small  crafl,  now  glides  in  a  gentlo 
current  over  the  shallows  unbroken  by  a  solitary 
sail.  The  "  rebels "  have  established  batteries 
below  Mount  Vernon,  which  partially  command 
the  river,  and  place  the  city  in  a  state  of  block- 
ade. 

As  a  consequence  of  the  magnificent  conceptions 
whicli  were  entertained  by  the  founders  regarding 
the  future  dimensions  of  their  future  city,  Wash- 
ington is  all  suburb  and  no  city.  The  only  differ- 
ence between  the  denser  streets  and  the  remoter 
village-like  environs,  is  that  the  houses  are  better 
and  more  frequent,  and  the  roads  not  quite  so  bad 
in  the  former.  The  road  to  the  Long  Bridge 
passes  by  a  four-sided  shafo  of  blocks  of  white 
marble,  contributed,  with  appropriate  mottoes,  by 
the  various  States,  as  a  fitting  monument  to  Wash- 
ington. It  is  not  yet  completed,  and  tho  materials 
lie  in  the  field  around,  just  as  the  Capitol  and  the 
Treasury  are  surrounded  by  the  materials  for  their 
future  and  final  development.  Further  on,  is  the 
red,  and  rather  fantastic,  pile  of  the  Smithsonian 
Institute,  and  then  the  road  makes  a  dip  to  the 
bridge,  past  some  squalid  little  cottages,  and  the 
eye  reposes  on  the  shore  of  Virginia,  rising  in  suc- 
cessive folds,  and  richly  wooded,  up  to  a  moderate 
height  from  the  water.  Through  the  green  forest 
leaves  gleams  the  white  canvas  of  the  tents,  and 
on  the  highest  ridge  westward  rises  an  imposing 
structure,  with  a  portico  and  colonu^ide  in  front, 
facing  the  river,  which  is  called  Arlington  House, 
and  belongs  by  descent,  through  Mr.  Custis,  from 
the  wife  of  George  Washington,  to  General  Lee, 
Commander-in-Chief  of  the  Confederate  army.  It 
is  now  occupied  by  General  M'Dowell  as  his 
head-quarters,  and  a  large  United  States  flag 
floats  from  the  roof,  which  shames  even  the  ample 
proportions  of  the  many  stars  and  stripes  rising 
up  from  th<3  camps  in  the  trees. 

At  the  bridge  there  was  a  post  of  volunteer 
soldiers.  The  sentry  on  duty  was  sitting  on  a 
stump,  with  his  firelock  across  his  knees,  reading 
a  newspaper.  He  held  out  his  hand  for  my  pass, 
which  was  in  the  form  of  a  letter,  written  by  Ge- 
neral Scott,  and  ordering  all  officers  and  soldiers 
of  the  army  of  the  Potomac  to  permit  me  to  pass 
freely  without  let  or  hindrance,  and  recommend- 
ing me  to  the  attention  of  Brigadier-General 
M'Dowell  and  all  officers  under  his  orders.  "That'll 
do,  you  may  go,"  said  the  seutry.  "  What  pass 
is  that,  Abe?"  inquired  a  non-commissioned  offi- 
cer. "It's  from  General  Scott,  and  says  lies  to 
go  wherever  he  likes."     "  I  hope  you'll  go  right 


away  to  Richmond,  th  n,  and  get  Jeff  Dayis's 
scalp.for  us,"  said  the  patriotic  sergeant. 

At  the  other  end  of  tlie  bridge  a  weak  tete  de 
pont,  commanded  by  a  road-work  further  on,  co- 
vered the  approach,  and  turning  to  the  right  I 
passed  through  a  maze  of  camps,  in  front  of  which 
the  various  regiments,  much  better  than  I  had 
expected  to  find  them,  broken  up  into  small  de- 
tachments, were  learning  elementary  drill.  A 
considerable  number  of  the  men  were  Germans, 
and  the  officers  were  for  the  irost  part  in  a  state 
of  profound  ignorance  of  company  drill,  as  might 
be  seen  by  their  confusion  and  inability  to  take 
their  places  when  the  companies  faced  about,  or 
moved  from  one  flank  to  the  other.  They  were 
by  no  means  equal  in  size  or  age,  and,  with  some 
splendid  exceptions,  were  inferior  to  the  Southern 
soldiers.  The  camps  were  dirty,  no  latrines — the 
tents  of  various  patterns — but  on  the  whole  they 
were  well  castrametated. 

The  road  to  Arlington  House  passed  through 
some  of  the  finest  woods  I  have  yet  seen  in 
America,  but  the  axe  was  already  busy  amongst 
them,  and  the  trunks  of  giant  oaks  were  pros- 
trate on  the  ground.  The  tents  of  the  General 
and  his  small  staff  were  pitched  on  the  little  pla- 
teau in  which  stood  the  house,  and  from  it  a  very 
striking  and  picturesque  view  of  the  city,  with  the 
White  House,  the  Treasury,  the  Post  Office,  Patent 
Office,  and  Capitol,  was  visible,  and  a  wide  spread 
of  country,  studded  with  tents  also  as  far  as  th« 
eye  could  reach,  towards  Maryland.  There  were 
only  four  small  tents  for  the  whole  of  the  head- 
quarters of  the  grand  army  of  the  Potomac,  and 
in  front  of  one  we  found  General  M'Dowell, 
seated  in  a  chair,  examining  some  plans  and  maps. 
His  personal  staff,  as  far  as  I  could  judge,  con- 
sisted of  Mr.  Clarence  Brown,  who  came  over 
with  me,  and  three  other  officers,  but  there  were 
a  few  connected  with  the  departments  at  work 
in  the  rooms  of  Arlington  House.  I  made  some 
remark  on  the  subject  to  the  General,  who  replied 
that  there  was  great  jealousy  on  the  part  of  the 
civilians  respecting  the  least  appearance  of  dis- 
play, and  that  as  he  was  only  a  brigadier,  though 
he  was  in  command  of  such  a  large  army,  he  was 
obliged  to  be  content  with  a  brigadier's  staff 
Two  untidy-looking  orderlies,  with  ill-groomed 
horses,  near  the  house,  were  poor  substitutes  for 
the  force  of  troopers  one  would  see  in  attendance 
on  a  general  in  Europe,  but  the  use  of  the  tele- 
graph obviates  the  necessity  of  employing  couri- 
ers. I  went  over  some  of  the  camps  with  th© 
General  The  artillery  is  the  most  efficient-look- 
ing arm  of  tho  service,  but  the  horses  are  too 
light,  and  the  number  of  the  different  calibres 
quite  destructive  to  continuous  efficiency  in  ac- 
tion. Altogether  I  was  not  favourably  impressed 
with  what  I  saw,  for  I  had  been  led  by  reiterated 
statements  to  believe  to  some  extent  the  extra- 
vagant stories  of  tho  papers,  and  expected  to  find 
upwards  of  100,000  men  in  the  highest  state  of 
efficiency,  whereas  there  were  not  more  than  a 
third  of  the  number,  and  those  in  a  very  incom- 
plete, ill-disciplined  state.  Some  of  these  regi- 
ments were  called  out  under  the  President's  pro- 
clamation for  three  months  only,  and  will  soon 
have  served  their  full  time,  and  as  it  is  very  likely 
they  will  go  home,  now  the  bubbles  of  national 
enthusiasm  have  all  escaped.  General  Scott  is 
urged  not  to  lose  their  services,  but  to  get  into 
Richmond  before  they  are  disbanded. 


148 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


V' 


4 


It  would  scarcely  be  credited,  were  I  not  told 
it  by  General  M'Dowell,  that  tliere  is  np  such 
thing  procurable  as  a  decent  map  of  Virginia. 
He  knows  Uttle  or  nothing  of  the  country  before 
him,  more  than  the  general  direction  of  the  main 
roads,  wliich  are  bad  at  the  beat ;  and  he  can 
obtain  no  information,  inasmuch  as  the  enemy  are 
in  full  force  all  along  his  front,  and  ho  has  not  a 
cavalry  officer  capable  of  conducting  a  reconnais- 
sance, which  would  be  difficult  enough  in  the 
best  hands,  owing  to  the  dense  woods  which  rise 
up  in  front  of  his  lines,  screening  the  enemy 
completely.  The  Confederates  have  thrown  up 
very  heavy  batteries  at  Manassas,  about  thirty 
miles  away,  where  the  railway  from  the  West 
crosses  the  line  to  Richmond,  and  I  do  not  think 
General  M'Dowell  much  likes  the  look  of  them, 
but  the  cry  for  action  is  so  strong  the  President 
cannot  resist  it. 

On  my  way  back  I  rode  through  the  woods  of 
Arlington,  and  came  out  on  a  quadrangular 
earthwork,  called  Fort  Corcoran,  which  is  garri- 
soned by  the  69th  Irish,  and  commands  the  road 
leading  to  an  aqueduct  and  horse-bridge  over  the 
Potomac.  The  regiment  is  encamped  inside  the 
fort,  which  would  be  a  slaughter-pen  if  exposed 
to  shell-fire.  The  streets  were  neat,  the  tents 
protected  from  the  sun  by  sh^es  of  evergreens 
and  pine  boughs.  One  little  door,  like  that  of  an 
icehouse,  half  buried  iu  the  ground,  was  opened 
by  o:i9  of  the  soldiers,  wiio  was  showing  it  to  a 
friend,  when  my  attention  was  more  particularly 
attracted  by  a  sergeant  who  ran  forward  in  great 
dudgeon,  exclaiming  "Dempseyl    Is  that  you 

foing  into  the  '  magazine'  wid  yer  pipe  hghted  ?" 
rode  away  with  alacrity. 

In  the  course  of  iry  ride  I  heard  occasional 
dropping  shots  in  the  camp.  To  my  looks  of 
inquiry,  an  engineer  officer  said  quietly,  "  They 
are  volimteers  shooting  themselves."  The  num- 
ber of  accidents  from  the  carelessness  of  the  men 
is  astonishing ;  in  every  day's  paper  there  is  an 
account  of  deaths  and  wounds  caused  by  the 
discharge  of  firearms  in  the  tents. 

Whilst  I  was  at  Arlington  House,  walking 
through  the  camp  attached  to  head-quarters,  I 
observed  a  tall  red-bearded  officer  seated  on  a 
chair  in  front  of  one  of  the  tents,  who  bowed  as 
I  passed  him,  and  as  I  turned  to  salute  him,  my 
eye  was  caught  by  the  apparition  of  a  row  of 
Palmetto  buttons  down  his  coat.  One  of  the 
officers  standing  by  said,  "  Let  me  introduce  you 
to  Captain  Taylor,  from  the  other  side."  It 
appears  that  he  came  in  with  a  flag  of  truce, 
bearing  a  despatch  from  Jefferson  Davis  to  Presi- 
dent Lincoln,  countersigned  by  General  Beaure- 
gard at  Manassas.  Just  aa  I  left  Arlington,  a 
telegraph  was  sent  from  General  Scott  to  send 
Captain  Taylor,  who  rejoices  in  the  name  of  Tom, 
over  to  his  quarters. 

The  most  absurd  rumours  were  flying  about 
the  staff,  one  of  whom  f^eclared  very  positively 
that  there  was  going  to  be  a  compromise,  and 
ti  i.  Jeff.  Davis  had  made  an  overture  for  peace. 
The  papers  are  filled  with  accounts  of  an  action 
in  Missouri,  at  a  place  called  Carthage,  between 
tlie  Federals  commanded  by  Colonel  Sigel,  con- 
sisting for  the  most  pai-t  of  Germans,  and  the 
Confederates  under  General  Parsons,  in  which 
the  former  were  obliged  to  retreat,  although 
it  is  admitted  the  State  troops  were  miserably 
armed,  and  had  most  ineffective  artillery,  whilst 


their  opponents  had  every  advantage  in  both 
respects,  and  were  commanded  by  officers  of 
European  expr-'once.  Captain  Taylor  alluded  to 
the  news  in  a  ^ocular  way  to  me,  and  said,  "  I 
hope  you  will  tell  the  people  in  England  we 
intend  to  whip  the  Lincolnites  in  the  same 
fashion  wherever  we  meet  them,"  a  remark  which 
did  not  lead  me  to  believe  there  was  any  inten- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  Confederates  to  surrender 
so  easily. 

July  Qth. — Late  last  night  the  President  told 
General  Scott  to  send  Captain  Taylor  back  to  the 
Confederate  lines,  and  he  wa.s  accordingly  escort- 
ed to  Arlington  in  a  carriage,  and  thence  returned 
without  any  answer  to  Mr.  Davis's  letter,  the 
nature  of  which  has  not  transpired. 

A  swarm  of  newspaper  correspondents  has 
settled  down  upon  Washington,  an  ^reat  are  the 
'glorifications  of  the  high-toned  p  ';  -lasters,  gal- 
lant doctors,  and  subalterns  accomplished  in  the 
art  of  war,  who  furnish  minute  items  to  my 
American  brethren,  and  provide  the  yeast  which 
overflows  in  many  columns ;  but  the  Government 
experience  the  inconvenience  of  the  smallest 
mov  'ents  being  chronicled  for  the  use  of  the 
ener.  v,  who,  by  putting  one  thing  and  another 
togethv.,  are  no  doubt  enabled  to  collect  much 
valuable  information.  Every  preparation  is  being 
made  to  put  the  army  on  a  war  footing,  to  provide 
them  with  shoes,  ammunition  waggons,  and 
horses. 

I  had  the  honour  of  dining  with  General  Scott, 
who  has  moved  to  new  quarters,  near  the  War 
Department,  and  met  General  Fremont,  who  is 
designated,  according  to  rumour,  to  take  com- 
mand of  an  important  district  in  the  West,  and 
to  clear  the  right  bank  of  the  Mississippi  and  the 
course  of  the  Missouri.  "  The  pathfinder"  is  a 
strong  Republjcau  and  Abolitionist,  whom  the 
Germans  delight  to  honour — a  man  with  a  dreamy, 
deep  blue  eye,  a  gentlemanly  address,  pleasant 
features,  and  an  acti/e  frame,  but  without  tiie 
smallest  external  indication  of  extraordinary 
vigour,  intelligence,  or  ability;  if  he  has  military 
genius,  it  must  come  by  intuition,  for  assuredly 
he  has  no  professional  acquirements  or  experience. 
Two  or  three  members  of  Congress,  and  the 
General's  staff,  and  Mr.  Bigelow,  completed  the 
company.  The  General  has  become  visibly 
weaker  since  I  first  saw  him.  He  walks  down 
to  his  office,  close  at  hand,  with  difficulty ;  returns 
a  short  time  before  dinner,  and  reposes ;  and 
when  he  has  dismissed  his  guests  at  an  early 
hour,  or  even  before  he  does  so,  stretches  him- 
self on  his  bed,  and  then  before  midnight  rouses 
himself  to  look  at  despatches  or  to  transact  any 
necessary  business.  In  case  of  an  action  it  is 
his  intention  to  proceed  to  the  field  in  a  light 
carriage,  which  is  always  ready  for  the  purpose, 
with  horses  and  driver;  nor  is  he  unprepared 
with  precedents  of  great  military  commanders 
who  have  successfully  conducted  engagements 
under  similar  circumstances. 

Although  the  discussion  of  military  questions 
and  of  politics  was  eschewed,  incidental  allusions 
were  made  to  matters  going  on  around  us,  and  I 
thought  I  could  perceive  that  the  General  re- 
garded the  situation  with  much  more  apprehen- 
sion than  the  politicians,  and  that  his  influence 
extended  itself  to  the  views  of  his  staff.  General 
Fremont's  tone  waa  much  more  confident.  No- 
thing has  become  known  respecting  the  nature 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


149 


of  Mr.  Davis's  communioation  to  President  Lin- 
coln, but  tlio  fact  of  his  sending  it  at  all  is  looked 
xipon  as  a  piece  of  monstrous  impertinence.  The 
General  is  annoyed  and  distressed  by  the  plun- 
dering propensities  of  the  Federal  troops,  -who 
have  been  comn;itting  terrible  depredations  on 
the  people  of  Virginia.  It  is  not  to  be  supposed, 
however,  that  the  Germans,  who  have  entered 
upon  this  campaign  as  mercenaries,  will  desist 
from  so  prolitable  and  interesting  a  pursuit  as  the 
detection  of  Seceah  sentiments,  chickens,  watches, 
horses,  and  dol'<'-,rs.  I  mentioned  that  I  had  seen 
some  farm-hou  es  completely  sacked  close  to  the 
aqueduct.  The  General  merely  said,  "  It  is  de- 
plorable I"  and  raised  up  his  hands  as  if  in  dis- 
gust. General  Fremont,  however,  said,  "I  suppose 
3'ou  are  familiar  with  similar  scenes  in  Europe. 
I  hear  the  allies  were  not  very  particular  with 
respect  to  private  property  in  Russia" — a  remark 
which  unfortunately  could  not  be  gainsaid.  As 
I  was  leaving  the  General's  quarters,  Mr,  Blair, 
accompanied  by  the  President,  who  was  looking 
more  anxious  than  I  had  yet  seen  him,  drove 
up,  and  passed  through  a  crowd  of  soldiers,  who 
had  evidently  be  a  enjoying  themselves.  One 
of  them  called  out,  "  Tliree  cheers  for  General 
Scoitl"  and  I  am  not  quite  sure  the  President  did 
not  join  him. 

July  loth. — To-day  was  spent  in  a  lengthy  ex- 
cu!  'on  along  the  front  of  the  camp  in  Virginia, 
rou  I  by  tiie  chain  bridge  which  crosses  the  Po- 
tomac about  four  miles  from  Washington. 

Tko  Government  have  been  coerced,  as  they 
say,  by  the  safety  of  the  Republic,  to  destroy  tlie 
liberty  of  the  press,  which  is  guaranteed  by  the 
Constitution,  and  liiis  is  not  the  first  instance  in 
which  the  Constitution  of  the  United  States  will 
bo  made  nominis  xunhra.  The  telegraph,  accord- 
ing to  General  Sc  -t's  order,  confirmed  by  the 
Minister  of  War,  Simon  Cameron,  is  to  convey  no 
despatches  respecting  military  movements  not 
permitted  by  the  General ;  and  to-day  the  news- 
paper correspondents  have  agreed  to  yield  obe- 
dience to  the  order,  reserving  to  themselves  a 
certain  freedom  of  detail  in  writing  their  de- 
spatches, and  relying  on  the  Government  to  pub- 
lish the  official  accounts  of  all  battles  very 
speedily.  They  wilfbreak  this  agreement  if  tiiey 
can,  and  the  Government  will  not  observe  their 
part  of  tlio  bargain.  The  freedom  of  the  press, 
as  I  take  it,  docs  not  include  the  right  to  publish 
news  hostile  to  the  cause  of  the  country  in  v/hich 
it  is  published  ;  neither  can  it  involve  any  obliga- 
tion on  the  part  of  Government  to  publish  any 
despatciies  which  may  be  injurious  to  the  party 
they  represent.  Tliere  is  a  wide  distinction 
between  the  publication  of  news  which  is  known 
to  tlic  enemy  as  soon  as  to  the  friends  of  the 
transmitters,  and  the  utmost  freedom  of  expres- 
sion concerning  the  acts  of  the  Government  or 
the  conduct  of  past  events;  but  it  will  be  diffi- 
cult to  establish  any  rule  to  limit  or  extend  the 
boundaries  to  wliich  discussioa  can  go  without 
mischief,  and  in  effect  the  only  solution  of  the 
difficulty  in  a  free  country  seems  to  be  to  grant 
the  press  free  licence,  in  consideration  of  the 
enormous  aid  it  affords  in  warning  the  people  of 
their  danger,  in  animating  them  with  the  news 
of  tlieir  successes,  and  in  sustaining  the  Govern- 
ment in  their  efforts  to  conduct  the  war. 

The  most  important  event  to-day  is  the  passage 
of  the  Loan  Bill,  whicL  authorises  Mr.  Cliaso  to 


borrow,  in  the  next  year,  a  sum  of  £50,000,000, 
on  coupons,  with  interest  at  7  per  cent,  and  irre- 
deemable for  twenty  years — the  interest  being 
guaranteed  on  a  pledge  of  tno  Customs  duties.  I 
just  got  into  the  House  in  time  to  hear  Mr.  Val- 
landigham,  who  is  an  ultra-democrat,  and  very 
nearly  a  secessionist,  conclude  a  well-delivered 
argumentative  address.  He  is  a  tall,  sligiit  man, 
of  a  bilious  temperament,  with  light  fiashing 
eyes,  dark  hair  and  complexion,  and  considerable 
oratorical  power.  "  Deem  me  ef  I  wouldn't  just 
ride  that  Vallandiggaim  on  a  reay-al, "  quoth  a 
citizen  to  his  friend,  as  the  speaker  sat  down, 
amid  a  few  feeble  expressions  of  assent.  Mr. 
Chase  has  also  obtained  the  consent  of  the  Lower 
House  to  his  bill  for  closing  the  Southern  ports 
by  the  decree  of  the  President,  but  I  hear  some 
more  substantial  measures  are  in  contemplation 
for  that  purpose.  Whilst  the  House  is  finding 
the  money  the  Government  are  preparing  to 
spend  it,  and  they  have  obtained  the  approval  of 
the  Senate  to  the  enrolment  of  half  a  million  of 
men,  and  the  expenditure  of  one  hundred  mil- 
lions of  dollars  to  ca^iy  on  the  war. 

I  called  on  Mr.  Cameron,  the  Secretary  of 
War.  The  small  brick  house  of  two  stories,  with 
long  passages,  in  which  the  American  Mars  pre- 
pares his  bolts,  was,  no  doubt,  large  enough  for 
the  20,000  men  who  constituted  tlie  armed  force 
on  land  of  the  great  Republic,  but  it  is  not  suf- 
ficient to  contain  a  tithe  of  the  contractors  who 
haunt  it3  precincts,  fill  all  the  lobbies  and  crowd 
into  every  room.  With  some  risk  to  coat-tuils.  I 
squeezed  through  iron-masters,  gun- maker?,  clo- 
thiers, shoemakers,  inventors,  bakers,  and  all  tliat 
genus  whicli  fattens  on  the  desolation  caused  by  an 
arm}'  in  the  field,  and  was  introduced  to  Mr. 
Cameron's  room,  where  he  was  seated  at  a  desk 
surrounded  by  people,  who  were  also  grouped 
round  two  gentlemen  as  clerks  in  tiie  small  room. 
"I  tell  you.  General  Cameron,  that  the  way  in 
which  the  loyal  men  of  Missouri  have  been  treat- 
ed is  a  disgrace  to  this  Government,"  shouted  out 
a  big,  black,  burly  man — "I  tell  you  so,  sir." 
"Well,  General,"  responded  Mr.  Cameron,  quiet- 
ly, "  so  you  have  several  times.  Will  you,  once 
for  all,  condescend  to  particulars?"  ''Yes,  sir; 
you  and  the  Government  have  disregarded  our 
appeals.  You  have  left  us  to  fight  our  own  bat- 
tles.   You  have  pot  sent  us  a  cent "    "There, 

General,  I  interrupt  you.  You  say  wo  have  sent 
you  no  money,"  said  Mr.  Cameron,  very  quietly. 
"Mr.  Jones  will  be  good  enough  to  ask  Mr. 
Smith  to  step  in  hero."  Eefore  Mr.  Smith  came 
in,  however,  the  General,  possibly  thinking  some 
member  of  the  press  was  present,  rolled  his  eyes 
in  a  Nicotian  frenzy,  and  perorated:  "The  people 
of  the  State  of  Missouri,  sir,  will  power-out  every 
drop  of  the  blood  which  only  flows  to  warm  pa- 
triotic hearts  in  defence  of  the  great  Union,  which 
offers  freedom  to  the  enslaved  of  mankind,  and  a 
home  to  persecuted  progress,  and  a  few-ture  to 
civil-zation.    We  demand.  General  Cameron,  ia 

the  neame  of  the  great  Western  State "   Here 

Mr.  Smith  came  in,  and  Mr.  Cameron  said,  "I 
want  you  to  tell  me  what  disbursements,  if  any, 
have  been  sent  by  this  department  to  the  State 
of  Missouri."  Mr.  Smith  was  quick  at  figures, 
and  up  in  his  accounts,  for  he  drew  out  a  little 
memorandum  book,  and  replied  (of  course,  I  can't 
tell  the  exact  sum),  "General,  there  has  been 
sent,  as  by  vouchers,  to  Missouri  since  the  begin- 


160 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


( 


ning  of  tho  levies,  six  hundred  and  seventy 
thousand  dollars  and  twenty-tiiroe  cents."  Tiio 
General  looked  crest-fallen,  but  lie  was  equal  to 
the  occasion.  "  These  sums  may  have  been  sent, 
sir,  but  tliey  have  not  been  received.     I  declare 

in  the  face  of "     "Mr.  Smith  will  show  you 

the  vouchers,  General,  and  you  can  then  take  any 
steps  needful  against  tho  parties  who  have  mis- 
appropriated them." 

"That  is  only  a  small  specimen  of  what  we 
have  to  go  through  with  our  people,"  said  tlie 
Minister,  as  the  General  went  off  with  a  lofty  toss 
of  his  head,  and  then  gave  me  a  pleasant  sketch 
of  the  nature  of  the  applications  and  interviews 
wliich  take  up  the  time  and  clog  the  movements 
of  an  American  statesman,  "  These  State  organi- 
sations give  us  a  great  deal  of  trouble."  I  could 
fully  understand  that  they  did  so.  Tho  immedi- 
ate business  that  I  had  with  Mr.  Cameron — he  is 
rarely  called  General  now  that  he  is  Minister  of 
War — wa3  to  ask  him  to  give  me  authority  to 
draw  rations  at  cost  price,  in  case  the  army  took 
the  field  before  I  could  make  arrangements,  and 
he  seemed  very  well  disposed  to  accede  ;  "  but  I 
must  think  about  it,  for  I  shall  have  all  our  pa- 
pers down  upon  me  if  I  grant  you  any  facility 
which  they  do  not  get  themselves."  After  I  left 
the  War  Department,  I  took  a  walk  to  Mr.  Sew- 
ard's, who  was  out.  In  passing  by  President's 
Square,  I  saw  a  respectably-dressed  man  up  in 
one  of  the  trees,  cutting  oft'  pieces  of  the  bark, 
which  his  friends  beneath  cauglit  up  eagerly.  I 
could  not  help  stopping  to  ask  what  was  the  ob- 
ject of  the  proceeding.     "  Why,  sir,  this  is  the 

tree  Dan  Sickles  shot  Mr. under.     I  think 

it's  quite  a  remarkable  spot." 

July  Wth. — The  diplomatic  circle  is  so  totus 
teres  atque  rotundus,  that  few  particles  of  dirt  stick 
on  its  periphery  from  the  road  over  which  it  tra- 
vels. The  radii  are  worked  from  different  centres, 
often  far  apart,  and  the  tires  and  naves  often  fly 
out  in  wide  divergence ;  but  for  all  social  purposes 
it  is  a  circle,  and  a  very  pleasant  one.  When  one 
sees  M.  de  Stoeckel  speaking  to  M.  Mercier,  or 
joining  in  with  Baron  Gerolt  and  M.  de  Lisboa,  it 
is  safer  to  infer  that  a  little  social  re-union  is  at 
hand  for  a  pleasant  civilised  discussion  of  ordina- 
ry topics,  some  music,  a  rubber,  and  a  dinner, 
than  to  resolve  with  the  Neto  York  Correspondent, 
"that  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  a  diplomatic 
movement  of  no  ordinary  significance  is  on  foot, 
and  that  the  ministers  of  Russia,  France,  and 
Prussia  have  concerted  a  plan  of  action  with  the 
representative  of  Brazil,  which  must  lead  to  ex- 
traordinary complications,  in  view  of  the  tempo- 
rary embarrassments  which  distract  our  beloved 
country.  The  Minister  of  England  has  held  aloof 
from  these  reunions  for  a  sinister  purpose  no 
doubt,  and  we  have  not  failed  to  discover  that  the 
emissary  of  Austria,  and  the  representative  of 
Guatemala,  have  abstained  from  taking  part  in 
these  significant  demonstrations.  We  tell  the 
haughty  nobleman  who  represents  Queen  Victo- 
ria, on  whose  son  we  so  lately  lavished  tlie  most 
liberal  manifestations  of  our  good  will,  to  beware. 
The  motives  of  the  Court  of  Vienna,  and  of  the 
republic  of  Guatemala,  in  ordering  tlioir  repre- 
sentatives not  to  join  in  the  reunion  which  wo 
observed  at  three  o'clock  to-day,  at  tha  comer  of 
Seventeenth  Street  and  One,  are  perfectly  trans- 
parent ;  but  we  call  on  Mr.  Seward  instantly  to 
demand  of  Lord  Lyons  a  full  and  ample  explana- 


tion of  his  conduct  on  the  occasion,  or  tho  Irans- 
missiou  of  his  papers.  There  is  no  harm  in  add- 
ing, that  we  have  every  reason  to  think  our  good 
ally  of  Russia,  and  tho  minister  of  tiio  astute  mo- 
narch, who  is  only  watching  an  opportunity  of 
loading  a  Franco-American  army  to  tho  Tower 
of  London  and  Dublin  Castle,  have  already  moved 
their  respective  Governments  to  act  in  tho  premi- 
ses." 

That  paragraph,  with  a  good  heading,  would 
sell  several  thousands  of  the  "New  York  Stab- 
ber"  to-morrow. 

July  \2th. — There  are  rumours  that  the  Fede- 
rals, under  Brigadier  M'Clcllan,  who  have  ad- 
vanced into  Western  Virginia,  have  gained  some 
successes;  but  so  far  it  seems  to  have  no  larger 
dimensions  than  the  onward  raid  of  one  claa 
against  another  in  the  Highlands.  And  whence 
do  rumours  come?  From  Government  depart- 
hients,  which,  like  so  many  Danaes  in  the  clerks' 
rooms,  receive  the  visits  of  the  auriferous  Jupi- 
tors  of  tiie  press,  who  condense  themselves  into 
purveyors  of  smashes,  slings,  baskets  of  ciiam- 
pagne,  and  dinners.  M'Clellan  is,  however,  con- 
sidered a  very  steady  and  respectable  professional 
soldier.  A  friend  of  his  told  me  to-day  one  of  the 
most  serious  complaints  the  Central  Illinois  Com- 
pany had  against  him  was  that,  during  the  Italian 
war,  he  seemed  to  forget  their  business;  and  that 
he  was  busied  with  maps  stretched  out  on  tiio 
floor,  whereupon  he,  superincumbent,  penned  out 
the  points  of  battle  and  strategy  when  he  ought 
to  have  been  attending  to  passenger  train*  and 
traffic.  That  which  was  flat  blasphemy  in  a  rail- 
way ofiQce  may  be  amazingly  approved  in  tho 
field. 

July  l^ih. — T  have  had  a  long  day's  ride 
through  the  camps  of  the  various  regiments 
across  the  Potomac,  and  at  this  side  of  it,  wliicli 
tho  weather  did  not  render  very  agreeable  to  my- 
self or  the  poor  hack  that  I  had  hired  for  the  day, 
till  my  American  Quatermaine  gets  me  a  decent 
mount.  I  wished  to  see  with  my  own  eyes  what 
is  the  real  condition  of  the  army  which  the  North 
have  sent  down  to  the  Potomac,  to  undertake 
such  a  vast  task  as  the  conquest  of  the  South. 
The  Northern  papers  describe  it  as  a  magnificent 
force,  complete  in  all  respects,  well-disciplined, 
well-clad,  provided  with  fine  artillery,  and  with 
every  requirement  to  make  it  effective  for  all  mili- 
tary operations  in  the  field. 

In  one  word,  then,  they  are  grossly  and  utterly 
ignorant  of  what  an  army  is  or  should  be.  In 
the  first  place,  there  are  not,  I  should  think, 
30,000  men  of  all  sorts  available  for  the  campaign. 
The  papers  estimate  it  at  any  number  from  50,000 
to  100,000,  giving  the  preference  to  75,000.  In 
the  next  place,  their  artillery  is  miserably  defi- 
cient ;  they  have  not,  I  should  think,  more  than 
five  complete  batteries,  or  six  batteries,  including 
scratch  guns,  and  these  are  of  different  calibres, 
badly  horsed,  miserably  equipped,  and  provided 
with  the  worst  set  of  gunners  and  drivers  which 
I,  who  have  seen  the  Turkish  field-guns,  ever 
beheld.  They  have  no  cavalry,  only  a  few 
scarecrow- men,  who  would  dissolve  partnership 
with  their  steeds  at  the  first  serious  combined 
movement,  mounted  in  high  saddles,  on  wretched 
mouthless  screws,  and  some  few  regulars  from 
the  frontiers,  v/ho  may  be  good  for  Indians,  but 
who  would  go  over  like  ninepins  at  a  charge 
from  Punjaubee  irregulars.     Their  transport  is 


i:*i  IV' 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


151 


tolerably  pood,  but  inadequate ;  they  have  no 
curriaj^o  for  reserve  nnunuiiition  ;  the  commissa- 
riat drivers  are  civilians,  under  little  or  no  con- 
trol ;  the  officers  are  unaoldierly-looking  men ; 
the  camps  are  dirty  to  excess ;  the  men  are  dress- 
ed in  all  sorts  of  uniforms ;  and  from  what  I  hear, 
I  doubt  if  any  of  these  regiments  have  ever  per- 
formed a  brigade  evolution  together,  or  if  any  of 
the  officers  know  what  it  is  to  deploy  a  brigade 
from  column  into  line.  They  are  mostly  three 
months'  men,  whoso  time  is  nearly  up.  They 
were  rejoicing  to-day  over  the  fact  that  it  was 
80,  and  that  they  had  kept  the  enemy  from 
Washington  "  without  a  fight."  And  it  is  with 
this  rabbleraont  that  the  North  propose  not  only 
to  subdue  the  South,  but  according  to  some  of 
.their  papers,  to  humiliate  Great  Britain,  and  con- 
quer Canada  afterwards. 

I  am  opposed  to  national  boasting,  but  I  do 
firmly  believe  that  10,000  British  regulars,  or 
12,000  French,  with  a  proper  establishment  of 
artillery  and  cavalry,  would  not  only  entirely 
repulse  this  army  with  the  greatest  ease,  under 
competent  commanders,  but  that  they  could 
attack  them  and  march  into  Washington  over 
them  or  with  them  whenever  they  pleased.  Not 
that  Frenchman  or  Englishman  is  perfection,  but 
that  the  American  of  this  army  knows  nothing  of 
discipline,  and  v/hat  is  more,  cares  less  for  it. 

Major-General  M'Clollan  —  I  beg  his  pardon 
for  styling  him  Brigadier — has  really  been  suc- 
cessful. By  a  very  well-conducted  and  rather 
rapid  march,  he  was  enabled  to  bring  superior 
forces  to  bear  on  some  raw  levies  under  General 
Garnett  (who  came  over  with  me  in  the  steamer), 
which  Hod  after  a  few  shots,  and  were  utterly 
routed,  when  their  gallant  commander  fell,  in  an 
abortive  attempt  to  rally  them  by  the  banks  of 
Cheat  river.  In  this  "great  battle"  M'Clellan's 
loss  is  less  than  30  killed  and  wounded,  and  the 
Confederates  loss  is  less  than  100.  But  the  dis- 
persion of  such  guerilla  bands  has  the  most  useful 
effect  among  the  people  of  the  district ;  and  M' 
Clellan  has  done  good  service,  especially  as  his 
little  victory  will  lead  to  the  discomfiture  of  all 
Secessionists  in  the  valley  of  the  Kenawha,  and 
in  the  valley  of  Western  Virginia.  I  left  Wash- 
ington tiiis  afternoon,  with  the  Sanitary  Commis- 
sioners, for  Baltimore,  I.i  order  to  visit  the  Federal 
camps  at  Fortress  Monroe,  to  which  we  proceed- 
ed down  the  Chesapeake  the  same  night. 


CHAPTER  XLVII. 

Fortress  Monroe— General  Butler— Hospital  accommo- 
dation—Wounded  soldiers— Aristocratic  pedigrees — A 
preat  gun — Newport  News — Fraudulent  contractors — 
General  Butler — Artillery  practice— Contraband  ne- 
groes—Confederate lines — Tombs  of  American  loyal- 
ists— Troops  and  contractors— Duryea's  New  "York 
Zonaves— Military  calculations — A  voyage  by  steamer 
to  Annapolis. 

July  \Uh. — At  six  o'clock  this  morning  the 
steamer  arrived  at  the  wharf  under  the  walls  of 
Fortress  Monroe,  which  presented  a  very  differ- 
ent appearance  from  the  quiet  of  its  aspect  when 
first  1  saw  it,  some  months  ago.  Camps  spread 
around  it,  the  parapets  liued  with  sentries,  guns 
looking  out  towards  the  laud,  lighters  and  steam- 
era  alongside  the  wharfj  a  strong  guar  dat  the  end 
of  the  pier,  passes  to  be  scrutinised  and  permits 
to  be  given.     I  landed  with  the  members  of  the 


Sanitary  Commission,  and  repaired  to  a  very 
large  pile  of  buildings,  called  "  The  Ilygeia  Ho- 
tel," for  once  on  a  time  Fortress  Monroe  was 
looked  upon  as  the  resort  of  the  sickly,  who  re- 
quired bracing  air  and  an  abundance  of  oysters ; 
it  is  now  occupied  by  the  wounded  in  the  several 
actions  and  skirmishes  which  have  taken  place, 
particularly  at  Bethel ;  and  it  is  so  densely 
crowded  that  wo  had  difficulty  in  procuring  the 
use  of  some  small  dirty  rooms  to  dress  in.  As 
the  business  of  the  Commission  was  principally 
directed  to  ascertain  the  state  of  the  hospitals, 
they  considered  il  necessary  in  the  first  instance 
to  visit  General  Butler,  the  commander  of  the 
post,  who  has  been  recommending  himself  to  the 
Federal  Government  by  his  activity  ever  since  ho 
came  down  to  Baltimore,  and  the  whole  body 
marched  to  the  fort,  crossing  the  drawbridge  after 
some  parley  with  the  guard,  and  received  per- 
mission, ou  the  production  of  passes,  to  enter  the 
court. 

The  interior  of  the  work  covers  a  space  of  about 
seven  or  eight  acres,  as  far  as  I  could  judge,  and 
is  laid  out  with  some  degree  of  taste ;  rows  of  tine 
trees  border  the  walks  through  the  grass  plots ; 
the  officers'  quarters,  neat  and  snug,  are  surround- 
ed with  little  patclies  of  flowers,  -^nd  covered 
with  creepers.  All  order  and  neatness,  however, 
were  fast  disappearing  beneath  the  tramp  of 
mailed  feet,  for  at  least  1200  men  had  pitched 
their  tents  inside  the  place.  We  sent  in  our 
names  to  the  General,  who  lives  in  a  detached 
house  close  to  the  sea  face  of  the  fort,  arid  sal 
down  on  a  bench  under  the  shade  of  some  trees, 
to  avoid  the  excessive  heat  of  the  sun  until  the 
commander  of  the  place  could  receive  the  Com- 
missioners. He  was  evidently  in  no  grea*-.  hurry 
to  do  so.  In  about  half  an  hour  an  aide-de-camp 
came  out  to  say  that  the  General  was  getting  up, 
and  that  he  would  see  us  after  breakfast.  Some 
of  the  Commissioners,  from  purely  sanitary  consi- 
derations, would  have  been  much  better  pleased 
to  have  seen  him  at  breakfast,  as  they  had  only 
partaken  of  a  very  light  meal  on  board  the  steam- 
er at  five  o'clock  in  the  morning ;  but  we  were 
interested  meantime  by  the  morning  parade  of  a 
portion  of  tlie  garrison,  consisting  of  300  regulars, 
a  Massachusetts'  volunteer  battalion,  and  tlie  2nd 
New  York  Regiment. 

It  was  quite  refreshing  to  the  eye  to  see  the 
cleanliness  of  the  regulars — their  white  gloves 
and  belts,  and  polished  buttons,  contrasted  with 
the  slovenly  aspect  of  the  volunteers ;  but,  as  far 
as  the  material  went,  the  volunteers  had  by  far 
the  best  of  the  comparison.  The  civilians  who 
were  with  me  did  not  P''*)'  much  attention  to  the 
regulars,  and  evidently  preferred  the  volunteers, 
although  tliey  could  not  be  insensible  to  the  mag- 
nificent drum-major  who  led  the  band  of  the 
regulars.  Presently  General  Butler  came  out  of 
his  quarters,  and  walked  down  the  hnes,  followed 
by  a  few  officers.  He  is  a  stout,  middle-aged 
man,  strongly  built,  with  coarse  limbs,  his  fea- 
tures indicative  of  great  shrewdness  and  craft,  hia 
forehead  high,  the  elevation  being  in  some  degree 
due  perhaps  to  the  want  of  hair :  with  a  strong 
obliquity  of  vision,  which  may  pe'rhaps  have  been 
caused  by  an  injury,  as  the  eyelid  hangs  with  a 
peculiar  droop  over  the  organ. 

The  General,  whose  manner  is  quick,  decided, 
and  abrupt,  but  not  at  all  rude  or  unpleasant,  at 
once  acceded  to  the  wishes  of  the  Sanitary  Com- 


163 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTn. 


r 


Ik 


V'       J' 


missioners,  and  expressed  hia  desire  to  make  my 
stay  at  the  fort  as  agreeable  and  useful   as   ho 
could.     "  You  can  first  visit  the  hospitals  in  com- 
pany with  tlieso  gentlemen,  and  tlien  como  over 
with  mo  to  our  camp,  where  I  will  show  you 
everything  that  is  to  bo  seen.     I  iiavo  ordered  a 
steamer  to  bo  in  readiness  to  take  yon  to  Now- 
port   News."     He    speaks    rai)idly,   and    either 
affects  or  possesses  great  decision.     The  Commis- 
sioners accordingly  proceeded  to  make  tlio  most 
of  their  time  in  visiting  the  Hygeia  Hotel,  being 
accompanied  by  liio  medical  oflicorsof  the  garrison. 
The  rooms,  but  a  short  time  ago  occupied  by 
the  fair  ladies  of  Virginia,  when  they  came  down 
to  enjoT  the  .sea  breeze.s,  were  now  crowded  with 
Federal  soldier.s,  many  of  them  auffering  from  tho 
loss  of  limb  or  .serious  wouud.s,  others  from  tho 
worst  form  of  camp  di.sease.     I  enjoyed  a  small 
national  triumph  over  Dr.  Bellow.s,  tho  chief  of 
the  Commissioners,  who  is  of  tho  "  saiigre  azul  " 
of  Yankeeism,  by  which  I  mean  that  he  is  a 
believer,  not  in  the  perfectibility,  but  in  the  abso- 
lute perfection,  of  New  England  nature,  which 
is  the  only  human  nature  that  is  not  utterly  lost 
and  abandoned — Old  England   nature,  perhaps, 
being  tho  worst  of  all.     Wo  had  been  speaking 
to  tho  wounded  men  in  several  rooms,  and  found 
most  of  them  either  in  the  listless  condition  con- 
sequent upon  exhaustion,  or  with  that  anxious 
air  which  is  often  observable  on  the  faces  of  the 
wounded  when  strangers  approach.     At  last  wo 
came  into  a  room  in  which  two  soldiers  were  sit- 
ting up,  the  first  we  had  soon,  reading  the  news- 
papers.    Dr.   Bellows  a.sked   where   they  came 
from ;  ono   was   from   Concord,  tho  other  from 
Newhavon.     "  You  see,  Mr.  Russell,"  said   Dr. 
Bellows,  "  how  our  Yankee  soldiers  spend  their 
time.     I   knew   at  once    they  were  Americans 
when  I  saw  them  reading  newspapers."     One  of 
them  had  his  hand  shattered   by  a  bullet,  tho 
other  was   suffering    from    a    gun-shot  wound 
through  the  body.     "  Where  were  you  hit  ?"  I  in- 
quired of  tho  first.     "  Well,"  ho  said,  "  I  guess  my 
rifle  went  off"  when  I  was  cleaning  it  in  camp." 
"  Were  you  wounded  at  Bethel?"  I  asked  of  the 
second.     ."  No,    sir,"   he  replied ;    "  I   got   this 
wound  from  a  comrade,  who  discharged  liis  piece 
by  accident  in  one  of  the  tents  as  I  was  standing 
outside."     "  So,"  said  I,  to  Dr.  Bellows,  "  whilst 
the  Britishers  and  Germans  are  engaged  with  the 
enemy,  you  Americans  employ  your  time  shooting 
each  other!" 

These  men  were  true  mercenaries,  for  they  were 
fighting  for  money — I  mean  the  strangers.  One 
poor  fellow  from  Devonshire  said,  as  he  pointed 
to  his  stump,  "  I  wish  I  had  lost  it  for  the  sake 
of  the  old  island,  sir,"  paraphrasing  Sarsfield's  ex- 
clamation as  he  lay  dying  on  the  field.  The 
Americans  were  fighting  for  tho  combined  excel- 
lences and  strength  of  the  States  of  New  England, 
and  of  the  rest  of  the  Federal  power  over  the 
Confederates,  for  they  could  not  in  their  heart  of 
hearts  believe  the  Old  Union  could  be  restored 
by  force  of  arms.  Lovers  may  quarrel  and  may 
reunite,  but  if  a  blow  is  struck  there  is  no  redinte- 
gratio  amoris  gossibio  again.  The  newspapers 
and  illustrated  periodicals  which  they  read  were 
thej)abulum  that  fed  the  flames  of  patriotism  in- 
cessantl^r.  Such  capacity  for  enormous  lying, 
both  in  creation  and  absorption,  the  world  never 
heard.  Sufficient  for  the  hour  is  the  falsehood. 
There  were  lady  nurses  in  attendance  on  tho 


patients;  who  followed — let  us  believe,  as  I  do, 
out  of  some  higher  motive  than  the  mere  dosiro 
of  human  praise — tho  example  of  Mi.ss  Nightin- 
gale. I  loitered  behind  in  tho  rooms,  asking 
many  questions  respecting  tho  nationality  of  tho 
men,  in  which  tho  members  of  tho  Sanitary  Com- 
mi.ssioa  took  no  interest,  and  I  was  just  turning 
into  ono  near  tho  corner  of  the  passage  when  I 
was  stopped  by  a  loud  smack.  A  young  Scotch- 
man was  dividing  his  attention  between  a  basin 
of  soup  and  a  demure  young  lady  from  Philadel- 
phia, who  was  feeding  him  with  a  spoon,  his 
only  arm  being  engaged  in  holding  her  round  the 
waist,  in  order  to  prevent  her  being  tired,  I  pre- 
sume. Miss  Rachel,  or  Deborah,  had  a  pair  of 
very  pretty  blue  eyes,  but  they  flashed  very  an- 
grily from  under  her  trim  little  cap  at  tho  unwitr 
ting  intruder,  and  then  she  said,  in  severest  tones, 
"  Will  you  take  your  medicine,  or  not  ?"  Sandy 
smiled,  and  pretended  to  be  very  penitent. 

When  we  returned  with  tho  doctors  from  our 
inspection  we  walked  round  tho  parapets  of  tho 
fortress,  why  so  called  I  know  not,  because  it  ia 
merely  a  fort.  The  guns  and  mor,.urs  are  old- 
fashioned  and  heavy,  with  tho  exception  of  some 
new-fashioned  and  very  heavy  Columbiad.s,  which 
are  cast-iron  8-,  10-,  and  12-inch  guns,  in  which 
I  have  no  faith  whatever.  The  armament  is  not 
sufficiently  powerful  to  prevent  its  interior  being 
searched  out  by  tho  long  range  fire  of  ships  witli 
rifle  guns,  or  mortar  boats ;  but  it  would  require 
closer  and  harder  work  to  breach  tho  masses  of 
brick  and  masonry  which  constitute  the  parapets 
and  casemates.  The  guns,  carriages,  rammers, 
shot,  were  dirty,  rusty,  and  neglected ;  but  Gen- 
eral Butler  told  me  he  was  bu.sy  polishing  up 
things  about  the  fortress  as  fast  as  he  could. 

Whilst  wo  were  parading  these  hot  walls  in  tho 
sunshine,  my  companions  were  discu.ssing  the 
question  of  ancestry.  It  appears  your  New  Eig- 
lander  is  very  proud  of  his  English  descent  from 
good  blood,  and  it  is  ono  of  tlieir  isms  in  the 
Yankee  States  that  they  are  the  salt  of  the  British 
people  and  tho  true  aristocracy  of  blood  and 
family,  whereas  we  in  the  isles  retain  but  a  paltry 
share  of  the  blue  blood  defiled  b/  incessant  infil- 
trations of  tho  muddy  fluid  of  the  outer  world. 
This  may  be  new  to  us  Britishers,  but  is  a  Q.  E.  D. 
If  a  gentleman  left  Europe  200  years  ago,  and 
settled  with  his  kin  and  kith,  intermarrying  hia 
children  with  their  equals,  and  thus  perpetuating 
an  ancient  family,  it  is  evident  he  may  be  regarded 
as  the  founder  of  a  much  more  honourable  dynasty 
than  the  relative  who  remained  behind  him,  and 
lost  the  old  family  place,  and  sunk  into  obscurity. 
A  singular  illustration  of  the  tendency  to  make 
much  of  themselves  may  bo   found   in   the  fact, 


that  New  England  swarms  with  genealogical 
societies  and  bodies  of  antiquaries,  who  delight 
in  reading  papers  about  each  other's  ancestors, 
and  tracing  their  descent  from  Norman  or  Saxon 
barons  and  earls.  The  Virginians  opposite,  who 
are  flouting  us  with  their  Confederate  flag  from 
Sewall's  Poiht,  are  equally  given  to  tlie  "  genus 
et  proavos." 

At  the  end  of  our  promenade  round  the  ram- 
parts, Lieutenant  Butler,  the  General's  nephew 
and  aide-de-camp,  came  to  tell  us  the  boat  was 
ready,  and  we  mot  His  Excellency  in  tho  court- 
yard, whence  we  walked  down  to  tho  wharf.  On 
our  way,  General  Butler  called  my  attention  to 
an  enormous  heap  of  hollow  iron  lying  on  the 


{r**»fc,    if*' 


all  1 

flieir 
On 
/^'W&  li 
visit 
rounc 
with 
inlaiK 
boub< 
rfver 
feder; 
skirtii 
partic 
on  m 
to  th( 
Wl 
ing  0 
camp 
obsei 
whici 


I'    ■■■ ;       ' 


MY  DIARY  NORTn  AND  SOUTH. 


153 


anealogicall^  ^^V 
ho  delight ' 
Ancestors, 
1  or  Saxon 
)osite,  who 
3  flag  from 
lie  "genua 


sand,  wliich  was  tho  Union  gun  tliat  is  intended 
to  llirow  11  NJiot  of  some  'Mjt)  lbs.  woigiit  or  more, 
to  ustonisii  llio  Confedoratcs  at  Hewali's  I'oint 
oppoHiU',  wlien  it  is  nioutited.  Tliis  gun,  if  I 
mi.staiio  not,  was  made  after  tiio  designs  of  Cap- 
tain Uothnan,  of  tlio  United  States  artillery,  who 
in  a  s(>riL'S  of  remarkable  papers,  tho  publication 
of  wliieli  has  cost  the  country  a  largo  sum  of 
money,  has  given  us  tho  results  of  long-continued 
investigationa  and  experiments  on  the  best  method 
of  cooling  ma.sses  of  iron  for  ordnance  purposes, 
and  of  making  powder  for  heavy  shot.  Tho 
piece  must  weigh  about  20  tons,  but  a  similar 
gun,  mounted  on  an  artificial  island  called  tiio 
Kip  Raps,  in  tho  Channel  opposite  tho  fortress,  is 
said  to  be  worked  with  facility.  Tiio  (Jonfedoratos 
have  raiaod  some  of  the  vessels  sunk  by  the  United 
States  ollicers  when  tho  Navy  Yard  at  Go.sport 
was  destroyed,  and  as  some  of  these  are  to  bo 
converted  into  rams,  tho  Federals  are  preparing 
their  heaviest  ordnance,  to  try  the  eflect  of  crush- 
ing weiglits  at  low  velocities  against  their  sides, 
should  tlioy  attempt  to  play  any  pranks  among 
tho  transport  vessels.  Tho  General  said:  "  It  is 
not  by  tiieso  great  masses  of  iron  tliis  contest  is 
to  bo  decided :  we  must  bring  sharp  points  of  steel, 
directed  by  superior  intelligence."  Hitherto 
General  Butler's  attempts  at  Big  Bethel  have  not 
been  crowned  with  success  in  employing  such 
means,  but  it  must  bo  admitted  that,  according  to 
his  own  statement,  his  lieutenants  were  guilty  of 
carelessness  and  neglect  of  ordinary  military  pre- 
cautions in  tho  conduct  of  the  expedition  he  order- 
ed. The  inarch  of  dift'erent  columns  of  troops  by 
night  concentrating  on  a  given  point  is  always 
liaijle  to  serious  interruptions,  and  frequently 
gives  rise  to  hostile  encounters  between  friends, 
in  more  discipUned  armies  than  the  raw  levies 
of  United  States  volunteers. 

Wiien  the  General,  Commissioners,  and  Staff 
had  embarked,  the  steamer  moved  across  tho 
broad  estuary  to  Newport  News.  Among  our 
passengers  wore  several  medical  officers  in  attend- 
ance on  tho  Sanitary  Commissioners,  some  belong- 
ing to  tlio  army,  others  who  had  volunteered 
from  civil  life.  Their  discussion  of  professional 
questions  and  of  relative  rank  assumed  such  a 
personal  character,  that  General  Butler  had  to 
interfere  to  quiet  the  disputants,  but  the  exertion 
of  iiis  authority  was  not  altogetlier  successful, 
and  Olio  of  the  angrj-  gentlemen  said  in  my  hear- 
ing, ' '  I'm  d — d  if  I  submit  to  such  treatment  if 
all  tho  lawyers  in  Massachusetta  witl^atara  on 
ftieir  collars  were  to  order  me  to-morrow." 

On  arriving  at  the  low  shore  of  Newport  News 
^"^'We-  landed  at  a  wooden  jetty,  and  proceeded  to 
-  visit  tho  camp  of  tho  I'ederals,  which  waa  sur- 
rounded' by  a  strong  entrencliment,  mounted 
with  guns  "on  the  water  face  ;  and  on  the  angles 
inland,  a  broad  tract  of  cultivated  country, 
bouijded  by  a  belt  of  trees,  extended  from  the 
rlv6r  a\Vc\y  from  the  encampment ;  but  tho  Con- 
federates are  so  close  at  hand  that  frequent 
skirmishes  have  occurred  between  tho  foraging 
parties  of  the  garrison  and  the  enemy,  who  have 
on  more  than  one  occasion  pursued  tlio  Federals 
to  tho  very  verge  of  the  woods. 

Whilst  the  Sanitary  Commissioners  were  groan- 
ing over  the  heaps  of  filth  which  abound  in  all 
camps  where  discipline  is  not^  most  strictly 
ob-served,  I  walked  round  amdnkst  the  tents, 
which,  taken  altogether,  were '"in  good  order. 


The  day  was  excessively  hot,  and  many  of  iho 
soldiers  wore  lying  down  in  tlio  shade  of  arbours 
Ibrmed  of  branches  from  tho  neighbouring  pine 
wood,  but  most  of  them  got  up  when  they  heard 
the  General  was  coming  round.  A  sentry  walked 
up  and  down  at  tho  end  of  tho  street,  and  as  tlio 
General  came  up  to  him  he  called  out  "  Halt. ' 
The  man  stood  still.  "  I  just  want  to  show  you, 
sir,  what  scoundrels  our  Government  has  to  deal 
with.  This  man  belongs  to  a  regiment  which 
has  had  new  clothing  recently  served  out  to  it. 
Look  what  it  is  made  of."  So  saying  tiie  General 
stuck  his  forefinger  into  tho  breast  of  the  man's 
coat,  and  with  a  rapid  scratch  of  his  nail  toro 
open  the  cloth  as  if  it  was  of  blotting  i)iiper. 
''Shoddy,  sir.  Nothing  but  shoddy.  I  wish  I 
had  these  contractors  in  the  trenches  hero,  and 
if  hard  work  would  not  make  honest  men  of  them, 
they'd  have  enough  of  it  to  be  examples  for  tho 
rest  of  their  follows." 

A  vivacious,  prying  man,  this  Butler,  full  of 
bustling  life,  self-esteem,  revelling  in  tiio  e.xerciso 
of  power.  In  the  course  of  our  rounds  wo  were 
joined  by  Colonel  I'helps,  who  was  formerly  iu 
the  United  States  army,  and  saw  service  in  Mex- 
ico, but  retired  because  he  did  not  approve  of  the 
manner  in  which  promotions  were  made,  and  who 
only  took  command  of  a  Massachusetts  regiment 
because  he  believed  ho  might  bo  instrumental  in 
striking  a  shrewd  blow  or  two  in  tliis  great  battle 
of  Armageddon — a  tall,  saturnine,  gloomy,  angry- 
eyed,  sallow  man,  soldier-like  too,  and  one  who 
places  old  John  Brown  on  a  level  with  tho  great 
martyrs  of  the  Christian  world.  Indeed  one,  not 
so  fierce  as  ho,  is  blasphemous  enough  to  place 
images  of  our  Saviour  and  tho  hero  of  Harper's 
Ferry  on  the  mantel-piece,  as  tho  two  greatest 
beings  tho  world  has  ever  seen.  "Yes,  I  know 
them  well.  I've  seen  them  in  tho  field.  I've  sat 
with  them  at  meals.  I've  travelled  through  their 
country.  These  Southern  slavtholders  are  a 
false,  licentious,  godless  people.  Either  we  who 
obey  the  laws  and  fear  God,  or  tiiey  who  know 
no  God  except  their  own  will  and  pleasure,  and 
know  no  law  except  their  passions,  must,  rule  on 
this  continent,  and  I  believe  that  Heaven  will 
help  its  own  iu  the  confiict  they  have  provoked. 
I  grant  you  they  are  bravo  enougli,  and  despe- 
rate too,  but  surely  justice,  trutli,  and  religion, 
will  strengthen  a  man's  arm  to  strike  down  those 
who  liavo  only  brute  force  and  a  bud  cause  to 
support  them."  But  Colonel  Phelps  was  not 
quite  indifferent  to  material  aid,  and  he  made  a 
pressing  appeal  to  General  Butler  to  send  him  some 
more  guns  and  harness  for  the  field-pieces  ho  had 
in  position,  because,  said  ho,  "  in  case  of  attack, 
please  God  I'll  follow  them  up  sharp,  and  cover 
these  fields  with  their  bones."  Tho  General  had 
a  diflSculty  about  tho  harness,  which  made  Colo- 
nel Phetes  very  grim,  but  'ieneral  Butler  had 
reason  yrsaying  he  could  not  make  harness,  and 
sO-Jixe€()lonel  must  bo  content  with  tlio  results 
of  a^tid  rattling  fire  of  round,  shell,  grape,  and 
canister,  if  the  Confederates  are  foolish  enough 
to  attack  his  batteries. 

There  was  nothing  to  complain  of  in  the 
camp,  except  the  swarms  of  flies,  tlie  very  bad 
smells,  and  perhaps  the  shabby  clothing  q^ 
the  men.  The  tents  were  good  euougli.  The 
rations  were  ample,  but  nevertheless  there  was 
a  want  of  order,  discipline,  and  quiet  in  the 
lines  which  did  not  augur  well  for  the  internal 


1S4 


MY  DIAIIY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


•  i! 


economy  of  tlio  rPKitnonts.  When  wo  returned 
to  llio  rivt>r  llice,  (lencral  Butler  ordered  aonio 
prac'lico  to  bo  niado  with  ii  .Sawyer  rillo  gun, 
whicli  appeared  to  lio  an  ordinary  cast-iron  piece, 
bored  Willi  ^,'rooveH,  on  tlio  sliunt  principle,  tlio 
Hliot  beiiij,^  covered  with  a  coinpoHitiou  of  a  niotal- 
lie  ainalfjjatn  like  zinc  and  tin,  and  provided  with 
llangcH  of  the  muno  material  to  tit  tlio  grooves. 
Tho  practice  was  irregular  and  unsatisfactory. 
At  an  elevation  of  24  degrees,  tho  lirst  shot  struck 
the  water  at  a  point  about  2000  yards  distant. 
Tho  i)iece  was  then  further  elevated,  and  the  shot 
struck  fpiito  out  of  land,  close  to  the  opposite 
bank,  a  distance  of  nearly  three  miles.  Tho  third 
shot  ru.slied  with  a  peculiar  hurtling  noise  out  of 
tho  piece,  and  tlew  up  in  tho  air,  falling  with  a 
splasii  into  tho  water  about  1500  yards  away. 
Tho  next  shot  may  have  goiio  half  across  tho 
continent,  for  assuredly  it  never  struck  the  water, 
and  most  probably  ploughed  its  way  into  tho  soft 
ground  at  tho  other  side  of  tho  river.  The  shell 
practice  was  still  worse,  and  on  the  whole  I  wish 
our  enemies  may  always  fight  us  with  Sawyer 
guns,  particularly  as  tho  shells  cost  between  £G 
and  £7  a-pieco. 

From  the  fort  tho  General  proceeded  to  the 
house  of  one  of  tho  officers,  near  the  jcttj',  for- 
nierl\^  the  residence  of  a  Vi.ginian  farmer,  who 
has  now  gone  to  Secessia,  wliero  wo  were  most 
hospitably  treated  at  an  excellent  lunch,  served 
by  the  slaves  of  the  former  proprietor.  Although 
we  boast  with  some  reason  of  tho  easy  level  of 
our  mess-rooms,  tho  Americans  certainly  excel 
u.^  in  the  art  of  annihilating  all  military  distinc- 
tions on  such  occasions  as  these ;  and  I  am  not 
sure  tho  General  would  not  have  likod  to 
place  a  young  Doctor  in  close  arrest,  who  sud- 
denly made  a  dash  at  the  liver  wing  of  a  fowl  on 
which  the  General  was  bont  with  eyo  and  fork, 
and  carried  it  olf  to  his  plato.  But  on  the  wholo 
there  was  a  good  deal  of  friendly  feeling  amongst 
all  ranks  of  the  volunteers,  tho  regulars  being  a 
little  still' and  adherent  to  etiquette. 

In  the  afternoon  tho  boat  returned  to  Fortress 
Monroe,  and  the  General  invited  mo  to  dinner, 
where  I  had  tlie  pleasure  of  meeting  Mrs.  Butler, 
his  staff,  and  a  couple  of  regimental  officers  from 
the  neighbouring  camp.  As  it  was  still  early, 
General  Butler  propo.sed  a  ride  to  visit  the  inter- 
esting village  of  Hampton,  which  lies  some  six 
or  seven  miles  outside  tho  fort,  and  forms  his  ad- 
vnnco  post.  A  powerful  charger,  with  a  tre- 
mendous Mexican  saddle,  fine  housings,  blue  and 
gold  embroidered  saddle-cloth,  was  brcju^m;  to 
the  door  for  your  humble  servant,  and  the  Gene- 
ral mounted  another,  which  did  equal  credit  to 
his  taste  in  horseflesh  ;  but  I  own  I  ,^elt  rather 
uneasy  on  seeing  that  he  wore  a  pqir  of  large 
bra.ss  spurs,  strapped  over  white  jean  brodequins. 
He  took  with  him  his  aide-camp  and  ttcouple  of 
orderlies.  In  the  precincts  of  tho  fort  putside, ^a 
population  of  contraband  negroes  has  1&een«dol- 
lected,  whom  the  General  employs  in  various 
works  about  tho  place,  military  and  civil;  but  I 
failed  to  ascertain  that  the  original  scheme  of  a 
debit  and  credit  account  between  the  value  of 
their  lal^our  and  the  cost  of  their  maintenance 
lad  been  successfully  carried  out.  The  General 
was  proud  of  them,  and  they  seemed  proud  of 
themselves,  saluting  him  with  a  ludicrous  mix- 
ture of  awe  and  familiarity  as  ho  rode  past. 
"  How  do,  Massa  Butler?     How  do,  General?" 


accompanied  by  absurd  bows  and  scrapes.  "  Just 
to  think, "  .said  tho  General,  "  that  every  one  of 
these  fellows  represents  some  1000  dollars  at  least 
out  of  the  pockets  of  tho  clilvalry  yonder." 
'■Nasty,  idle,  dirty  beasts,"  says  one  of  tho  stall", 
sotto  voce;  "  I  wi>h  '.^  Heaven  they  were  all  at 
the  bottom  of  the  C',,l  apeake.  Tiio  General 
insists  ou  it  tliat  they  do  work,  but  they  are  fur 
more  trouble  than  th  ^  '..o  worth." 

The  road  towards  Hampton  traverses  a  sandy 
spit,  wdiicli,  however,  is  more  fertile  than  would 
bo  supposed  from  the  soil  under  the  horses' 
hoofs,  tliough  it  is  not  in  the  least  degree  interest- 
ing, A  broad  creek  or  river  interposed  between 
us  and  the  town,  the  bridge  over  which  had  been 
destroyed.  Workmen  were  bu.sy  repairing  it,  but 
nil  tho  planks  had  not  yet  been  laid  down  or 
nailed,  and  in  somo  places  the  open  spaeoj  be- 
tween tho  upright  rallers  allowed  us  to  .see  the 
dark  waters  flowing  beneath.  Tho  Aide  said, 
"  1  don't  think.  General,  it  is  safe  to  cro.ss ;"  but 
his  chief  did  not  mind  him  until  his  horse  very 
nearly  crashed  through  a  plank,  and  only  re- 
gained its  footing  with  unbroken  logs  by  marvel- 
lous dexterity  ;  whereupon  we  dismounted,  and, 
leaving  tho  horses  to  be  carried  over  in  tho  lorry 
boat,  conii)leted  the  rest  of  tho  transit,  not  with- 
out difficulty.  At  tho  other  end  of  tho  bridge  a 
street  lined  with  comfortable  houses,  and  bor- 
dered with  trees,  led  i.s  into  the  pleasant  town 
or  village  of  Hampton — pleasant  once,  but  now 
deserted  by  all  tho  inhabitants  except  some  pau- 
perised whites  and  a  colony  of  negroes.  It  was 
in  full  occupation  of  the  Federal  soldiers,  and  I 
observed  that  most  of  the  men  were  Germans, 
the  garrison  at  Newport  News  being  principally 
composed  of  American.s.  Tlic  old  red  brick 
houses,  with  cornices  of  white  stono ;  tho  narrow 
windows  and  high  gable.s,  gave  an  aspect  of  anti- 
quity and  p]uropean  comfort  to  the  place,  tho  like 
of  which  I  have  not  yet  seen  in  tho  States.  Most 
of  the  shops  were  closed ;  in  some  the  shutters 
were  still  down,  and  tho  goods  remained  displayed 
in  the  window.s,  '•!  have  allowed  no  plunder- 
ing," said  the  General;  "and  if  I  find  a  fellow 
trying  to  do  it,  I  will  hang  him  as  sure  as  my 
name  is  Butler.  See  here,"  and  as  ho  spoke  ho 
walked  into  a  large  woollen-draper's  shop,  where 
bales  of  cloth  were  still  lying  on  the  shelves,  and 
many  articles  such  as  are  found  in  a  large  general 
store  in  a  country  town  were  di''posed  on  the 
floor  or  counters ;  "  they  shall  not  accuse  tho 
men  un^er  my  command  of  being  robbers."  The 
boast,  however,  was  not  so  well  justified  iiija 
visit  to  another  house  occupied  by  some  soldiers. 
"  Well,"  said  tho  General,  with  a  smile,  "  I  daPBWs. 
say  you  know  enough  of  camps  to  have  faund  out 
that  chairs  and  tables  are  irresistible;  the  men 
will  take  them  off  to  their  tents,  though  they  may 
have  to  leave  them  next  morning." 

The  principal  object  of  our  visit  was  tlrft  forti- 
fied trench  which  has  been  raised  outsidW  the 
town  towards  the  Confederate  lines.  The  patlt*" 
lay  through  a  churchyard  filled  with  most  inte- 
resting monuments.  The  sacred  edifice  of  red 
brick,  with  a  square  clock  tower  rent  by  light- 
ning, is  rendered  interesting  by  the  fact  that  it  is 
almost  tho  first  church  built  by  the  English  colo- 
nists of  Virginia.  On  the  tombstones  are  re- 
corded the  names  of  many  subjects  of  his  Majesty 
George  HI.,  ftti  familiar  names  of  persons  born 
in  the  early  *pOTt  of  last  century  in  English  vil- 


f 


)i 
ov 
mean 
villa, 
by  (' 
Regi 
The 
vario 
hand : 
at  W( 
of  the 
some 
by  no 
Hisi 
gottei 
chief, 
Crime 
of  the 
took 
the 
bery,' 
tractc 
Gove 
God! 
onou^ 
for  th 
colon 
out  o 


..!     r    m 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTn. 


155 


pom.  "  Just 

ury  oiu)  of 
ar.s  III  li'iiHt 

r  ymitlor." 

f  llie  stulV, 
well)  all  at 
110  (Jc'iioral 
,lioy  nro  fur 

09  n  snndy 
than  would 
llio  lioraes' 
rco  iutoresl- 
L'd  between 

h  had  been 
Hiring;  it,  but 
id  dowu  or 
1  space ,  bc- 
i  to  see  tlio 

Aide  said, 
cross;"  but 

horse  very 
nd  only  re- 
rt  by  marvel- 
ountcd,  and, 

in  the  Terry 
iit,  not  witii- 
Lho  bridge  a 
C3,  nnd  bor- 
easant  town 
ICC,  but  now 
pt  some  pau- 
'ocs.  It  was 
ildiers,  and  I 
re  Germans, 
principally 
id  rod  brick 
( ;  the  narrow 
ispect  of  anti- 
ilaco,  the  like 
Stales.    Moat 

the  shutters 
nod  displayed 
I  no  pluudcr- 
tiud  a  fellow 
i  sure  as  my 

he  spoke  ho 
s  shop,  where 
a  shelves,  and 
;  largo  general 
posed  on  the 
)t  accuse  the 
obbcrs."  The 
justified  iiiirt 
some  soldiers, 
imile,  "I dare* 
lave  fouri'd  out  ^ 
ible;  the  meu  •' 
)ugh  they  may 

was  tlT©  forti- 
;d  outsicre  the 
es.  The  patlf^ 
ilh  most  iiite- 
odilico  of  red 
rent  by  light- 
3  fact  that  it  is 
3  English  eolo- 
stonos  are  re- 
1  of  his  Majesty 
'  persons  born 
n  English  vU- 


i 


Ingos,  who  passed  to  their  rest  before  the  great 
rebellion  of  the  Colonies  liad  disturbed  their  no- 
tions of  loyalty  nnd  respect  to  the  Crown.  Many 
n  British  sulijeot,  too,  lies  there,  whoso  latter 
days  nnist  have  boon  troubled  Ijy  the  strange 
scenes  of  the  war  of  independence.  Wilh  what 
doubt  and  distrust  must  tiial  one  nt  whoso  tomb 
1  stand  have  hoard  that  (leorgo  Washington  was 
making  head  against  the  troops  of  ilia  Majesty 
Kingfieorgo  III.  I  How  tlio  hearts  of  tho  old 
men  who  had  passed  the  best  years  of  tlioir 
existence,  as  these  stones  tell  us,  (Igliting  for  Ilia 
Majesty  against  the  Frencii,  nmst  have  beaten 
when  once  more  they  hoard  the  roar  of  tho 
Fronclnnan's  ordnance  uniting  with  the  voices  of 
the  rebellious  guns  of  the  colonists  from  the 
plains  of  Yorklown  agnin.ft  the  eiitrenchnients  in 
which  (/Ornwallis  and  his  deserted  band  stood  nt 
hopeless  bay!  Hut  could  these  old  eyes  open 
again,  nnd  see  General  Butler  standing  on  tho 
eastern  rampart  which  bdvmds  their  resting-place, 
and  pointing  to  the  spot  whence  the  rebel  cavalry 
of  Virginia  issue  night  and  day  to  charge  the 
loyal  pickets  of  His  Majesty  The  Union,  they 
might  take  some  comfort  in  tho  fuUilmcnt  of  the 
vaticinations  which  no  doubt  they  uttered,  "  It 
cannot,  and  it  will  not,  come  to  good." 

Having  inspected  the  works — as  far  as  I  could 
judge,  too  extended,  and  badly  traced — which  I, 
say  with  all  delbrcnce  to  tho  able  young  engineer 
who  accompanied  us  to  point  out  the  various 
objects  of  interest — tho  General  returned  to  t'le 
bridge,  where  we  remounted,  and  made  a  tour  of 
the  camps  of  tho  force  intended  to  defend  Hamp- 
ton, falling  back  on  Fortress  Monroe  in  ca.so  of 
necessity.  Whilst  ho  was  riding  ventre  n  krre, 
which  seems  to  be  his  favourite  pace,  his  horse 
stumbled  in  the  dusty  road,  and  in  his  ellbrt  to 
keep  his  seat  the  General  broke  his  stirrup  lea- 
ther, and  the  ponderous  brass  stirrup  fell  to  tho 
ground ;  but,  albeit  a  lawyer,  ho  neither  lost  his 
seat  nor  his  sang  froid,  and  calling  out  to  his  or- 
derly "  to  pick  up  his  toe  plate,"  the  jean  slippers 
were  closely  pressed,  spurs  and  all,  to  the  sides 
of  his  steed,  and  away  we  went  once  more 
tiirough  dust  and  heat  so  great  I  was  by  no 
means  sorry  when  he  pulled  up  outside  a  pretty 
villa,  standing  in  a  garden,  which  was  occupied 
by  Colonel  Max  Weber,  of  the  German  Turner 
Regiment,  once  the  property  of  General  Tyler. 
The  camp  of  the  Turners,  who  are  members  of 
various  gymnastic  societies,  was  situated  close  at 
hand  ;  but  I  had  no  opportunity  of  seeing  them 
at  work,  as  the  Colonel  insisted  on  our  partaking 
of  the  hospitalities  of  his  little  mess,  and  produced 
some  bottles  of  sparkling  hock  and  a  block  of  ice, 
by  no  means  unwelcome  after  our  fatiguing  ride. 
His  Major,  whose  name  I  have  unfortunately  for- 
gotten, and  who  spoke  English  better  than  his 
chief,  had  served  in  some  capacity  or  other  in  the 
Crimea,  and  made  many  inquiries  after  tho  officers 
of  the  Guards  whom  he  had  known  there.  I 
took  an  opportunity  of  asking  him  in  what  state 
the  troops  were.  "  The  whole  thing  is  a  rob- 
bery," he  exclaimed;  "this  war  is  for  the  con- 
tractors ;  the  men  do  not  get  a  third  of  what  the 
Government  pay  for  them;  as  for  discipline,  my 
God!  it  exists  not.  We  Germans  are  well 
enough,  of  course ;  we  know  our  affair ;  but  as 
for  the  Americans,  what  would  you  ?  They  make 
colonels  out  of  doctors  and  lawyers,  and  captains 
out  of  fellows  who  are  not  fit  to  brush  a  soldier's 


bIioo."  "Hut  tho  men  got  their  pny?'  ''Yes; 
that  is  so.  At  tho  end  of  two  mont'.i:?,  tlioy  got 
it,  and  l)y  that  time  it  is  duo  to  sutlers,  who 
charge  them  100  per  cent." 

It  is  easy  to  belicvo  the.so  old  soldiers  do  not 
put  nmeh  confidence  in  General  Duller,  tliougii 
ti-ey  admit  his  energy.  "Look  you;  one  good 
ollli.'or  with  &000  steady  troops,  such  ns  we  iiavo 
in  Europe,  shall  come  down  any  nigiit  and  walk 
over  us  all  into  Fortress  Monroo  whenever  ho 
pleased,  if  ho  know  how  these  troops  woro 
placed." 

On  leaving  tho  German  Turners,  the  (Jenoral 
vLsited  the  campof  Duryea's  Now  York  Zouaves, 
who  were  turned  out  at  evening  parade,  or  more 
proj,  jrly  speaking,  drill.  Hut  fur  tlio  ridiculous 
effect  of  their  costume  tho  regiment  would  iiuvo 
looked  well  enough  ;  but  riding  down  on  the  rear 
of  the  ranks  the  discoloured  napkins  tied  round 
tlieir  heads,  without  any  fez  cap  beneath,  so  that 
tho  hair  .sometimes  stuck  up  tlirougii  tiie  folds, 
the  ill-made  jackets,  tho  loose  bags  of  red  calico 
hanging  from  their  loins,  tho  long  gaiters  of  wliito 
cotton — instead  of  the  real  Zouave  yellow  and 
black  greavo,  and  smart  white  gaiter — made  them 
appear  such  military  .scarecrows,  I  could  scarcely 
refi'ain  from  laughing  outright.  NeverllieleSs  the 
mcU  were  respectably  drilled,  marched  steadily 
in  columns  of  company,  wheeled  into  line,  and 
went  past  at  quarter  distance  at  the  double  much 
better  than  could  bo  expected  from  the  short 
time  they  had  been  in  tho  Held,  and  I  could  with 
all  sincerity  say  to  Col.  Duryea,  a  smart  and  not 
unpretentious  gentleman,  who  asked  my  opinion 
so  pointedly  that  I  could  not  refuse  to  give  it, 
that  I  considered  the  appearance  of  the  reginiont 
very  creditable.  Tho  shades  of  evening  woro 
now  falling,  and  as  I  had  boon  up  before  5  o'clock 
in  the  morning,  I  was  not  sorry  when  General 
Butler  said,  "Now  we  will  go  home  to  lea,  or 
you  will  detain  the  steamer."  He  had  arranged 
before  I  started  that  tho  vessel,  which  in  ordinary 
course  would  have  returned  to  Baltimore  at  8 
o'clock,  should  remain  till  he  sent  down  word  to 
tho  captain  to  go.  ♦ 

We  .scampered  back  to  tho  fort,  and  judging 
from  the  challenges  and  vigilance  of  the  sen- 
tries, and  inlying  pickets,  I  am  not  quite  so  sa- 
tislied  as  the  Major  that  tho  enemy  could  have 
suri)risod  the  place.  At  tho  tea-table  there  wore 
no  additions  to  tho  General's  family;  he  therefore 
spoke  without  any  reserve.  Going  over  tho 
map,  ho  explained  his  views  in  reference  to  future 
operations,  and  showed  cause,  .villi  more  military 
acumen  than  I  could  have  expected  from  a  gen- 
tleman of  the  long  robe,  why  he  believed  For- 
tress Monroe  was  the  true  base  of  operationa 
against  Richmond. 

I  have  been  convinced  for  some  time,  that  if  a 
sufficient  force  could  bo  left  to  cover  Washington, 
the  Federals  should  move  against  Richmond  from 
tho  Peninsula,  where  they  could  form  their  depots 
at  leisure,  and  advance,  protected  by  their  gun- 
boats, on  a  very  short  line  which  offers  far 
greater  facilities  and  advantages  than  the  inland 
route  from  Alexandria  toRichmond,  which,  dif- 
♦5jult  in  itself  from  the  nature  of  the  country,  is 
exposed  to  the  action  of  a  hostile  population,  and, 
above  all,  to  the  danger  of  constant  attacks  by 
the  enemies'  cavalry,  tending  more  or  less  to  de- 
stroy all  communication  with  the  base  of  the  Fe- 
deral operations. 


n 


150 


MY  IJIARY  NOKTII  AND  SOlJTlt, 


.    i: 


:}( 


r 


Tlio  throat  of  ieiring  AViisliiM^ton  led  to  a 
coiK'oritiiition  of  tlu»  I'nion  troop*  in  front  of  it, 
wiiioli  ciui8t;»l  iti  turn  tiio  coilfotidii  of  tlio  Con- 
ffdiTUtc'R  on  tho  linon  below  to  (it'fcinl  Hicli- 
inotiij.  It  ia  plain  that  if  the  Fodcnils  can  oovcr 
AVusiliinfjton,  and  at  tho  8aniu  time  a»«ond)l«  a 
fon!e  at  M<inroe  utroiif^  enough  to  march  on 
Ilichinoncl,  an  they  doHiro,  the  (lonfedoratcswiil 
hv.  plac('(l  in  an  oxoeediiigly  iinzardouH  powition, 
Houri'clv  poBsil)lo  to  escape  from  ;  and  there  is 
no  reiiaiiii  wliy  tho  North,  with  their  ovor- 
whelminj?  preponderance,  ulioidd  not  do  so,  un- 
less thev  he  carried  away  hy  tiie  fatal  H[>irit  of 
brag  and  bluster  wliicii  comes  from  tiieir  press 
to  overrate  tlieir  own  strength  and  to  despis*! 
their  enemy's.  The  occupation  of  Suffolk  will 
be  seen,  by  any  ono  wlio  stutlies  the  man,  to 
afford  a  most  powerful  leverage  to  tho  Federal 
forces  from  Monroe  in  their  attempts  to  turn 
the  enemy  out  of  their  camps  of  communication, 
and  to  enable  them  to  menace  lliehmond  as  well 
as  the  Southern  States  most  seriously. 

IJut  whilst  the  (Jeneral  and  I  are  engaged 
over  our  unvps  and  mint  juleps,  time  flies,  and 
at  lost  1  perceive  by  the  clock  that  it  is  time  to 
go.  An  aide  is  sent  to  stop  the  boat,  but  ho 
returns  ero,  I  leave  with  the  news  that  "  She  is 
gone."  Whereupon  the  General  sends  for  the 
(iuartcrmaster  'lalmadge,  who  is  out  in  tho 
camps,  and  only  arrives  in  time  to  receive  a 
severe  •'  wigging."  It  so  hapjicned  that  I  had 
inipiH'tnnt  papers  to  send  off  by  the  next  mail 
from  New  York,  and  the  only  chance  of  being 
able  to  do  so  depended  on  my  being  in  Balti- 
more next  day.  General  Butler  acted  with 
kindness  and  promptitude  in  the  matter.  "  I 
promised  you  shoula  go  by  the  steamer,  but  the 
ca|>taiii  has  gone  ofl'  without  orders  to  leave, 
for  which  he  shall  answer  when  I  see  him. 
Meantime  it  rs  my  business  to  keep  my  promise. 
Captain  Talmadge,  you  w^l  at  once  go  down 
and  give  orders  to  tlie  most  suitable  transport 
Bteatner  or  chartered  vessel  available,  to  get  up 
steam  at  once  and  come  up  to  the  wharf  for  Mr. 
Uussell." 

Whilst  I  was  sitting  in  the  parlor  which 
served  as  the  General's  office,  there  came  in  a 
pnle,  blight-eyed,  slim  young  man  in  a  sub- 
altern's uniform,  who  sought  a  private  audience, 
and  unfolded  a  plan  he  had  foi-med,  on  certain 
data  gained  by  nocturnal  expeditions,  to  sur- 
prise a  body  of  the  enemy's  cavalry  which  was 
in  the  habit  of  coming  down  every  night  and 
disturbing  the  pickets  at  Hampton.  His  man- 
ner was  80  eager,  his  information  so  precise, 
that  the  General  could  not  refuse  his  sanction, 
but  he  gave  it  in  a  characteristic  manner. 
"Well,  sir,  I  understand  your  proposition.  You 
intend  to  go  out  as  a  volunteer  to  effect  this 
service.  You  ask  my  permission  to  get  men  for 
it.  I  ciinnot  grant  you  an  order  to  any  of  the 
officers  in  command  of  regiments  to  provide  you 
witli  tiie.-e ;  but  if  the  Colonel  of  your  regiment 
wishes  to  give  leave  to  his  men  to  volunteer, 
and  they  like  to  go  with  you,  I  give  you  leave 
to  take  them.  I  wash  mv  hands  of  all  responsi- 
bility in  the  affair.*'  Tlie  officer  bowed  and 
retired,  saying,  "That  is  quite  enough,  Gene- 
ral."* 


At  10  o'cldck  the  Quartermaster  cnme  bnok 
to  say  that  a  nrrew  steamer  ealh  d  the  Klizulx-th 
was  getting  up  steam  for  my  rceeptinn,  and  I 
bade  good-by  to  the  (Seneral,  and  walked  .lown 
with  his  aide  and  nephew.  Lieutenant  liuller, 
to  the  llygtia  Hotel  to  get  my  light  knapsack. 
[t  was  a  lovely  moonlight  night,  and  a-«  1  was 
passing  down  an  avenue  of  trees  nn  otlieer 
stopped  me,  and  exclaimed,  "  (!enera!  Butler, 
I  hear  you  have  given  leave  lo  Lieutenant 
Blank  lo  take  a  party  of  my  rogunent  ami  go 
off  scouting  to-night  after  the  enemy.  It  is  l«)0 
hard  that — "  What  more  he  was  going  to  say 
I  know  not,  for  I  corrected  the  mistake,  aim 
the  officer  walked  hastily  on  toward-*  the  tieno- 
ral's  <juaiters.  On  reaching  the  llygeia  Hotel 
I  was  met  by  the  correspondent  of  a  New  York 
paper,  who  as  commissary-general,  or,  as  they 
are  styled  in  the  States,  officer  of  subsistence,  had 
been  charged  to  get  the  boat  ready,  and  who 
explained  to  me  it  would  be  at  least  an  hour 
before  the  steam  was  \ip;  and  whilst  1  wa* 
waiting  in  tho  porch  1  heard  many  Virginian, 
and  old  world  stories  as  well,  the  general  up- 
shot of  which  was  that  all  the  rest  of  the  world 
could  be  "done"  at  cards,  in  love,  in  drink,  iu 
horseflesh,  and  in  fighting,  by  the  true  born 
American.  (ien.  Butler  came  down  alter  a 
time,  and  joined  our  little  society,  nor  was  he 
by  any  means  the  least  shrewd  and  hunioroua 
raconteur  of  the  party.  At  11  o'clock  the  I'^liza- 
beth  uttered  some  piercing  cries,  which  indi- 
cated she  had  her  steam  up;  and  so  1  walked 
down  to  the  jetty,  occoiiipanied  by  my  host  and 
his  friends,  and  wishing  them  good  bye,  stepped 
on  board  the  little  vessel,  and  with  the  aid  of 
the  negro  cook,  steward,  butler,  boots,  and  ser- 
vant, roused  out  the  captain  from  a  small 
wooden  trench  which  he  claimed  as  his  berth, 
turned  into  it,  and  foil  asleep  just  as  the  first 
difficult  convulsions  of  the  screw  arouseil  the 
steamer  from  her  coma,  and  forced  her  iaimuid- 
ly  against  the  tide  in  the  direction  of  Balti- 
more. 

Jul)/  I5th. — I  need  not  speak  much  of  tho 
events  of  last  night,  which  were  not  unimpor- 
tant, perhaps,  to  some  of  the  insects  which 
played  a  leading  part  in  them.  The  heat  was 
literally  overpowering ;  for  in  addition  to  the 
hot  night  there  was  the  full  power  of  most 
irritable  boilers  close  at  hand  to  aggravate  the 
natural  dimffremcnn  of  the  situation.  About  an 
hour  after  dawn,  when  I  turned  out  on  deck, 
there  was  nothing  visible  but  a  warm  grey 
mist ;  but  a  knotty  old  pilot  on  deck  told  me 
we  were  only  going  six  knots  an  hour  against 
tide  and  wind,  and  that  we  were  likely  to  make 
less  way  as  the  day  wore  on.  In  fact,  instead 
of  being  near  Baltimore,  we  were  much  nearer 
Fortress  Monroe.  Need  I  repeat  the  horrors  of 
this  day  ?  Stewed,  boiled,  baked,  and  grilled 
on  board  this  miserable  Eli^jabeth,  I  wished  M. 
Montalembert  could  have  experienced  with  me 
what  such  an  impassive  nature  could  inflict  in 
misery  on  those  around  it.  The  captain  was  a 
shy,  sdent  man,  much  given  to  short  naps  in 
my  temporary  berth,  and  the  mate  was  so  wild, 
he  might  have  swam  off  with  perfect  propriety 
to  the  woods  on  either  side  of  us,  and  taken  to 


1 


» 


♦  It  inav  be  stated  here,  that  this  expedition  met  with  him,  were  killed  by  tho  cavalry  whom  ho  meant  to  sur- 
A  disastrous  result.  If  I  mistake  not,  the  o«icer,  and  prise,  and  several  of  the  volunteers  were  also  liilled  Oi 
with  him  Uio  correspondent  of  u  paper  who  accompanied    wounded. 


■'  I;. 


MY  PIAUY  NOIlTri  AND  SOUTR. 


1S7 


oiiinc  ))nok 
lif  Kli/.iilx'tli 
>|)tiiiii,  iiiid  I 
■iilkftl  .IdWii 
iiiiiL  Bulli'i-, 
it  kiiiipHiic'k. 
iuhI  ih  1  wna 
8  ail  oHicor 
cni!  Hutltr, 

Lii'Utcnimt 
inciit  ami  gu 
ly.  It  Im  too 
going  to  sny 
iiiiiituki-,  uud 
lU  tln)  (ione* 
ygpiii  Hotel 
II  New  York 
,  or,  ns  tliey 

)si8t»"K'<%  liiul 
(ly,  aiul  who 
east  an  hour 
.'hilst  1  wuM 
ly  Virgiiiiiui, 
I  geiierul  up- 
of  the  World 
,  ill  drink,  in 
he  true  boru 
own  uiter  a 
,',  nor  was  he 
1(1  liuniuroiis 
)ek  tlie  I'^lizii- 
,  whicli  iiuli- 
80  I  walked 
my  host  and 
bye,  stepped 
;h  the  aid  of 
Dots,  and  ser- 
Voni  a  small 
as  his  berth, 
t  ns  the  first 
'  aroused  the 
1  lier  laiii^uid- 
tiou  of  IJalti- 

much  of  the 
not  unimpor- 
nsects  which 
The  heat  was 
idition  to  the 
jwer  of  most 
aggravate  the 
)n.  About  an 
out  on  deck, 
a  warm  grey 
deck  told  ilie 
1  liour  against 
likely  to  make 
a  fact,  instead 
3  much  nearer 
the  horrors  of 
J,  and  grilled 
1,  I  wished  M. 
(need  with  me 
eould  inflict  in 
captain  was  a 
short  naps  in 
te  was  so  wild, 
I'fect  propriety 
),  and  taken  to 

lio  meant  to  sur- 
ero  also  killed  or 


i 


R  ivao  HA  an  aborigiMi  or  chimpanT'.ee.  Two  men 
of  iiioHt  retiring  liubitH,  the  neitro,  a  black  boy, 
and  II  very  fat  negress  who  oflii-iated  iw  cook, 
filled  up  the  "iialunee'  of  the  crew. 

I  eould  not  write,  for  the  vibration  of  the 
deck  of  the  little  craft  gave  a  Ht.  Vitus  daiiyc 
to  |ien  and  pencil ;  reading  was  out  of  the 
qucHlion  from  the  heat  and  flies;  and  below 
Btairx  the  fat  cook  banished  ropone  by  vapours 
from  her  dreadful  ealdioiis,  where,  Medea  like, 
hIic  \mih  boiling  some  death  broth.  Our  break- 
fust  was  of  the  simplest  and — may  I  add  1 — the 
least  enticing;  and  if  the  dinnec  could  have 
been  worse  it  was  so;  though  it  was  rendered 
attractive  by  hunger,  and  by  the  kindness  of 
the  sailors   who  shared  it  with  me.     The  old 

1>ilot  had  a  most  wholesome  hatred  of  the 
h'itishers,  and  not  liaving  the  least  idea  till 
late  in  the  day  that  1  belonged  to  the  old  coun* 
try,  favoured  mo  with  some  very  remarkable 
views  respecting  their  general  mischievousness 
and  inutility.  As  soon  as  he  found  out  my 
secret  he  became  more  reserved,  and  explained 
to  me  that  he  bad  some  reason  for  not  liking  us, 
because  all  he  had  in  the  world,  as  pretty  a 
schooner  as  ever  floated  and  a  flue  cargo,  had 
been  taken  and  burnt  by  the  English  when  they 
sailed  up  the  Potomac  to  Wnshingtoii.  lie 
served  against  us  at  Uladensburg.  1  did  not 
ask  him  liow  fast  he  ran;  but  he  had  a  good 
rejoinder  ready  if  1  had  done  so,  inasmuch  us 
he  was  up  West  under  Commodore  Terry  on 
the  lakes  when  we  suffered  our  most  serious 
reverses.  Six  knots  an  luiiirl  hour  after  hourl 
And  nothing  to  do  but  to  listen  to  the  pilot. 

On  both  sides  a  line  of  forest  just  visible 
above  the  low  shores.  Hmall  coasting  craft, 
schooners,  pungys,  boats  linlen  with  wood  creep- 
ing along  in  the  shallow  water,  or  plying  down 
empty  before  wind  and  lide. 

"  Idoubt  if  we'll  be  utile  to  catch  up  thera 
forts  afore  night,"  said  the  skipper.     The  pilot 

grunted,  "  1  rather  think  yu'll  not,"     "  U 

and  thunder!  Then  we'll  have  to  lie  off"  till 
daylight?"  " They  may  let  you  pass.  Captain 
Squir«s,  as  you've  this  Kurope-an  on  board,  but 
anyhow  we  can't  fetch  Baltimore  till  late  at 
night  or  early  in  the  morning." 

1  heard  the  dialogue,  and  decided  very 
quickly  that  as  Annapolis  lay  somewhere  ahead 
on  our  left,  and  was  much  nearer  than  Balti- 
more, it  would  be  best  to  run  for  it  while  there 
was  daylight.  The  captain  demurred,  lie  had 
been  ordered  to  take  his  vessel  to  Baltimore, 
and  General  Butler  might  come  down  on  him 
for  not  doing  so  ;  but  1  proposed  to  sign  a  letter 
stating  he  had  gone  to  Annapolis  at  my  request, 
and  the  steamer  was  put  a  point  or  two  to 
weslwaj-d,  much  to  the  pleasure  of  the  Palinu- 
rus,  whose  "  old  woman"  lived  in  the  town.  I 
had  an  affection  for  this  weather-beater,  watery- 
eyed,  honest  old  fellow,  who  hated  us  as  cordial- 
ly as  Jack  detested  his  Frenchman  in  the  old 
(lays  before  ententes  cordialcs  were  known  to 
the  world,  lie  was  thoroughly  English  in  his 
belief  that  be  belonged  to  the  only  sailor  race 
in  the  world,  and  that  they  could  beat  all  man- 
kind in  seamanship;  and  he  spoke  in  the  most 
unaffected  way  of  the  Britishers  ns  a  survivor 
of  the  old  war  might  do  of  Johnny  Crnpaud — 
"They  were  brave  enough  no  doubt,  but.  Lord 
bless  you,  see  them  in  a  gale  of  wind  I  or  look 


nt  them  sending  down  top-gallant  mn^ts,  or  any- 
thing Hiiilor  like  in  a  breeze,  i'lui'il  soon  see 
the  differ.  .\nd,  benideH,  they  tu-rrr  run  stand 
again  us  at  clone  <piarters,  By-and-by  the 
houses  of  a  eonnideiable  town,  crowned  by 
steeples,  and  a  large  ('oriiilhinn-looking  build- 
ing, came  in  view.  "That's  the  ,Slate  House. 
That's  where OeorgcWaidiington — fiiht  in  peace, 
flrst  in  war,  aiul  first  in  the  hearts  of  his 
countrymen — laid  down  his  victorious  sword 
without  any  one  asking  him,  and  retired  amid 
the  apjilause  of  the  civilized  world."  This 
flight  I  am  sure  was  the  old  man's  treasured 
relic  of  school-boy  days,  and  I'm  not  sure  ho 
did  not  give  it  to  mo  three  times  over.  An- 
napolis looks  very  well  from  the  river  side. 
The  approach  is  guarded  by  some  very  poop 
earthworks  and  one  small  fort.  A  dismantled 
sloop  of  war  lay  off  a  sea  wall,  bunking  uj»  a 
green  lawn  covered  with  trees,  in  front  of^  an 
old-fnshioned  pile  of  buildings,  which  formerly, 
1  think,  and  very  recently  indeed,  was  oeeupit^d 
by  the  cadets  of  the  United  States  Naval  School. 
"There  was  a  lot  of  them  st^ders.  Lord  bless 
you  I  these  young  ones  is  all  took  by  these 
Hlates  nights'  doctrines — ^just  as  the  ladies  is 
caught  by  a  now  fashion." 

About  seven  o'clock  the  steamer  hove  along- 
side a  wooden  pier  which  was  quite  deserteil. 
Only  .some  ten  or  twelve  sailing  boats,  yaclits, 
and  Hchooners  lay  at  anchor  in  the  jiliieid 
waters  of  the  jiort  which  was  once  the  cajiitul 
of  Maryland,  and  for  which  the  early  Ueiii.bli- 
cans  prophesied  a  great  future.  But  Baltimore 
has  oel+iised  Annnpfdis  into  utler  obscurity.  I 
walked  to  the  only  hotel  in  the  jilace,  mid  found 
that  the  train  for  the  junction  with  Washington 
had  started,  and  that  the  next  train  left  at  some 
impossible  hour  in  the  morning.  It  is  an  odd 
Rip  Van  Winkle  sort  of  a  place.  Quaint-look- 
ing boarders  came  ^lown  to  the  tea-table  and 
talked  Secession,  and  when  I  was  detected,  ns 
must  ever  soon  be  the  case,  owing  to  the  hotel 
book,  I  was  treated  to  soma  ill-favoured  glances, 
as  my  recent  letters  have  been  denounced  iu 
the  strongest  way  for  their  supposed  hostility 
to  States  Rights  and  the  Domestic  Institution, 
The  spirit  of  the  people  has,  however,  been 
broken  by  the  Federal  occupation,  and  by  t^e 
decision  with  which  Butler  acted  when  he  came 
down  here  with  the  troops  to  open  communica- 
tions with  Washington  after  the  Baltimoreans 
had  attacked  the  soldiery  on  their  way  through 
the  city  from  the  north. 


CHAPTER  XLVIII. 

The  "  Stftte  House''  at  Annapolis — Washington -Gene- 
ral Scott's  quarters — Want  of  a  stall— ll'val  camps — 
Demand  for  horses — I'opular  excitement — Lord  Lyons 
— General  M  'Dowell's  movements — Itctroat  from  ('"air- 
fax  Court  House— General  Scott's  quarti'rs — General 
MansHeid— Battle  of  bull's  Kun. 

Jultf  I6th. — I  baffled  many  curious  and  civil 
citizens  by  breakfasting  in  my  room,  where  I 
remained  writing  till  late  in  the  day.  In  the 
afternoon  I  walked  to  the  State  House.  The 
hall  door  was  open,  but  the  rooms  were  closed  ; 
and  I  remained  in  the  hall,  which  is  graced  by 
two  indifferent  huge  statues  of  Law  and  Justice 
holding  gas  lamps,  and  by  an  old  rusty  cannon, 
dug   out  of  the  river,  and  supposed  to  hav« 


168 


MT  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


!   •- 


r. 


belonj^ed  to  tlir  originni  British  colonists,  whilst 
ail  otiicer  whom  I  met  in  tlia  portico  went  to 
look'  for  the  porter  and  tlie  keys.  Whether  he 
succeeded  I  cannot  say,  for  after  waiting  some 
half  hour  I  was  warned  by  my  watch  that  it 
was  time  to  get  ready  for  the  train,  which 
started  at  4.15  p.m.  The  country  through 
wliich  the  single  line  of  rail  passes  is  very 
hilly,  much  wooded,  little  cultivated,  cut  up 
by  water-courses  and  ravines.  At  the  junction 
•with  the  Washington  line  from  Baltimore  there 
id  a  strong  guard  thrown  out  from  the  camp 
near  at  hatid.  The  officers,  who  had  a  mess  in 
a  little  wayside  inn  on  the  line,  invited  me  to 
rest  till  the  train  came  up,  and  from  them  I 
heard  that  an  advance  had  been  actually  order- 
ed, and  that  if  the  "  rebels"  stood  there  would 
Boon  be  a  ta!l  fight  close  to  Washington.  They 
were  very  cheei-y,  hospitable  fellows,  and  en- 
joyed their  new  mode  of  life  amazingly.  The 
nien  of  the  regiment  to  which  they  belonged 
were  Germans,  almost  to  a  man.  When  the 
train  came  in  I  found  it  was  full  of  soldiers, 
and  I  learned  th«t  three  more  heavy  trains 
were  to  follow,  in  addition  to  four  which  had 
already  passed  laden  with  troops. 

On  arriving  at  the  Washington  platform,  the 
first  person  I  saw  v/as  General  M'Dowell  alone, 
looking  anxiously  into  the  carriages.  He  asked 
wlicre  I  oame  from,  and  wlien  he  heard  from 
Annapolis,  inquired  eagerly  if  I  liad  seen  two 
batteries  of  artillery — Barry's  and  another — 
which  he  had  ordered  up,  and  was  waiting  for, 
but  which  had  "  gone  astray."  I  was  surprised 
to  find  the  General  engaged  on  such  duTy,  and 
took  leave  to  say  so.  "  Well,  it  is  quite  true, 
Mr.  Russell ;  but  I  am  obliged  to  look  after 
them  myself^  af?  I  have  so  small  a  staff,  and 
they  are  all  engaged  out  with  my  head-quar- 
ters. You  are  aware  I  have  advanced?  No! 
Well,  you  ha-e  j  uat  come  lin  time,  and  I  shall 
be  happy,  indeed,  to  take  you  with  me.  I 
hnve  made  arrangements  for  tiie  correspondents 
o,  our  papers  to  take  the  field  under  certain 
regulations,  and  I  have  suggested  to  them  they 
should  wear  a  white  uniform,  to  indicate  the 
purity  of  their  character."  The  General  could 
hear  nothing  of  his  guns ;  his  carriage  was 
wlkitlng,  and  I  accepted  his  oifer  of  a  seat  to 
mykdgings.  Although  he  spoke  confidently, 
he  did  not  soeni  in  good  spirits.  There  was 
the  greatest  difficulty  in  finding  out  anything 
about  the  enemy.  Beauregard  was  said  to 
have  advanced  to  Fairfax  Court  Hou^e,  but  he 
could  not  get  any  certain  knowledge  of  the 
fact.  "  Can  you  not  order  a  reconnaissance?" 
"Wait  till  you  see  the  country.  But  even  if 
it  were  as  flat  as  Flanders,  I  have  not  an  officer 
on  whom  I  could  depend  for  the  work.  They 
would  fall  into  some  trap,  or  bring  on  a  general 
engagement  when  I  did  not  seek  it  or  desire  it. 
I  have  no  cavalry  such  as  you  work  with  in 
Europe."  I  think  he  was  not  so  much  disposed 
to  undervalue  the  Confederates  as  before,  for 
he  said  they  had  selected  a  very  strong  posi- 
tion, and  had  made  a  regular  levee  en  masse  of 
the.  people  of  Virginia,  as  a  proof  of  tiie  energy 
and  determination  with  which  they  were  enter- 
ing on  the  campaign. 

A»  we  parted  the  General  gave  me  his  photo- 
graph, and  told  me  he  ixpected  to  see  me  in  a 
few  days  at  his  quartern,  but  that  I  would  have 


plenty  of  time  to  get  horses  and  servants,  and 
such  light  ecpiipage  as  I  wanted,  as  there  would 
be  no  engagement  for  several  days.  On  arriv- 
ing at  my  lodgings  I  sent  to  the  livery  stnblea 
to  inquire  after  horses.  None  fit  for  the  saddle 
tq  be  had  at  any  price.  The  sutlers,  the  caval- 
ry, the  mounted  officers,  had  been  purchasing 
up  all  the  droves  of  horses  which  came  to  the 
markets.  M'Dowell  had  barely  extra  mounts 
for  his  own  use.  And  yet  horses  must  be  had  ; 
and,  even  provided  with  them,  I  must  take  the 
field  without  tent  or  servant,  canteen  or  food 
— a  waif  to  fortune. 

July  11th. — I  went  up  to  General  Scott's 
quarters,  and  saw  some  of  his  staff — young 
men,  some  of  whom  knew  nothing  of  soldiers, 
not  even  the  enforcing  of  drill — and  found  them 
reflecting,  doubtless,  the  shades  which  cross  the 
mind  of  the  old  chief,  who  was  now  seeking 
repose.  M'Dowell  is  to  advance  to-morrow 
from  Fairfax  Court  House,  and  will  march  some 
eight  or  ten  miles  to  Centreville,  directly  in 
front  of  which,  at  a  place  called  Manassas, 
stands  the  army  of  the  Southern  enemy.  I  look 
around  me  for  a  staff,  and  look  in  vain.  There 
are  a  few  plodding  old  pedants,  with  map  and 
rules  and  compasses,  who  sit  in  small  rooms 
and  write  memoranda;  and  there  are  some 
ignorant  and  not  very  active  young  men,  who 
loiter  about  the  head-quarters'  halls,  and  strut 
up  the  street  with  brass  spurs  on  their  heels 
and  kepis  raked  over  their  eyes  as  though  they 
were  soldiers,  but  I  see  no  system,  no  order, 
no  knowledge,  no  dash! 

The  worst-served  English  general  has  always 
a  young  fellow  or  two  about  him  who  can  fly 
across  country,  draAV  a  rough  sketch  map,  ride 
like  a  foxhunter,  and  find  something  out  about 
the  enemy  and  their  position,  understand  and 
convey  orders,  and  obey  them.  I  look  about 
for  the  types  of  these  in  vain.  M'Dowell  can 
find  out  nothing  about  the  enemy  ;  he  has  not 
a  trustworthy  map  of  the  country ;  no  know- 
ledge of  their  position,  force,  or  numbers.  All 
the  people,  he  s.-tys,  are  against  the  Govern- 
ment. Fairfax  Court  House  was  abandoned  as 
he  approached,  the  enemy  in  their  retreat 
being  followed  by  the  inhabitants.  "  Where 
wore  the  Confederate  entrenchments?"  "  Only 
in  the  imagination  of  those  New  York  news- 
papers ;  when  they  want  to  fill  up  a  column 
they  write  a  full  account  of  the  enemy's  fortfi- 
cations.  No  one  can  contradict  them  at  the 
time,  and  it's  a  good  joke  when  it's  found  out 
to  be  a  lie."  Colonel  Cullum  went  over  the 
maps  with  me  at  General  Scott's,  and  spoke 
with  some  greater  confidence  of  McDowell's 
prospects  of  success.  There  is  a  considerable 
force  of  Confederates  at  a  place  called  Win- 
chester, which  is  comected  with  Manassas  by 
rail,  and  this  force  ciuld  be  thrown  on  the 
right  of  the  Federals  as  they  advanced,  but 
that  another  corps,  under  Patterson,  is  in  ob- 
servation, with  orders  to  engage  them  if  they 
attempt  to  move  eastwards. 

The  batteries  for  which  General  M'Dowell 
was  looking  last  night  have  arrived,  and  were 
sent  on  this  morning.  One  is  under  Barry,  of 
the  United  States  regular  artillery,  whom  I  met 
at  Fort  I'ickens.  The  other  is  a  volunteer  bat- 
tery. The  onward  movement  of  the  army  has 
been  productive  of  a  great  improvement  in  the 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


159 


irvftnts,  and 
there  would 
On  nrriv- 
very  stables 
ir  tlie  saddle 
8,  the  cuval- 
purchasing 
came  to  the 
itra  mounts 
U8t  be  luid ; 
ust  take  tlie 
,een  or  food 

leral  Scott's 
itaff— young 
;  of  soldiers, 
,  found  them 
ich  cross  the 
low  seeking 
s  to-morrow 
march  some 
directly  in 
d  Manassas, 
lemy.  I  look 
rain.  There 
ith  map  and 
small  rooms 
re  are  some 
ng  men,  who 
Us,  and  strut 
1  their  heels 
though  they 
m,  no  order, 

il  has  always 
who  can  fly 
eh  map,  ride 
ng  out  about 
derstand  and 
I  look  about 
^I'Dowell  can 
7 ;  he  has  not 
y ;  no  know- 
umbers.     All 
the   Govern- 
abandoned  as 
their    retreat 
;s,      "  Y/here 
Its?"     "Only 
'  York  news- 
up  a  column 
memy's  fortfi- 
them  at  the 
it's  found  out 
■ent  over  the 
's,  and   spoke 
)f  M-Dowell's 
i  considerable 
;  cnlled  Win- 
Manassas  by 
irown  on  the 
idvanccd,  but 
rson,  is  in  ob- 
them  if  they 

oral  M'Dowell 
ved,  and  were 
ider  Barry,  of 
y,  whom  I  met 
volunteer  bat- 
■  the  army  has 
)vement  in  the 


streets  of  Washington,  which  are  no  longer 
crowded  with  turbulent  and  disordeily  volun- 
teers, or  by  soldiers  disgracing  the  name,  who 
accost  you  in  tiie  by-ways  for  money.  Tliere 
are  comparatively  few  to-day ;  small  shoals, 
which  have  escaped  the  meshes  of  tlie  net,  are 
endeavouring  to  make  the  most  of  their  time 
before  they  cross  the  river  to  face  the  enemy. 

Still  horse-hunting,  but  in  vain — Gregson, 
Wroe — et  hoc  genus  omne.  Nothing  to  sell 
except  at  unheard-of  rates ;  tripeds,  and  the 
like,  much  the  worse  for  wear,  and  yet  pos- 
sessed of  some  occult  virtues,  in  right  of  which 
the  owners  demanded  egregious  sums.  Every- 
where I  am  offered  a  gig  or  a  vehicle  of  some 
kind  or  another,  as  if  the  example  of  General 
Scott  had  rendered  such  a  mode  of  campaign- 
ing the  correct  thing.  I  saw  many  officers 
driving  over  the  Long  Bridge  with  large  stores 
of  provisions,  either  unable  to  procure  horses 
or  satisfied  that  a  waggon  was  the  chariot  of 
Mars.  It  is  not  fair  to  ridicule  either  officers 
or  men  of  this  army,  and  if  they  were  not  so 
inflated  by  a  pestilent  vanity,  no  one  would 
dream  of  doing  so  ;  but  the  excessive  bragging 
and  boasting  in  which  the  volunteers  and  the 
press  indulgfe  really  provoke  criticism  and  tax 
patience  and  forbearance  overmuch.  Even  the 
regular  officers,  who  have  some  idea  of  military 
efficiency,  rather  derived  from  education  and 
foreign  travels  than  from  actual  experience, 
bristle  up  and  talk  proudly  of  the  patriotism  of 
the  army,  and  challenge  the  world  to  show 
such  another,  although  in  their  hearts,  and 
more,  with  their  lips,  they  own  they  do  not 
depend  on  them.  The  white  heat  of  patriot- 
ism has  cooled  down  to  a  dull  black ;  and  I  am 
told  that  the  gallant  volunteers,  who  are  to 
conquer  the  world  when  they  "  have  got 
through  with  their  present  little  job,"  are 
counting  up  the  days  to  the  end  of  their  ser- 
vice, and  openly  declare  they  will  not  stay  a 
day  longer.  This  is  pleasant,  inasmuch  as  the 
end  of  the  term  of  many  of  M'Dowell's,  and 
most  of  Patterson's,  three  months'  men,  is  near 
at  hand.  They  have  b'^en  faring  luxuriously 
at  the  expense  of  the  Government — they  have 
had  nothing  to  do — they  have  had  enormous 
pay — they  knew  nothing,  and  were  worthless 
as  to  soldier l.ig  when  they  were  enrolled. 
Now,  having  gained  all  these  advantages,  and 
being  likely  to  be  of  use  for  the  first  time,  they 
very  quietly  declare  they  are  going  to  sit  under 
their  hg-trees,  crowned  with  civic  laurels  and 
myrtles,  and  all  that  sort  of  thing.  But  who 
dare  say  they  are  not  splendid  fellows — full- 
blooded  heroes,  patriots,  and  warriors — men 
before  whoso  majestic  presence  all  Europe  pales 
and  faints  away? 

In  the  evening  I  received  a  message  to  say 
that  the  advance  of  the  army  would  take  place 
to-morrow  as  soon  as  General  M'Dowell  had 
satisfied  himself  by  a  reconnaissance  that  he 
could  oai'ry  out  his  plan  of  turning  the  right 
of  the  enemy  by  passing  Occaguna  Creek. 
Along  Vennsylvania  Avenue,  along  the  various 
shops,  hoteic,  and  drinking-bars,  groups  of  peo- 
ple were  collected,  listening  t®  the  most  exag- 
gerated accounts  of  desperate  fighting  and  of 
the  utter  demoralisation  of  the  rebels.  I  was 
rather  amused  b}'  hearing  the  florid  aceoimts 
which  were  given  in  the  hall  of  Willard's  bj 


various  inebriated  officers,  who  were  drawing 
upon  their  imagination  for  their  facts,  knowing, 
as  I  did,  that  the  entrenchments  at  Fairfax 
had  been  abandoned  without  a  shot  on  the  ad- 
vance of  the  Fedeial  troops.  The  New  York 
papers  came  in  with  glowing  descriptions  oi 
the  maguificeat  march  of  the  grand  arniy  of 
the  Potomac,  which  was  seated  to  consist  of 
upwards  ofJO.OOO  men;  v/hereas  I  knew  not 
half  that  number  were  actually  on  the  field. 
Multitudes  of  people  believe  General  Winfield 
Scott,  who  was  now  fast  asleep  in  his  modest 
bed  in  Pennsylvania  Avenue,  is  about  to  take 
the  field  in  person.  The  horse-dealers  are  still 
utterly  impracticable.  A  citizen  who  owned  a 
dark  bay,  spavine.d  and  ringboned,  asked  me 
one  thousand  dollars  for  the  right  of  posses- 
sion. I  ventured  to  suggest  that  it  was  not 
worth  the  money.  "  Well,"  said  he,  "  take  it 
or  leave  it.  If  you  want  to  see  this  fighi  a 
thousand  dollars  is  cheap.  I  guess  there  were 
chaps  paid  more  than  that  to  see  Jenny  Lind 
on  her  first  night ;  and  this  battle  is  not  going 
to  be  repeat.ed,  I  can  tell  you.  The  prije  <if 
horses  will  rise  when  the  chaps  out  there  have 
had  themselves  pretty  well  used  up  with  bowie- 
knives  and  six-shooters." 

July  \Wi. — After  breakfast.  Leaving  head- 
quarters, I  went  across  to  General  Mansfield's, 
and  was  going  upstairs,  when  the  General* 
himself,  a  white-headed,  gre3'Bbearded,  and 
rather  soldierly-looking  man,  dashed  out  of  liis 
room  in  some  exciteqient,  and  exclaimed,  "  Mr. 
Russell,  I  fear  there  is  bad  news  from  the 
front."  "  Are  th  eyfighting,  General  ?"  "  Yes, 
sir.  That  fellow  Tyler  has  been  engaged,  and 
we  are  whipped."  Again  I  went  oil'  to  the 
horse-dealer;  but  this  time  the  price  of  the 
steed  had  beenlraised  to  £2'i0  ;  "  for,"  says  he, 
"  I  don't  want  my  animals  to  be  ripped  up  by 
them  cannon  and  ^them  musketry,  and  those 
who  wish  to  be  guilty  of  such  cruelty  must 
pay  for  it."  At  the  War  Office,  at  the  Depart- 
ment of  State,  at  the  Senate,  and  at  the  AVhite 
House,  messengers  and  orderlies  rimning  in  and 
out,  military  aides,  and  civilians  with  anxious 
faces,  betokened  tlie  activity  and  perturbation 
which  reigned  within.  I  met  Senator  Sumner 
radiant  with  joy.  "  We  have  obtained  a  great 
success  ;  the  rebels  are  falling  back  in  all  direc- 
tions. General  Scott  says  we  ought  to  be  in 
Richmond  by  Saturday  night."  Soon  after- 
wards a  United  States  officer,  who  had  visited 
me  in  company  with  General  Meigs,  riding 
rapidly  past,  called  out,  "  You  have  heard  we 
are  whipped  ;  these  confounded  volunteers  have 
run  away."  I  drove  to  the  Capitol,  where 
people  said  one  could  actually  see  the  smoke  of 
the  cannon  ;  but  on  ai-riving  there  it  was  evi- 
dent that  the  fire  from  some  burning  houses, 
and  from  wood  cut  down  for  cooking  purposes, 
had  been  mistaken  for  tokens  of  the  fight. 

It  was  strange  to  stand  outside  the  walls  of 
the  Senate  whilst  legislators  were  debating  in- 
side respecting  the  best  means  of  punishing  the 
rebels  and  traitois,  and  to  think  that  amidst 
the  dim  horizon  of  woods  which  bounded  the 
west  towards  the  plains  of  Manassas,  the  army 
of  the  United  States  was  then  contending,  at 
least  with  doubtful  fortune,  against  the  forces 

*  Since  killed  in  actiop 


160 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


Vi   ' 


of  the  desperate  aad  hopeless  outlaws  -whose 
fate  these  United  States  senatora  pretended  to 
hold  in  the  hollow  of  their  hands.  Nor  was  it 
unworthy  of  note  that  many  of  the  tradespeo- 
ple along  Pennsylyania  Avenue,  and  the  ladies 
whom  one  saw  sauntering  in  the  streets,  were 
exchanging  significant  nods  and  smiles,  and  rub- 
bing their  hands  with  satisfaction.  I  entered 
one  shop,  where  the  proprietor  and  his  wife  ran 
forward  to  meet  me.  "Have  you  heard  the 
news?  Beauregard  has  knocked  them  into  a 
cocked  hat."  "  Believe  me,"  a^id  the  good 
lady,  "  it  is  the  finger  of  the  Almighty  is  in  it. 
Didn't  he  curse  the  niggers,  and  why  should  he 
take  their  part  now  with  these  Yankee  Aboli- 
tionists, against  true  white  men  ?"  "  But  how 
do  you  know  this?"  said  I.  "  Why,  it's  all 
true  enough,  depend  upon  it,  no  matter  how 
we  know  it.  We've  got  our  underground  rail- 
way as  well  as  the  Abolitionists." 

On  my  way  to  dinner  at  the  Legation  I  met 
the  President  crossing  Pennsylvania  Avenue, 
striding  like  a  crane  in  a  bulrush  swamp  among 
the  great  blocks  of  marble,  dressed  in  an  oddly 
cut  suit  of  grey,  with  a  felt  hat  on  t!ie  back  of 
his  head,  wiping  his  face  with  a  red-pocket- 
handkerchief.  He  was  evidently  in  a  hurry, 
on  his  wa}'  to  the  White  House,  where  I  believe 
a  telegraph  has  been  established  in  communica- 
tion with  M'Dowell's  head-quarters.  I  may 
mention,  b3'-the-bye,  in  illustration  of  the  ex- 
treme ignorance  and  arrogance  which  charac- 
terise the  low  Yankee,  that  a  man  in  the  uni- 
form of  a  Colonel  said  to  me  to-day,  as  I  was 
leaving  the  War  Department,  "They  have  just 
got  a  telegraph  from  M'Dowell.  Would  it  not 
astonish  you  Britishers  to  hear  that,  as  our 
General  nioi^es  on  towards  the  enemy,  he  trails 
a  telegrajth  wire  behind  him  just  to  let  them 
know  in  Washington  which  foot  he  is  putting 
first  ?"  I  was  imprudent  enough  to  say,  '  I 
assure  you  the  use  of  the  telegraph  is  not  such 
a  novelty  in  Europe  or  even  in  India.  When 
Lord  Clyde  made  his  campaign  the  telegraph 
■was  laid  in  his  track  as  fast  as  he  advanced." 
"Oh,  well,  come  now,"  quoth  the  Colonel, 
"  that's  pretty  good,  that  is ;  I  believe  you'll 
say  next,  your  General  Clyde  and  our  Benjamin 
Franklin  discovered  lightning  simultaneously." 

The  calm  of  a  Legation  contrasts  wonder- 
fully in  iroubled  times  with  the  excitement  and 
storm  of  ihe  world  outside.  M.  Mercier  per- 
haps is  mo/ed  to  a  vivacious  interest  in  events. 
M.  Stoeeki  becomes  more  animated  as  the  time 
approaches  when  he  sees  the  fulfilment  of  his 

Sropheeies  at  hand.  M.  Tassara  cannot  be  in- 
iffei'ent  to  occurrences  which  bear  so  directly 
on  tlie  future  of  Sjiain  in  Western  seas  ;  but  all 
these  diplomatists  can  discuss  the  most  engross- 
ing and  portentous  incidents  of  political  and 
military  iifo,  with  a  sense  of  calm  and  indif- 
ference which  was  felt  by  the  gentleman  who 
resented  bting  called  out  of  his  sleep  to  get  up 
out  of  a  burning  house  because  he  was  only  a 
loilgor. 

There  is  no  Minister  of  the  European  Powers 
in  ^yusllington  who  watches  with  so  much  in- 
terest the  rnaich  of  events  as  Lord  Lyons,  or 
who  feels  as  much  sympathy  perhaps  in  the 
Federal  Goveriimet\t  as  the  constituted  Execu- 
tive of  the  country  to  which  he  is  accredited ; 
but  in  virtue  of  his  position  he  knows  little  or 


nothing  officially  of  what  passes  around  him, 
and  may  be  regarded  as  a  medium  for  the  com- 
nmnication  of  despatches  to  Mr.  Seward,  and 
for  the  discharge  of  a  great  deal  of  most  cause- 
less and  unmeaning  vituperation  from  the  con- 
ductors of  the  New  York  prew  against  Eng- 
land. 

On  my  return  to  Captain  Johnson's  lodgings 
I  received  a  note  from  the  head-quarters  of  the 
Federals,  stating  that  the  serious  action  be- 
tween the  two  armies  would  probably  be  post- 
poned for  some  days.  M'Dowell's  original  idot 
was  to  avoid  forcing  the  enemy's  position 
directly  in  front,  which  was  defended  by  mov- 
able batteries  commanding  the  fords  over  a 
stream  called  "  Bull's  Run."  He  therefore  pro- 
posed to  make  a  demonstration  on  some  point 
near  the  centre  of  their  line,  and  at  the  same 
time  throw  the  mass  of  his  force  below  their 
extreme  right,  so  as  to  turn  it  and  get  posses- 
sion  of  the  Manassas  Railway  in  their  rear :  a 
movement  which  would  separate  him,  by-the- 
bye,  from  his  own  communications,  and  enable 
any  general  worth  his  salt  to  make  a  magnifi- 
cent counter  by  marching  on  Washington,  only 
27  miles  away,  which  he  could  take  with  the 
greatest  ease,  and  leave  the  enemy  in  the  rear 
to  march  120  miles  to  Richmond,  if  they  dared, 
or  to  make  a  hasty  retreat  upon  the  higher 
Potomac,  and  to  cross  into  the  hostile  country 
of  Maryland. 

M'Dowell,  however,  has  found  the  country 
on  his  left  densely  wooded  and  difficult.  It  is 
as  new  to  him  as  it  was  to  Braddock,  when  he 
cut  his  weary  way  through  forest  and  swamp 
in  this  very  district  to  reach,  hundreds  of  miles 
away,  the  scene  of  his  fatal  repulse  at  Fort  Du 
Quesne.  And  so,  having  moved  his  wholo 
army,  M'Dowell  finds  himself  obliged  to  form  a 
new  plan  of  attack,  and,  prudently  fearful  of 
pushing  hia  .under-done  and  over-praised  levies 
into  a  river  in  face  of  an  enemy,  is  endenvour- 
iug  to  ascertain  with  what  chance  of  success  he 
can  attack  and  turn  their  left. 

Whilst  he  was  engaged  in  a  reconnaissance 
today.  General  Tyler  did  one  of  those  things 
which  must  be  expected  from  ambitious  officers, 
without  any  fear  of  punishment,  in  countries 
where  military  discipline  is  scarcely  known. 
Ordered  to  reconnoitre  the  position  of  the  ene- 
my on  the  left  front,  when  the  army  moved 
from  Fairfax  to  Centroville  this  morning,  Gene- 
ral Tyler  thrust  forward  some  3000  or  4000  men 
of  his  division  down  to  the  very  banks  of 
"  Bull's  Run,"  which  was  said  to  be  thickly 
wooded,  and  there  brought  up  his  men  under  a 
heavy  fire  of  artillery  and  musketry,  from 
which  they  retired  in  confusion. 

The  papers  from  New  York  to-night  are  more 
than  usually  impudent  and  amusing.  The  re- 
treat of  the  Confederate  outposts  from  Fairfax 
Court  House  is  represented  as  a  most  extraor- 
dinary success;  at  best  it  was  an  affair  of  out- 
posts; but  one  would  really  think  that  it  was 
a  victory  of  no  small  magnitude.  I  k-arn  that 
the  Federal  troops  behaved  in  a  most  ruffianly 
and  lawless  manner  at  Fairfax  Court  House.  It 
is  but  a  bad  beginning  of  a  campaign  for  the 
restoration  of  the  Union,  to  rob,  burn,  and  de- 
stroy the  property  and  houses  of  the  people  in 
the  State  of  Virginia.  The  enemy  are  described 
as  running  in  all  directions,  but  it  is  evident 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


161 


ound  him, 
r  the  corn- 
ward,  and 
no8t  cause- 
m  thecon- 
ainat  Eng- 

's  lodgings 
'tcrs  of  the 
action  be- 
ly  be  post- 
■iginal  idofi. 
3  position 
id  by  mov- 
rds  over  a 
jretbro  pro- 
some  point 
the  same 
elow  their 
get  posses- 
eir  reivr:  a 
im,  by-the- 
aud  enable 
a  magnifi- 
ngton,  only 
;e  with  the 
in  tlie  rear 
they  dared, 
the  higlier 
ile  country 

he  country 
icult.  It  IS 
ik,  when  he 
and  swamp 
cds  of  miles 
I  at  Fort  Du 

his  wholo 
ed  to  form  a 
f  fearful  of 
■aised  levies 

endeiivour- 
•f  success  he 

connaissance 
those  things 
;ious  officers, 
in  countries 
;ely  known. 
I  of  the  ene- 
irmy  moved 
rning,  Gene- 
or  4000  men 
ry  bunks  of 
•  be  thickly 
men  under  a 
sketry,  from 

ght  are  more 
iig.  The  re- 
from  Fairfax 
nost  cxlraor- 
aifair  of  out- 
i  that  it  was 
I  leiirn  that 
lost  ruffianly 
irt  House.  It 
:)aign  for  the 
jurn,  and  de- 
the  people  in 
are  ilescribed 
it  is  evident 


they  did  not  intend  to  defend  the  advanced 
■works,  which  were  merely  constructed  to  pre- 
vent surprise  or  cavalry  inroads. 

I  went  to  "Willard's,  where  the  news  of  the 
battle,  as  it  was  called,  was  eagerly  discussed. 
One  little  man  in  front  of  the  cigar-stand  de- 
clared it  was  all  an  affair  of  cavalry.  "  But 
how  could  that  be  among  the  piney  woods  and 
with  a  river  in  front,  major?"  "  Ou'  boys,  sir, 
left  their  hoi-ses,  crossed  the  water  at  a  run, 
and  went  right  away  through  them  with  their 
swords  and  six-shooters."  "  1  tell  you  what  it 
is,  Mr.  Russell,"  said  a  man  who  followed  me 
out  of  the  crowd  and  placed  liis  hand  on  my 
shoulder,  "  they  were  whipped  like  curs,  and 
they  ran  like  curs,  and  I  know  it."  "How?" 
,  "  Well,  I'd  rather  be  excused  telling  you." 

J      '  July  I9th. — I   rose    early   this    morning   in 

order  to  prepare  for  contingencies  and  to  see 
off  Captain  Johnson,  who  was  about  to  start 
with  despatches  for  Mew  York,  containing,  no 
doubt,  the  intelligence  that  the  Federal  troops 
had  advanced  against  the  enemy.  Yesterday 
was  so  hot  that  officers  and  men  on  the  field 
suffered  from  something  like  sun-stroke.  To 
unaccustomed  frames  to-day  the  heat  felt  un- 
supportable.  A  troop  of  regular  cavalry,  rid- 
ing through  the  street  at  an  early  hour,  were 
80  exhausted;  horse  and  man,  that  a  runaway 
cab  could  have  bowled  them  over  like  nine- 
pins 

I  hastened  to  General  Scott's  qur       \>,  which 
were  besieged  by  civilians  outside  and  full  'vf 
orderlies    and    officers    wi'hin.      Mr.    Cobdea 
would  be  delighted  with  the  republican  sim- 
plicity of  the  Commander-in-Chief's  establish- 
ment, though  it  did  not  strike  me  as  being  very 
cheap  at  the  money  on  such  an  occasion.     It 
consists,  in  fact,  of  a  small  three-storied  brick 
house,  the  parlours  on  the  ground  floor  being 
occupied  by  subordinates,  the  small  front  room 
on  the  first  floor  being  appropriated  to  General 
Scott  himself,  the  smaller  back  room  being  de- 
voted to  his  staff,  and  two  rooms  upstairs  most 
probably  being  in  possession  of  waste  papers 
and  the  guardians  of  the  mansion.     The  walls 
are  covered  with  maps  of  the  coarsest  descrip- 
tion and  with  rough  plans  and  drawings,  which 
afford  information  and  amusement  to  the  order- 
lies and  the  stray  aide-de-camps.      "  Did  you 
ever  hear  anythuig  so  disgraceful  in  your  life 
as  the  stories  which  are  going  about  of  the 
affair  yesterday  ?"    said  Colonel  Cullum.     "  I 
assure  you   it   was  the  smallest  affair  possible, 
althougli  the    story  goes    that   we   have    lost 
thousands   of  men.     Our   total   loss   is    under 
ninety — killed,  wounded,  and   missing;  and  I 
regret  to  say  nearly  one-third  of  the  whole  are 
under  the  latter  head."     "However  that  may 
be,  Colonel,"  said  I,  "  it  wih  be  difficult  to  be- 
lieve your  statement  after  the  columns  of  type 
which    appear   in   the    papers  here."      "Oh! 
Who  minds  what  they  say  ?"     "  You  will  ad- 
mit, at  any  rate,  that  the  retreat  of  these  un- 
disciplined troops  from  an  encounter  with  the 
enemy  will  have  a  bad  effect  ?"     "  Well,  1  sup- 
pose that's  likely  enough,  but  it  will  soon  be 
swept  away  in  the  excitement  of  a  {iciieral 
advance.     General  Scott,  having  determined  to 
attack  the  enemy,  will  not  halt  now,  and  I  am 
going  over  to  Brigadier  M'Dowell  to  examine 
the  ground  and  sec  what  is  best  to  be  done." 

L 


On  leaving  the  room  two  officers  came  out  of 
General  Scott's  apartmenl;;  one  of  them  said, 
"  Why,  Colonel,  he's  not  half  the  man  I  thought 
him.  Well,  any  way  he'll  be  beiter  there  than 
M'Dowell.  If  old  ttcott  had  legs  he's  good  (oi 
a  big  thing  yet." 

For  hours  I  went  horse-hunting  ;  but  Roths- 
child himself,  even  the  hunting  Baron,  couM 
not  have  got  a  steed.  In  Pennsylvania  Avenuii 
the  people  were  standing  in  the  shade  undei 
the  ailantus  trees,  speculating  on  the  news 
brought  by  dusty  orderlies,  or  on  the  ideas  of 
passing  Congress  men.  A  party  of  captured 
Confederates,  on  their  march  to  General  Mans- 
field's quarters,  created  intense  interest,  and  1 
followed  them  to  the  house,  and  went  up  to 
see  the  General,  whilst  the  prisoners  sat  down 
on  the  pavement  and  steps  outside.  Notwith- 
standii.'j  his  affectation  of  calm  and  self-pos- 
session, General  Mansfield,  who  was  charged 
with  the  defence  of  the  toAvn,  was  visibly  per- 
turbed. 'These  things,  sir,"  said  he,  "happen 
in  Europe  too.  If  the  capital  should  fall  into 
the  hands  of  the  rebels  the  United  States  will 
bo  no  more  destroyed  than  they  were  when 
you  burned  it."  From  an  expx'ession  he  let  fall, 
I  inferred  he  did  not  very  well  know  what  to 
do  with  his  prisoners.  "  Rebels  taken  in  arms 
in  Europe  are  generally  hung  or  blown  away 
from  guns,  I  believe  ;  but  we  arc  more  merci- 
ful." General  Mapsfi.eld  evidently  wished  to 
be  spared  the  embarrassment  of  ciealiug  with 
prisoners. 

I  dined  at  a  restaurant  kept  by  v)  le  Boulan- 
ger,  a  Frenchman,  wlio  utilised  <.iO  swarms  ol 
flies  infesti.ng  his  premises  by  comb.idng  masses 
of  them  with  his  soup  and  made  dishes.  At 
an  adjoining  table  were  a  lanky  boy  in  a  lieu- 
tenant's uniform,  a  private  soldier,  and  a  man 
in  plain  clothes ;  and  for  the  edification  of  the 
two  latter  the  wa,rrior  youth  was  detailing  the 
most  remarkable  stories,  in  the  Munchausen 
style,  ear  ever  heard.  "  Well,  sir,  I  tell  you, 
when  his  head  fell  off  on  the  ground,  his  eyes 
shut  aud  opened  twice,  and  his  tongue  came 
out  with  an  expression  as  if  he  wanted  to  say 
something."  "There  were  seven  balls  through 
my  coat,  and  it  was  all  so  spiled  with  blood 
and  powder,  I  took  it  off  and  threw  it  in  the 
road.  Whin  the  boys  were  burying  the  dead, 
I  saw  thia  coat  on  a  chap  who  had  been  just 
smothered  by  the  weight  of  the  killed  and 
wounded  on  the  top  of  him,  and  I  says,  'Boys 
give  me  that  coat;  it  will  just  do  for  me  with 
the  same  rank;  aud  there  is  no  use  in  putting 
good  cloth  on  a  dead  body.'"  "And  how 
many  do  you  suppose  was  killed,  Lieutenant  ?" 
"Well,  sir  1  it's  my  honest  belief,  I  tell  j'ou, 
there  was  not  less  thaa  5000  of  our  boys,  and 
it  may  be  twice  as  many  of  the  enemy,  or 
more;  they  were  all  shot  down  just  like  pi- 
geons ;  you  might  walk  for  five  rods  by  the 
side  of  the  Run,  and  not  be  able  to  put  your 
foot  on  the  ground."  "  The  dead  was  that 
thick?"  "2so,  but  the  dead  and  the  wouuded 
together."  No  incredulity  in  the  hearers — all 
swallowed:  possibly  disgorged  into  the  note- 
book of  a  Wasiiington  contributor. 

After  dinner  1  walked  over  with  Lieutenant 
H.  Wise,  inspected  a  model  of  Stevens'  ram, 
which  appears  to  me  an  utter  impossibility  ie 
face   of    the   iron-clad   embrasured  fleet  now 


163 


MY  DIARY  NOR^  fl  AND  lOUTH. 


M 


'I 


a 


I 


coming  up  to  view,  though  it  is  spoken  of  highly 
by  some  naval  officers  and  by  many  politicians. 
For  yeiirs  their  papers  have  been  indulging  in 
mysterious  volcanic  puffs  from  the  great  centre 
of  nothingness  as  to  this  secret  and  tremendous 
war-engine,  which  was  surrounded  by  walls  of 
all  kinds,  and  only  to  he  Jet  out  on  the  world 
when  the  Great  Republic  in  its  might  had  re- 
solved to  8weej>  everything  off  the  seas.  And 
lo  !  it  is  an  abortive  ram  !  Los  Gringos  went 
home,  and  I  paid  a  visit  to  a  family  whose 
daughters — bright-eyed,  pretty  and  clever — 
were  seated  out  on  the  door-steps  amid  the 
lightning  flashes,  one  of  them,  at  least,  dreaming 
with  open  eyes  of  a  young  aitillery  officer 
then  sleeping  among  his  guns,  probably,  in  front 
of  Fairfax  Court  House. 


CHAPTER    XLIX. 

Skirmish  at  Bull's  Run — The  Crisis  in  Congress — Denrth 
of  Horses — War  Prices  at  Washington — Estimate  of  tho 
effects  of  Bull's  Kun — Password  and  Countersign — 
Transatlantic  View  of  "Tho  Times"— Dlfflculties  of  a 
Newspaper  Correspondent  it  the  Field. 

Juli/  20th. — The  great  battle  which  is  to  ar- 
rest rebellion,  or  to  make  it  a  power  in  the  land, 
is  no  longer  distant  or  doubtful.  M'Dowell  has 
completed  his  reconnaissance  of  tho  country  in 
front  of  the  enemy,  and  General  Scott  antici- 
pates that  he  will  be  in  possession  of  Manassas 
to-morrow  night.  All  the  statements  of  officers 
concur  in  describing  the  Confederates  as  strong- 
ly entrenched  along  tb*>  line  of  Bull's  Run 
covering  the  railroad.  The  New  York  papers, 
indeed,  audaciously  declare  that  the  enemy  have 
fallen  back  in  disorder.  In  the  main  thorough- 
fares of  the  city  there  is  still  a  scattered  army 
of  idle  soldiers  moving  through  the  civil  crowd, 
though  how  they  come  here  no  one  knows. 
The  officers  clustering  round  the  hotels,  and 
running  in  and  out  of  the  bar-rooms  and  eating- 
houses,  are  still  more  numerous.  When  I  in- 
quired at  the  head  quarters  who  these  were, 
the  answer  was  that  the  majority  were  skulkers, 
but  that  there  was  no  power  at  svh  a  moment 
to  send  them  back  to  their  regiments  or  punish 
them.  In  fact,  deducting  the  reserves,  the  rear- 
guards, and  the  scanty  garrisons  at  the  earth- 
works, M'Dowell  will  not  have  25,000  men  to 
undertake  his  seven  day's  march  through  a  hos- 
tile country  to  the  Confederate  capital,  and  yet, 
strange  to  say,  in  the  pride  and  passion  of  the 
politicians,  no  doubt  is  permitted  to  rise  for  a 
moment  respecting  his  complete  success. 

I  was  desirous  of  seeing  what  impression  was 
produced  upon  the  Congress  of  the  United 
Stsites  by  the  cris's  which  was  approaching,  and 
drove  down  to  the  Senate  at  noon.  There  was 
no  appearance  of  popular  enthusiasm,  excite- 
ment, or  emotion,  among  the  people  in  the  pas- 
sages. They  drank  their  iced  water,  ate  cakes 
or  lozenges,  chewed  and  chatted,  or  dashed  at 
their  acquaintances  amongst  the  members,  as 
though  nothing  more  important  than  a  railway 
bill  or  a  postal  concession  was  being  debated 
inside.  I  entered  the  Senate,  and  found  the 
II'  use  engaged  in  not  listening  to  Mr.  Latham, 
the  Senator  for  California,  who  was  delivering 
an  elaborate  lecture  on  the  aspect  of  political 
affairs  from  a  Republican  point  of  view.     The 


Senators  were,  as  usual,  engaged  in  rendin 
newspapers,  writing  letttM's,  or  in  whisjiere 
conversation,  whilst  the  Senator  received  hi.H 
applause  from  the  people  in  the  galleries,  who 
were  scarcely  restrained  from  stamping  their 
feet  at  the  most  highly-ilown  passoges.  Whilst 
I  was  listening  to  what  is  by  courtesy  called 
the  debate,  a  messenger  from  Centreville  sent 
in  a  letter  to  me,  stating  that  General  M'Dowell 
would  advance  early  in  the  morning,  and  ex- 
pected to  engage  the  enemy  before  noon.  At 
the  same  moment  a  Senator  who  had  received 
a  despatch  left  his  seat  aiid  read  it  to  a  brother 
legifslator,  and  the  news  it  contained  was  speed- 
ily dilFused  from  one  seat  to  another,  and  groups 
formed  on  the  edge  of  the  floor  eagerly  discuss- 
ing the  welcome  intelligence. 

The  President's  hammer  again  and  again 
called  them  to  order ;  and  from  out  of  this  knot, 
Senator  Sumner,  his  face  lighted  with  pleasure, 
came  to  tell  mo  the  good  news,  "  M'Dowell 
has  carried  Bull's  Run  without  firing  a  shot. 
Seven  regiments  attacked  it  at  the  point  of  the 
bayonet,  and  the  enemy  immediately  fled.  Ge- 
neral Scott  only  gives  M'Dowell  till  mid-day 
to-morrow  to  be  in  possessior.  of  Manassas." 
Soon  afterwards,  Mr.  Ha}-,  the  President's  secre- 
tary,  appeared  on  the  floor  to  communicate  a 
message  to  the  Senate.  I  asked  him  if  the 
news  was  true.  "All  I  can  tell  you,"  said  he, 
"is  thnt  the  President  has  heard  nothing  at  all 
about  it,  and  that  General  Scott,  from  whom 
we  have  just  received  a  communication,  is 
equallj'  ignorant  of  the  reported  success." 

Some  Senators  and  many  Congress-men  have 
already  gone  to  join  M'Dowell's  a^-my,  or  to 
follow  in  its  wake,  in  the  hope  of  seeing  the 
Lord  deliver  the  Philistines  into  his  hands.  As 
I  was  leaving  the  Chamber  with  Mr.  Sumner,  a 
dust-stained,  toil-worn  man,  caught  the  Senator 
by  the  arm,  and  said,  "  Senator,  I  am   onv.  of 

your  constituents.     I  come   from town, 

in  Massachusetts,  and  here  are  letters  from 
people  3'ou  know,  to  certify  who  I  am.  My  poor 
brother  was  killed  yesterday,  and  I  want  to  go 
out  and  get  his  body  to  send  back  to  the  old 
people ;  but  they  won't  let  me  pass  without  an 
order."  And  so  Mr.  Sumner  wrote  a  note  to 
General  Scott  and  another  to  General  Mans- 
field, recommending  that  poor  Gordon  Frazer 
should  be  permitted  to  go  through  the  Federal 
lines  on  his  labour  of  love ;  and  the  Jionest 
Scotchman  seemed  as  grateful  as  if  he  had  al- 
ready found  his  brother's  body. 

Every  carriage,  gig,  waggon,  and  hack  has 
been  engaged  by  people  going  out  to  see  tho 
fight.  The  price  is  enhanced  by  mysterious 
communications  respecting  the  horrible  slaugh- 
ter in  the  skirmishes  at  Bull's  Run.  The  French 
cooks  and  hotel-keepers,  by  some  occult  process 
of  reasoning,  have  arrived  at  *!ie  conclusion  that 
they  must  treble  the  prices  of  their  wines  and  of 
the  hampers  of  proviijions  which  the  Washington 
jieople  are  ordering  to  comfort  themselves  at 
tiieir  bloody  Derby.  "There  was  not  less  than 
18,000  men,  sir,  killed  and  destroyed.  1  don't 
care  what  General  Scott  says  to  the  contrary,  he 
was  not  thei'c.  I  saw  a  reliable  gentleman,  ten 
minutes  ago,  as  cum  straight  from  the  place,  and 
he  swore  there  was  a  string  of  waggons  three 
miles  long  with  the  wounded.  While  these  Yan- 
kees lie  so,  I  should  not  be  surprised  to  hear  they 


^    '- 


BIY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUHI. 


168 


il  in  rending 
in  wliisj)er(;d 

received  iiis 
nlleries,  wiio 
imping  tlieir 
ges.  Whilst 
urtesy  called 
treville  sent 
•al  M'Dowell 
ling,  and  ex- 
le  noon.  At 
had  received 
;  to  a  brother 

1  was  speed- 
r,  and  groups 
jerly  discusa- 

and   again 

t  of  this  knot, 
nth  pleasure, 
"  M'Dowell 
Bring  a  shot. 
5  point  of  the 
il.V  fled.     Ge- 

till  mid-day 
f  Manassas." 
udent's  secre- 
Timunieate  a 
him  if  the 
m,"  said  he, 
othing  at  all 

from  -whom 
unication,  is 
iiecess." 
R88-men  have 
B'-my,  or  to 
f  seeing  the 
is  hands.  As 
Ir.  Sunnier,  a 
t  the  Senator 

am   on^.  of 

■ town, 

letters  from 
am.  My  poor 
I  want  to  go 
:  to  the  old 
s  without  an 
e  a  note  to 
ineral  Mans- 
>idoii  Frazer 

the  Federal 
'.  the  lionest 
'  he  had  al- 

id  hack  has 
t  to  sec  tho 
.'  mysterious 
riblc  .sh.ugli- 
The  French 
ccult  process 
nclusion  tliat 
.vines  and  of 
Wa.sliington 
lemselves  at 
not  less  than 
cd.  I  don't 
contrary,  ho 
ntleman,  ten 
le  place,  and 
ggoiis  three 
e  these  Yiin- 
to  hear  they 


> 


did  not  lose  1000  men  in  that  big  fight  the  day 
befon;  yesterday." 

When  the  newspapers  came  in  from  New  York 
I  rend  flaming  accounts  of  the  ill-conducted  re- 
connaissance against  orders,  which  was  termin- 
ated by  a  most  dastardly  and  ignominious  re- 
treat, "due,"  say  the  New  York  papers,  "to  the 
inefliciency  and  cowardice  of  some  of  the  ofli- 
Far  different  was  tho  behaviour  of  the 


cev 


modest  chroniclers  of  these  scenes,  who,  as  they 
tell  us,  "stood  their  ground  as  well  as  any  of 
them,  in  .spite  of  the  shot,  shell,  and  rifle-balls 
that  whizzed  past  them  for  many  hours."  Gen- 
eral Tyler  alone,  perhaps,  did  more,  for  "ho 
was  exposed  to  the  enemy's  fire  for  nearly  four 
hours;"  and  when  we  consider  that  this  fire  camo 
from  masked  batteries,  and  that  tho  wind  of 
round  shot  is  unusually  destructive  (in  America), 
we  can  better  appreciate  tho  danger  to  which  ho 
was  so  gallantly  indifferent.  It  is  obvious  that 
in  this  first  encounter  the  Federal  troops  gained 
no  advantage ;  and  as  they  were  tho  assailants, 
their  repulse,  which  cannot  be  kept  secret  from 
the  rest  of  the  army,  will  have  a  very  damaging 
effect  on  their  morale. 

General  Johnston,  who  has  been  for  some  days 
with  a  considerable  force  in  an  entrenched  posi- 
tion at  Winchester,  in  tho  valley  of  the  Shenan- 
doah, had  occupied  General  Scott's  attention,  in 
consequence  of  the  facility  which  he  possessed  to 
move  into  Maryland  by  Ilarper's  Ferry,  or  to  fall 
on  the  Federals  by  the  Manassas  Gap  Railway, 
which  was  available  by  a  long  march  from  tho 
town  he  occupied.  Geaeral  Patterson,  with  a 
Federal  corps  of  equal  strength,  had  accordingly 
been  despatched  to  attack  him,  ...,  at  all  events, 
to  prevent  his  leaving  Winchester  without  an  ac- 
tion ;  but  the  news  to-night  is  that  Patterson, 
who  was  an  officer  of  some  reputation,  has  al- 
lowed Jciinston  to  evacuate  Winchester,  and  has 
not  pursued  him  ;  so  that  it  is  impossible  to  pre- 
dict where  the  latter  will  appear. 

Having  failed  utterly  in  my  attempts  to  get  a 
horse,  I  was  obliged  to  negotiate  with  a  livery- 
stable  keeper,  who  had  a  hooded  gig,  or  tilbury, 
left  on  his  hands,  to  which  he  projiosed  to  add  a 
splinter-bar  and  pole,  so  as  to  make  it  availabla 
for  two  horses,  on  condition  that  I  paid  him  tlie 
assessed  value  of  the  vehicle  and  horses,  in  case 
they  were  ilcstroyed  by  the  enemy.  Of  what  i)ar. 
ticular  value  my  executors  might  have  regarded 
the  gijarantee  in  question,  tho  worthy  man  did 
not  inquire,  nor  did  he  stipulate  for  any  value  to 
be  put  upon  the  driver ;  but  it  struck  me  that, 
if  tliese  were  in  any  way  seriously  damaged,  the 
occupants  of  the  vehicle  were  not  likely  to  es- 
cape. The  driver,  indeed,  seemed  by  no  means 
willing  to  undertake  the  job;  and  again  and 
again  it  was  jiroposed  to  me  that  I  should  drive, 
but  I  persistently  refused. 

On  completing  my  bargain  with  the  stable- 
kecpei',  in  which  it  was  arranged  with  Mr.  Wroe 
that  I  was  to  start  on  the  following  morning  ear- 
ly, and  return  at  night  before  twelve  o'clock,  or 
pay  a  double  day,  I  went  over  to  tho  Legation, 
and  found  Lord  Lyons  in  the  garden.  I  went 
to  request  that  he  would  permit  Mr.  Warre,  one 
of  the  attaches,  to  accomjiany  me,  as  he  had  ex- 
pressed a  desire  to  that  oft'oct.  His  Lordship 
hesitated  at  first,  thinking  perhaps  that  the  Amer- 
ican papers  would  turn  the  circumstance  to  some 
base  uses,  if  they  were  made  aware  of  it ;  but 


finally  he  consented,  on  the  distinct  assurance 
that  I  was  to  bo  back  the  following,  night,  and 
would  not,  under  any  event,  proceed  onwards 
with  General  M'Dowell's  army  till  after  I  had 
returned  to  Washington.  On  talking  over  the 
matter  with  Mr.  Warre,  I  resolved  tliat  the  best 
plan  would  be  to  start  that  night  if  possible,  and 
proceed  over  the  long  bridge,  so  as  to  overtake 
the  army  before  it  advanced  in  tho  early  morn- 
ing. 

It  was  a  lovely  moonlight  night.  As  wo  walk- 
ed through  the  street  to  General  Scott's  quarters, 
for  the  purpose  of  procuring  a  pass,  there  was 
scarcely  a  soul  abroad;  and  the  silence  which 
reigned  contrasted  strongly  with  the  tumult  pre- 
vailing in  the  day-time.  A  light  glimmered  in 
the  General's  parlour  ;  his  aides  were  seated  in 
tho  verandah  outside  smoking  in  silence,  and 
one  of  them  handed  us  the  passes  which  he  had 
promised  to  procure  ;  but  when  I  told  them  that 
we  intended  to  cross  the  long  bridge  that  night, 
an  unforeseen  obstacle  arose.  The  guards  had 
been  specially  ordered  to  permit  no  person  to 
cross  between  tattoo  and  daybreak  who  was  not 

•ovided  with  the  countersign  ;  and  without  the 
express  order  of  the  General,  no  subordinate  of- 
ficer can  communicate  that  countersign  to  a 
stranger.  "Can  you  not  ask  the  General?" 
"He  is  lying  down  asleep,  and  I  dare  not  ven- 
ture to  disturb  him." 

As  I  had  all  along  intended  to  start  before 
daybreak,  this  contretemps  promised  to  be  very 
embarrassing,  and  I  ventured  to  suggest  that 
General  Scott  would  authorise  tho  countersign 
to  be  given  when  ho  awoke.  But  the  aide-de- 
camp shook  his  head,  and  I  began  to  suspect  from 
his  manner  and  from  that  of  his  comrades  that 
my  visit  to  the  army  was  not  regarded  with  much 
fiivour — a  view  which  was  confirmed  by  one  of 
them,  who,  by  the  way,  was  a  civilian,  for  in  a 
few  minutes  he  said,  "In  fact,  I  would  not  ad- 
vise Warre  and  you  to  go  out  there  at  all ;  they 
are  a  lot  of  volunteers  and  recruits,  and  we  can't 
say  how  they  will  bohave.  They  may  probably 
have  to  retreat.  If  I  were  you  I  would  not  be 
near  them."  Of  the  five  or  six  ofiicers  who  sat 
in  tho  verandah,  not  one  spoke  confidently  or 
with  the  briskness  which  is  usual  when  there  is 
a  chance  of  a  brush  with  an  encyny. 

As  it  was  impossible  to  force  the  point,  we  had 
to  retire,  arkl  I  went  once  more  to  the  horse 
dealer's,  where  I  in,  ,)ectcd  the  vehicle  and  the 
quadrupeds  destined  to  draw  it.  I  bad  sjiied  in 
the  stall  a  likely-looking  Kentuckian  nag,  near- 
ly black,  light,  but  strong,  and  full  of  fire,  with 
an  undertaker's  tail  and  something  of  a  mane  to 
match,  which  tho  groom  assured  me  I  could  not 
even  look  at,  as  it  was  bespoke  by  an  officer ;  but 
after  a  little  strategy  I  prevailed  on  the  proprie- 
tor to  hire  it  to  me  for  the  day,  as  well  as  a  boy, 
who  was  to  ride  it  after  tho  gig  till  we  came  to 
Centreville,  My  little  experience  in  such  scenes 
decided  me  to  secure  a  saddle-horse,  I  knew  it 
would  be  impossible  to  see  anything  of  the  ac- 
tion from  a  gig ;  that  the  roads  would  be  blocked 
up  by  commissariat  waggons,  ammunition  re- 
serves, and  that  in  case  of  anything  serious  tak- 
ing place,  I  should  be  deprived  of  the  chance  of 
jiarticipating  after  the  manner  of  my  vocation  in 
the  engagement,  and  of  witnessing  it':)  incidents. 
As  it  was  not  incumbent  on  my  companion  to 
ajiproach  so  closely  to  the  scene  of  action,  he 


164 


MY  DIAllY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


f    I 


fw: 


could  |iroceed  in  the  veliiclo  to  the  most  conven- 
ient point,  and  then  walk  as  far  as  he  liked,  and 
return  when  lie  jiloascd  ;  but  from  the  injiirios  I 
received  in  the  Indian  campaign,  I  could  not 
walk  very  far.  It  '.vas  finally  settled  that  the 
KJg,  with  two  horses  and  the  saddle-horse  ridden 
by  a  negro  boy,  should  be  at  my  door  as  soon 
after  daybreak  as  we  could  pass  tiie  Long  IBridge. 

1  iL'ttuiied  to  my  lodgings.  laid  out  an  old  pair 
of  Indian  boots,  cords,  a  lllmahiyun  suit,  an  old 
felt  hat,  a  Hask,  revolver,  and  bolt.  It  was  very 
late  when  I  got  in,  and  I  relied  on  my  German 
landlady  co  jjrocure  some  commissariat  stores ; 
but  she  declared  the  whole  extent  of  her  means 
would  only  furnish  some  yliees  of  bread,  with  in- 
tercostal layers  of  stale  ham  and  mouldy  Bo- 
logna sausage.  I  was  forced  to  be  content,  and 
got  to  bed  after  midnight,  and  slept,  having  first 
arranged  that  in  case  of  my  being  very  late  next 
night  a  trustworthy  Englisiiman  should  be  sent 
for,  who  would  carry  my  letters  from  Washing- 
ton to  Boston  in  time  for  the  mail  which  leaves 
on  Wednesday.  My  mind  had  been  so  much  oc- 
cuiiied  with  the  coming  event  that  I  slept  unea- 
sily, and  once  or  twit.e  I  stiirted  up,  fancying  I 
was  called.  The  moon  shone  in  through  the 
musquito  curtains  of  'uy  bed,  and  just  ere  day- 
break I  was  aroused  by  some  noise  in  the  ad- 
joining room,  and  looking  out,  in  a  half  dreamy 
state,  imagined  I  saw  General  M'Dowell  stand- 
ing at  the  table,  on  which  a  candle  was  burning 
low,  so  distinctly  that  I  woke  up  with  the  words, 
"  General,  is  that  you  ?"  Nor  did  I  convince 
myself  it  was  a  dream  till  I  had  walked  into  the 
room. 

J%ili)  2\st. — The  calmness  and  silence  of  the 
streets  of  Washington  this  lovely  morning  sug- 
gested thoughts  of  the  very  different  scenes 
which,  in  all  i)robability,  wei"e  taking  place  at  a 
few  miles'  distance.  ()"•'  could  fancy  the  hum 
and  stir  round  the  Federal  uivouaes,  as  the  troops 
woke  up  and  were  formed  into  column  of  march 
towards  the  enemy.  I  much  regretted  that  I 
was  not  enabled  to  take  the  field  with  General 
JM'Dowell's  army,  but  my  position  was  surround- 
ed with  such  difficulties  that  I  coulil  not  pursue 
the  course  open  to  the  correspondents  of  the 
American  newspapers.  On  my  arrival  in  Wash- 
ington I  addressed  an  n])plication  to  Mr.  Cam- 
eron, Secretary  at  War,  requesting  him  to  sane 
tion  the  issue  of  rations  and  forage  from  the 
Commissariat  <.o  myself,  a  servant,  and  a  couple 
of  horses,  at  the  contract  prices,  or  on  whatever 
other  terms  he  might. think  fit,  and  I  had  sever- 
al interviews  with  Mr.  Leslie,  the  obliging  and 
indefatigable  chief  clerk  of  the  War  Department, 
in  reference  to  the  matter;  but  as  there  was  a 
want  of  preccdentr3  for  such  a  course,  which  was 
not  at  all  to  be  wondered  at,  seeing  that  no  rej)- 
resentative  of  an  English  news])apcr  had  ever 
Ijocn  scnit  to  chronicle  the  progress  of  an  Amer- 
ican army  in  the  field,  no  satisfactory  result 
could  Ite  arrived  at,  though  I  had  many  fair 
words  and  promises. 

A  great  outcry  had  arisen  in  the  North  against 
the  course  and  policy  of  I'^ngland,  and  the  jour- 
nal I  represented  was  assailed  on  all  sides  as  a 
Secession  tu  gan,  favourable  to  the  rebels  and  ex- 
ceedingly hostile  to  the  Federal  government  and 
the  cause  of  the  Union.  Public  men  in  Amcr- 
i(>a  are  alive  to  the  inconveniences  of  attacks  by 
their  own  press ;  and  as  it  was  quite  impossible 


to  grant  to  the  swarms  of  correspondents  from 
all  jiarts  of  the  Union  the  penuission  to  draw 
sui)i)lics  from  the  public  stores,  it  would  have  af- 
forded a  handle  to  turn  the  screw  upon  the  War 
Department,  already  roundly  abused  in  the  most 
intluential  j)npers,  if  Mr.  Cameron  acceded  to 
me,  not  merely  a  foreigner,  but  the  correspond- 
ent of  a  foreign  journal  which  was  considered 
the  most  powerful  enemy  of  the  policy  of  his  gov- 
ernment, privileges  which  he  denied  lo  Ameri- 
can citizens,  reprcsenHng  newspapers  which  were 
enthusiaslicully  supporting  the  cause  for  which 
the  armies  of  the  North  were  now  in  the  field. 

To  these  gentlemen  indeed,  I  must  here  re- 
mark, such  privileges  were  of  little  consequence. 
In  every  camp  they  had  friends  who  were  will- 
ing to  receive  them  in  their  quarters,  and  who 
earned  a  word  of  praise  in  the  local  papers  for 
the  gratification  of  either  their  vanity  or  their 
laudable  ambition  in  their  own  neighbourhood, 
by  the  ready  service  which  they  afforded  to  the 
correspondents.  They  rode  Government  horses, 
had  the  use  of  Government  waggons,  and  through 
fear,  favour,  or  affection,  enjoyed  facilities  to 
w  Inch  I  had  no  access.  I  could  not  expect  per- 
sons with  whom  I  was  unacquainted  to  be  equal- 
ly generous,  'east  of  all  when  by  doing  so  they 
would  have  inciu'red  ])opular  obloquy  and  cen- 
sure ;  though  many  officers  in  the  army  had  ex- 
pressed in  very  civil  terms  the  pleasure  it  would 
give  them  to  see  me  at  their  quarters  in  the  field. 
Some  days  ago  I  had  an  interview  with  Mr. 
Cameron  himself,  who  was  profuse  enough  in 
promising  that  he  would  do  all  in  his  power  to 
further  n:y  wishes ;  but  he  had,  nevertheless,  neg- 
lected scnaing  me  the  authorisation  for  whicli 
I  had  ajijjlied.  I  could  scarcely  stand  a  baggage 
train  and  commissariat  upon  my  own  account, 
nor  could  J  well  jwrticipate  in  the  system  of 
plunder  and  ap])ropriation  which  has  marked 
the  course  of  the  Federal  army  so  far,  devastat- 
ing and  laying  waste  all  the  country  behind  it. 

Hence,  all  I  could  do  was  to  make  a  journey 
to  see  the  army  on  the  field,  and  to  return  to 
Washington  to  write  my  report  of  its  first  ojjera- 
tion,  knowing  there  would  be  plenty  of  time  to 
overtake  it  before  it  could  reach  Kichmond,  when, 
ns  I  hoped,  Mr.  Cameron  would  be  prejjared  to 
accede  to  my  request,  or  some  plan  had  been  de- 
vised by  myself  to  obviate  the  difficulties  which 
lay  in  my  path.  There  was  no  entente  cordUtlc 
exhibited  towards  me  by  the  members  of  the 
American  press ;  nor  did  they,  any  more  than 
the  generals,  evince  any  disposition  to  help  the 
alien  corres]iondent  of  the  Times,  and  my  only 
connection  with  one  of  their  body,  the  young  de- 
signer, had  not,  indeed,  inspired  me  with  any 
great  desire  to  extend  my  acquaintance.  Gen- 
eral M'Dowell,  on  giving  me  the  most  hospita- 
ble invitation  to  his  quarters,  refrained  from  of- 
fering the  assistance  which,  perhaps,  it  was  not 
in  his  power  to  afford  ;  and  I  confess,  looking  at 
the  matter  calmly,  I  could  scarcely  ex])cct  that 
lie  would,  particularly  as  he  said,  half  in  jest, 
half  seriously,  "I  declare  I  am  not  quite  easy  at 
the  idea  of  having  your  eye  on  me,  for  you  have 
seen  so  much  of  Eurojiean  armies,  you  will,  very 
naturally,  think  liiile  of  us,  generals  and  all." 


i 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


1G5 


iidupts  from 
loii   to  draw 
uld  Imvo  nt- 
|)oii  I  lie  War 
in  the  most 
acceded  to 
corrcspond- 
s  considered 
T  of  Ills  gov- 
d  li)  Ameri- 
s  which  were 
se  for  which 
II  the  field. 
lUst  here  re- 
[lonscqucnce. 
lo  were  will- 
prs,  and  who 
al  pa})ers  for 
nity  or  tiieir 
ghhourhood, 
brdcd  to  tlio 
ment  horses, 
and  through 
facilities    to 
t  expect  per- 
l  to  be  cqual- 
oing  so  they 
juy  and  cen- 
irmy  had  ex- 
sure  it  would 
s  in  the  field. 
;w  with  Mr. 
G  enough  in 
his  power  to 
rtheless,  neg- 
)n  for  which 
nd  a  baggaye 
own  account, 
le  system  of 
has  marked 
far,  devastat- 
ry  behind  it. 
ike  ajourticy 
I  to  retin-n  to 
ts  first  opera- 
ty  of  time  to 
:imond,  when, 
e  prepared  to 
had  been  de- 
culties  which 
%tcnte  v.ordiule 
mbcrs  of  the 
ly  more  than 
n  to  help  the 
and  my  only 
:he  young  de- 
mc  with  any 
itance.     Gcn- 
most  hospita- 
ined  from  of- 
ps,  it  was  not 
}ss,  looking  at 
y  ex])cct  that 
,  half  in  jest, 
quite  easy  at 
,  for  you  have 
vou  will,  very 
Is  and  all." 


i 


CHAPTER  L. 

To  tlio  scene  of  netion— The  dinfcdcrnte  cnnip— (Vntre- 
villc— Action  at  lUiU  Uini  -  l)t;l'cut  of  tlic  I'cdcniln— 
DUorilciiy  retreat  to  Centrovillu  —  My  rldo  buck  tu 
Wiisliingtoij. 

Punctual  to  time  our  carriage  appeared  at 
the  door,  with  a  spare  horse,  followed  iiy  the 
black  qnadrui)ed  on  which  the  negro  boy  sat 
with  dirticulty,  in  consequence  of  its  high  spirits 
and  excessively  hard  mouth.  I  swallowed  a  cup 
of  tea  and  a  morsel  of  bread,  put  the  remainder 
of  the  tea  into  a  bottle,  got  a  fiask  of  light  Bor- 
deaux, a  bottle  of  water,  a  paper  of  samlwiclies, 
and  having  replenished  my  small  flask  with  bran- 
dy, stowed  them  all  away  in  the  bottom  of  the 
gig  ;  but  my  friend,  who  is  not  accustomed  to 
rise  very  early  in  the  morning,  did  not  make  his 
appearance,  and  I  was  obliged  to  send  several 
times  to  the  legation  to  quicken  his  mo'-emcnts. 
Each  time  I  was  assured  he  would  be  over  pres- 
ently ;  but  it  was  not  till  two  hours  had  elapsed, 
and  when  I  had  just  resolved  to  leave  him  be- 
hind, that  he  appeared  in  person,  quite  unpro- 
vided with  viaticum,  so  that  my  slender  store  had 
now  to  meet  the  demands  of  two  instead  of  one. 
We  are  off  at  last.  The  amicus  and  self  find 
contracted  space  behind  the  driver.  The  negro 
boy,  grinning  half  with  pain  and  "  the  balance" 
with  pleasure,  as  the  Americans  say,  held  on  his 
rampant  charger,  which  made  continual  efforts 
to  leap  into  the  gig,  and  thus  through  tb.e  de- 
serted city  we  proceeded  towards  the  Long 
Bridge,  where  a  sentry  examined  our  ))a))ers, 
and  said  with  a  grin,  "You'll  find  ])lenty  of  C(m- 
gressmen  on  before  you."  And  then  our  driver 
whipped  his  horses  through  the  embankment  of 
Fort  Runyon,  and  dashed  oft'  along  a  country 
road,  much  cut  up  with  gun  and  cartwheels,  to- 
wards the  main  turnpike. 

The  promises  of  a  lov<.ly  day,  given  by  the  ear- 
ly dawn,  was  likely  to  be  realised  to  the  fullest, 
and  the  ])laeid  beauty  of  the  scenery  as  we  drove 
through  tlvj  woods  below  Arlington^  and  beheld 
the  white  buildings  shining  in  the  early  sunlight, 
and  the  Potomac,  like  a  broad  silver  riband  di- 
viding the  picture,  breathed  of  peace.  The  si- 
lence close  to  the  city  was  unbroken.  From 
the  time  we  passed  the  guard  beyond  the  Long 
Bridge,  for  several  miles  wo  did  not  meet  a  hu- 
man being,  cxcc])t  a  few  soldiers  in  the  neigh- 
bourhood of  the  deserted  cain])S,  and  when  we 
])as3ed  beyond  the  range  of  tents  we  drove  for 
nearly  two  hours  through  a  densely-wooded,  un- 
dulating country;  the  houses,  close  to  the  road- 
side, shut  up  and  deserted,  window-high  in  the 
crops  of  Indian  corn,  fast  ripening  for  the  sickle ; 
alternate  field  and  forest,  the  latter  generally 
still  holding  possession  of  the  hollows,  and,  ex- 
cept when  the  road,  deep  and  filled  with  loose 
stones,  ])asscd  over  the  summit  of  the  ridges,  the 
eye  caught  on  cither  side  little  but  fir-trees  and 
maize,  and  the  deserted  wooden  houses,  standing 
amidst  the  slave  quarters. 

The  residences  close  to  the  lines  gave  signs 
and  tokens  that  the  Federals  had  recintly  visit- 
ed them.  But  at  the  best  of  times  the  inhabit- 
ants could  not  be  very  well  off".  Some  of  the 
farms  were  small,  the  houses  tumbling  to  decay, 
with  nnpainted  roofs  and  side  walls,  and  win- 
dows where  the  want  of  glass  was  supplemented 
by  panes  of  wood.  As  we  gf)t  further  into  the 
country  the  traces  of  the  dehateable  laud  between 


the  two  armies  vanished,  and  negroes  looked  our 
from  tlieir  quarters,  or  sickly-looking  women  luid 
children  were  summoned  forth  by  ilie  rattle  of 
the  wheels  to  see  who  was  hurrying  to  t!ie  war. 
Now  and  then  a  white  man  looked  out,  with  an 
ugly  scowl  on  his  face,  but  the  country  seemed 
drained  of  the  adult  male  popidation,  and  such 
of  the  inhabitants  as  wc  saw  were  neither  as 
comfortably  dressed  nor  as  healthy  looking  as 
the   shambling   slaves    who   shuftled  about  the 
])lantations.     The  road  was  so  cut  up  by  gun- 
wheels,  ammunition  and  commissariat  waggons, 
that  our  horses  made  but  slow  way  against  the 
continual  draft  upon  the  collar;  but  at  last  the 
driver,  who  had  known  the  country  in  happier 
times,  announced  that  we  had  entered  the  high 
road  for  Fairfax  CoiU't-house.     Unfortumitely 
my  watch  had  gone  down,  but  I  guessed  it  was 
then  a  little  before  nine  o'clock.     In  a  few  min- 
utes afterwards  I  thought  I  heard,  through  tiic 
eternal  clatter  and  jingle  of  the  old  gig,  a  sound 
which  made  me  call  the  driver  to  sto]).     He 
pulled  up,  and  we  listened.     In  a  nunute  or  so, 
the  well-known  boom  of  a  gun,  followed  by  two 
or  three  in  rapid  succession,  but  at  a  considera- 
ble distance,  reached  my  ear.     "Did  you  hear 
that  ?"    The  driver  heard  nothing,  nor  did  my 
comjianion,  but  the  black  boy  on  the  led  horse, 
with  eyes  starting  out  of  his  head,  cried,  "I  hear 
them,  inassa ;  1  hear  them,  sure  enough,  like  de 
gun  in  de  navy  yard ;"  and  as  he  spoke  the  thud- 
ding noise,  like  taps  with  a  gentle  hand  upon  a 
mulfled  drum,  were  repeated,  which  were  heard 
both  by  Mr.  Warre  and  tlic  driver.     "They  are 
at  it !     We  shall  be  late  I     Drive  on  as  fast  as 
you  can  1"     We  rattled  on  still  faster,  and  pres- 
ently came  up  to  a  farm-house,  where  a  man 
and  woman,  with  some  negroes   beside  them, 
were  standing  out  by  the  hedge-row  above  us, 
looking  up  the  road  in  the  direction  of  a  cloud 
of  dust,  winch  wc  could  sec  rising  above  the  tops 
of  the  trees.     We  halted  for  a  moment.     "  How 
long  have  the  guns  been  going.,  sir?"     "Well, 
ever  since  early  this  morning,"  said  he ;  "  they've 
been  having  a  fight.     And  I  do  really  believe 
some  of  our  poor  Union  chaps  have  had  enough 
of  it  already.    For  here's  some  of  them  darned 
Secessionists  marching  down  to  go  to  Alexan- 
dry."     The  driver  diil  not  seem  altoget'^er  con- 
tent with  this  explanation  of  the  dust  in  front  of 
us,  and  i)rescntly,  when  u  u;rn  of  the  road  brought 
to  view  a  body  of  armed  men,  stretching  to  an 
interminable  distance,  with  bayonets  glittering 
in  the  sunlight  through  the  clouds  of  dust,  seem- 
ed inclined  to  halt  or  turn  back  again.    A  nearer 
approach  satisfied  me  they  were  friends,  and  as 
soon  as  we  came  up  with  the  head  of  the  column 
I  saw  that  they  could  not  be  engaged  in  the  per- 
formance of  any  military  duty.     The  men  were 
marching  without  any  resemblance  of  order,  in 
twos  and  threes  or  larger  troops.     Some  with- 
out arms,  carrying  great  bundles  on  their  backs  ; 
others  with  their  coats  hung  from  their  firelocks ; 
many  foot  sore.     They  were  all  talking  and  in 
haste ;  many  jilodding  along  laughing,  so  I  con- 
cluded that  they  could  not  belong  to  a  defeated 
army,  and   iiuagined   M'Dowell   was   eft'ecting 
some  flank  movement.     "Where  arc  you  going 
to,  may  I  ask?" 

"  If  this  is  the  road  to  Alexandria,  we  are  go- 
ing there." 

"  There  is  an  action  going  on  in  front,  is  there 
not?" 


166 


MY  DIARY  NOllTII  AND  SOUTH. 


"Well,  so  we  believe,  but  we  have  not  been 
fighting." 

Although  they  were  in  such  good  spirits,  they 
were  not  comniunioitive,  and  wo  resumed  our 
journey,  impeded  by  the  struggling  troojjs  nnd 
by  the'  country  cars  containing  their  baggage 
and  chairs,  and  tables  and  domestic  furniture, 
which  liad  never  Iwlonged  to  a  regiment  in  the 
field.  Sfill  they  came  jjouring  on.  I  ordered 
the  driver  to  stop  at  a  rivulet,  where  a  number 
of  men  were  seated  in  the  shade,  drinking  the 
water  and  bathing  tlieir  hands  and  feet.  On 
getting  out  1  asked  an  officer,  "  May  I  beg  to 
know,  sir,  where  your  regiment  is  going  to?" 
"Well,  I  reckon,  sir,  we  are  going  home  to  Penn- 
sylvania. '  "  Tliis  is  the  4th  Pennsylvania  Reg- 
iment, is  it  not,  sir?"  "  It  is  so,  sir;  that's  the 
fact."  "  I  should  think  there  is  severe  fighting 
going  on  behind  you,  judging  from  the  fi  '"ng 
(for  cv'.>ry  moment  the  sound  of  the  conncii  hr.d 
been  growing  more  distinct  and  m'  .  a^y"*'" 
"  Well,  I  reckon,  sir,  there  is."  I  p  ■  -i  IV 
moment,  not  knowing  what  to  say,  anL  ;t  ai.x- 
ious  for  an  ex])lanation ;  and  the  epauleiiod  gen- 
tleman, after  a  few  second's  awkward  hesitation, 
added, "  We  are  going  home  l)ecause,  as  you  see, 
the  men's  time's  up,  sir.  Wc  have  had  three 
months  of  this  sort  of  work,  and  that's  quite 
enough  of  it."  The  men  who  were  listening  to 
the  conversation  exjjrcsscd  their  assent  to  tlxj 
noble  and  patriotic  utterances  of  the  centurion, 
and,  making  him  a  low  bow,  we  resumed  our 
journey. 

It  was  fully  three  and  a  half  miles  before  the 
last  of  the  regiment  passed,  and  then  the  road 
presented  a  more  animated  scene,  for  white-cov- 
ered commissariat  waggons  were  visible,  wending 
towards  the  front,  and  one  or  two  hack  carriages, 
laden  with  civilians,  were  hastening  in  the  same 
direction.  Before  the  doors  of  the  wooden  farm- 
houses the  coloured  people  were  assembled,  listen- 
ing with  outstretched  necks  to  the  repeated  re- 
ports of  the  guns.  At  one  time,  as  we  were  de- 
scending the  wooded  road,  a  huge  blue  dome, 
agitated  by  some  internal  convulsion,  appeared 
to  bar  our  progress,  and  it  was  only  after  infinite 
persuasion  of  rein  and  whip  that  the  horses  ap- 
])roached  the  terrific  object,  which  was  an  inflated 
balloon,  attached  to  a  waggon,  and  defying  the 
efforts  of  the  men  in  charge  to  jockey  it  safely 
through  the  trees. 

It  must  have  been  about  eleven  o'clock  when 
we  came  to  the  first  traces  of  the  Confederate 
camp,  in  front  of  Fairfax  Court-house,  where 
they  had  cut  a  few  trenches  and  levelled  the 
trees  across  the  road,  so  as  to  form  a  rude  abat- 
tis;  but  the  works  were  of  a  most  superficial 
character,  and  would  scarcely  have  given  cover 
cither  to  the  guns,  for  which  embrasures  were  left 
at  the  flanks  to  sweep  the  road,  or  to  the  infantry 
intended  to  defend  them. 

The  Confederate  force  stationed  here  must  have 
consisted,  to  a  considerable  extent,  of  cavalry. 
The  bowers  of  branches,  which  they  had  made 
to  shelter  their  tents,  camp  tables,  empty  boxes, 
and  packing-cases,  in  the  debris  one  usually  sees 
around  an  encanijjment,  showed  they  had  not 
been  destitute  of  creature  comforts. 

Some  time  before  noon  the  driver,  urged  con- 
tinually by  adjurations  to  get  on,  whipped  his 
horses  into  Fairfax  Court-house,  a  village  which 
derives  its  name  from  a  large  brick  building,  iu 


V  I>:eh  the  sessions  ( if  the  county  are  held,  Rome 
thirty  or  forty  houses,  for  the  most  jmrt  detach- 
ed, with  gardens  or  small  strips  oi  land  about 
them,  form  the  main  street.  The  inhabitants 
who  remained  had  by  no  means  an  agreeable  ex- 
l)ression  of  countenance,  and  did  not  seem  on 
very  good  terms  with  the  Federal  soldiers,  who 
were  lounging  up  and  down  the  streets,  or  stand- 
ing in  the  shade  of  the  trees  and  doorways.  I 
asked  the  sergeant  of  a  i)ickct  in  the  street  how 
long  tlic  firing  had  been  going  on.  lie  replied 
that  it  had  commenced  at  half-past  seven  or 
eight,  and  had  been  increasing  ever  since. 
"Some  of  them  will  lose  their  eyes  and  back 
teeth,"  he  said,  "before  it  is  over."  The  driver, 
pulling  up  at  a  roadside  inn  in  the  town,  here 
made  the  startling  antumncement  that  both  he 
and  his  horses  must  have  something  to  eat,  and 
a  though  we  would  have  been  happy  to  join  him, 
seeing  that  we  had  no  breakfast,  wo  could  not 
aftbrd  the  time,  and  were  not  displeased  when  a 
thin-faced,  shrewish  woman,  in  black,  came  out 
i'Uo  the  verandah,  and  said  she  could  not  let  us 
I  i  T  anything  unless  wc  liked  to  writ  till  the 
regular  dinner  hour  of  the  house,  which  ws  at 
one  o'clock.  The  horses  got  a  bucket  of  water, 
which  they  needed  in  that  broiling  sun;  and  the 
cannonade,  which  by  this  time  had  increased  into 
a  resjjcctable  tumult  that  gave  evidence  of  a 
weU-sustained  action,  added  vigoin*  to  the  criv- 
er's  arm,  and  in  a  mile  or  two  more  we  dashed 
into  a  village  of  burnt  houses,  the  charred  brick 
chimney  stacks  standing  amidst  the  blackened 
embers  being  all  that  remained  of  what  was  once 
German  Town.  The  firing  of  this  village  was 
severely  censured  by  General  M'Dowell,  who 
probably  docs  not  appreciate  the  value  of  such 
agencies  emi)loyed  "  by  our  glorious  Union  army 
to  developc  loyal  sentiments  among  the  iieojile  of 
Virginia." 

The  driver,  passing  through  the  town,  drove 
straight  on,  but  after  some  time  I  fancied  the 
sound  of  the  guns  seemed  dying  away  towards 
our  left.  A  big  negro  came  shambling  along 
the  roadside — tiie  driver  stopped  and  asked  him, 
"Is  this  the  road  to  Ccntrcvillc?"  "Yes,  sir; 
right  on,  sir:  good  road  to  Ceiitreville,  massa," 
and  so  we  proceeded,  till  I  became  satisfied  from 
the  appearance  of  the  road  that  we  had  altogeth- 
er left  the  track  of  the  army.  At  the  first  cot- 
tage we  halted,  and  inquired  of  a  Virginian, 
who  came  out  to  look  at  us,  whether  the  road 
led  to  Centreville.  "You're  going  to  Centre- 
ville,  are  you  ?"  "  Yes,  by  the  shortest  road  wc 
can."  "Well,  then — you're  going  wrong — right 
away !  Some  people  say  there's  a  bend  of  road 
leading  through  the  wood  a  mile  further  on,  but 
those  who  have  tried  it  lately  have  come  back  to 
German  Town,  and  don't  think  it  leads  to  Cen- 
treville at  all."  This  was  very  provoking,  as  the 
horses  were  much  fatigued  and  we  had  driven 
several  miles  out  of  our  way.  The  driver,  who 
was  an  Englishman,  said,  "I  think  it,  would  be 
best  for  u  to  go  on  and  try  the  road  anyhow. 
There's  eot  likely  to  be  any  Scceshers  about 
there,  are  there,  sir?" 

"What  did  you  say,  sir?"  inquired  the  Vir- 
ginian, with  a  vacant  stare  upon  his  face. 

"I  merely  asked  whether  you  think  we  are 
likely  to  meet  with  any  Secessionists  if  we  go 
along  that  road ';'" 

"  Secessionists !"  repeated  the  Virginian,  slow- 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


1G7 


lelil.    Rome 

;iart  dftacli- 

laiul  iiLiuut 

inhabitants 

giccable  cx- 

lot  scum  on 

oliiicrs,  who 

;ts,  or  stand- 

oorways.     I 

e  street  liow 

IIo  rcjilicd 

St  seven  or 

ever    since. 

IS  and  bnek 

I'iic  driver, 

!  town,  hero 

hat  both  he 

to  cut,  and 

to  join  him, 

e  eonid  not 

ased  when  ft 

k,  eamc  out 

Id  not  let  us 

wt'it  till  the 

hich  w^s  at 

vct  of  water, 

lun;  and  the 

icrcased  into 

idcnce  of  a 

to  the  criv- 

e  we  dashed 

barred  brick 

e  blackened 

bat  was  once 

village  was 

Dowell,  who 

aluc  of  such 

Union  army 

the  i)eo])le  of 

town,  drove 
fancied  the 
way  towards 
ibling  along 
J  asked  him, 
"Yes,  sir; 
ille,  massa," 
atisficd  from 
lad  ultogeth- 
the  first  cot- 
i  Virginian, 
ler  the  road 
;  to  Centre- 
test  road  we 
rong — right 
)end  of  road 
•tlicr  on,  but 
ome  back  to 
;ads  to  Cen- 
)king,  as  the 
had  driven 
driver,  who 
it  would  be 
ad  anyhow, 
shers  about 

•ed  the  Vir- 
face. 

link  we  arc 
ts  if  we  go 

inian,  slow- 


:^ 


ly  pronouncing  each  syllabic  as  if  |)ondcring  on 
the  moaning  of  the  word — "Secessionists!  Oh 
no,  sir  ;  I  don't  believe  there's  such  a  thing  as  a 
Secessionist  in  the  whole  of  this  country." 

The  boldness  of  this  assertion,  in  the  very 
hearing  of  IJcauregard's  cannon,  complcl-  iy 
phook  (he  fiiith  of  our  Jehu  in  any  information 
IVom  that  source,  and  we  retraced  our  steps  to 
licrman  Town,  and  were  directed  into  the  i)rop- 
er  road  by  some  negroes,  who  were  engaged  ex- 
changing Confederate  money  at  very  low  rates 
l\}\'  Federal  copper  with  a  few  straggling  sol- 
diers. The  faithful  Aluley  Moloch,  who  had 
been  capering  in  our  rear  sv  long,  now  complain- 
ed  that  he  was  very  much  burned,  Uit  on  further 
inijuiry  it  was  ascertained  he  was  merely  suffer- 
ing from  the  abrading  of  his  skin  against  an  En- 
glish saddle. 

In  an  hour  more  wo  had  gained  the  high  road 
to  Ccntrevillo,  on  which  were  many  buggies,  com- 
missiuiat  carts,  and  waggons  full  of  civilians,  and 
a  brisk  canter  brought  us  in  sight  of  a  rising 
ground,  over  which  the  road  led  directly  through 
a  few  houses  on  each  side,  and  dipped  out  of 
sight,  the  slopes  of  the  hill  being  covered  with 
men,  carts,  and  horses,  and  the  summit  crested 
with  spectators,  with  their  backs  turned  towards 
us,  and  gazing  on  the  valley  beyond.  "There's 
Centreville,"  says  the  driver,  and  on  our  ])oor 
panting  horses  were  forced,  passing  directly 
tlirougii  the  Confederate  bivouacs,  commissariat 
parks,  folds  of  oxf-n,  and  two  German  regiments, 
with  a  battery  of  artillery,  halting  on  the  rising 
ground  by  the  roadside.  The  heat  was  intense. 
Our  driver  complained  of  hunger  and  thirst,  to 
which  neither  I  nor  my  companion  were  insensi- 
ble ;  and  so  pulling  up  on  the  top  of  the  hill,  I 
sent  the  boy  down  to  the  village  which  we  had 
passed,  to  see  if  he  could  find  shelter  for  the 
horses,  and  a  morsel  for  our  breakfastless  selves. 

It  was  a  strange  scene  before  us.  From  the 
hill  a  densely  wooded  country,  dotted  at  inter- 
vals witli  green  fields  and  cleared  lands,  sjiread 
five  or  six  miles  in  front,  bounded  by  a  lino  of 
blue  and  purple  ridges,  terminating  abruptly  in 
escarpments  towards  the  left  front,  and  swelling 
gradually  towards  the  right  into  the  lower  spines 
of  an  offshoot  from  the  IJlue  Kidgc  Mountains. 
On  our  left  the  view  was  circumscribed  by  a  for- 
est which  clo'-'-cd  the  side  of  the  ridge  on  which 
we  stood,  and  covered  its  shoulder  far  down  into 
the  plain.  A  gap  in  the  nearest  chain  of  the 
hills  in  our  front  was  pointed  out  by  the  by- 
standers as  the  Pass  of  Manassas,  by  which  the 
railway  from  the  West  is  carried  into  the  i)lain, 
and  still  nearer  at  hand,  before  us,  is  the  junc- 
tion of  that  rail  with  the  line  from  Alexandria, 
and  with  the  railway  leading  southwards  to 
Richmond.  The  intervening  space  was  not  a 
dead  level;  undulating  lines  of  forest  marked 
the  course  of  the  streams  which  intersected  it, 
and  gave,  by  their  variety  of  colour  and  shading, 
an  additional  charm  to  the  landscape  which,  en- 
closed in  a  framework  of  blue  and  purple  hills, 
softened  into  violet  in  the  extreme  distance,  pre- 
sented one  of  the  most  iigrecable  displays  of  sim- 
ple pastoral  woodland  scenery  that  could  be  con- 
ceived. 

But  the  soimds  which  came  upon  the  breeze, 
and  the  sights  which  met  our  eyes,  we»  ^  in  terri- 
ble variance  with  the  tranquil  character  of  the 
landscape.     The  woods  far  and  near  echoed  to 


the  roar  of  cannon,  and  thin  frayed  lines  of  blue 
smoke  marked  the  spots  wiience  came  the  mut- 
tering sound  of  rolling  nuisketry  ;  the  white  puffs 
of  smoke  burst  high  above  the  tree-tops,  and  the 
gunners'  rings  from  shell  and  howitzer  marked 
the  fire  of  the  artillery. 

Clouds  of  dust  shifted  and  moved  through  the 
forest;  and  through  the  wavering  mists  of  light 
blue  smoke,  and  the  thicker  masses  which  rose 
commingling  from  the  feet  of  men  and  the 
mouths  of  cannon,  I  could  see  the  gleam  i  "arms 
and  the  twinkling  of  bayonets. 

On  the  hill  beside  me  there  was  a  crowd  of 
civilians  on  horseback,  and  in  all  sorts  of  vehi- 
cles, with  a  few  of  th(!  fairer,  if  not  gentler  sex. 
A  few  officers  and  some  soldiers,  wIkj  had  strag- 
gled from  the  regiments  in  reserve,  moved  abnut 
among  the  spectators,  and  pretended  to  explain 
the  movements  of  the  troops  below,  of  whicli 
they  were  profoundly  ignorant. 

The  cannonade  and  musketry  had  been  exag- 
gerated by  the  distance  and  by  the  rolling  echoes 
of  the  hills;  and  sweeping  the  position  narrowly 
with  my  glass  from  point  to  ])oint,  I  failed  to  dis- 
cover any  traces  of  close  encounter  or  very  se- 
vere fighting.  The  f  .;tators  were  all  excited, 
and  a  lady  with  an  oj  i-a-f;  5s  who  was  near  me 
ivas  quite  beside  herself  wh  an  unusually  heavy 
discharge  roused  L  ■■  cui.ent  of  her  blood  — 
"That  is  splendid.  Oh,  my  !  Is  not  that  first- 
rate  ?  I  guess  we  will  be  in  Richmond  this  time 
to-morrow."  These,  » "'ingled  with  coarser  ex- 
clamations, burst  from  the  politicians  who  had 
come  out  to  see  '  e  triumph  of  the  Union  arms. 
I  was  particular.,  irritated  by  the  constant  a))pli- 
cations  for  the  loan  of  my  glass.  One  broken- 
down  looking  soldier  observing  my  iiask,  asked 
mo  for  a  drink,  and  took  a  startling  ])ull,  which 
left  but  little  between  the  bottom  and  utter  vacu- 
ity. 

"Stranger,  that's  good  stuff,  and  no  mistake. 
I  have  not  had  such  a  drink  since  I  come  South. 
I  feel  now  as  if  I'd  like  to  whip  ten  Scceshers." 

From  the  lino  of  the  smoke  it  appeared  to  me 
that  the  action  was  in  an  oblicpje  line  from  our 
left,  extending  farther  outwards  towards  the 
right,  bisected  by  a  road  from  Centreville,  which 
descended  the  hill  close  at  hand  and  ran  right 
across  the  undulating  plain,  its  course  being 
marked  by  the  white  covers  of  the  baggage  and 
commissariat  waggons  as  far  as  a  turn  of  the  road, 
where  the  trees  closed  in  ujjon  them.  Beyond 
the  right  of  the  curling  smoke  clouds  of  dust  ap- 
peared from  time  to  time  in  the  distance,  as  if 
bodies  of  cavalry  were  moving  over  a  sandy 
plain. 

Notwithstanding  all  the  exultations  and  boast- 
ings of  the  people  at  Centreville,  I  was  well  con- 
vinced no  advance  of  any  imi)ortance  ^r  any 
grcai  success  had  been  achieved,  because  the 
ammunition  and  baggage  waggons  had  never 
moved,  nor  had  the  reserves  received  any  orders 
to  follow  in  the  line  of  the  army. 

The  clouds  of  dust  on  the  right  were  quite  in- 
explicable. As  we  were  looking,  my  j)hiloso])hic 
compuiiiou  asked  me  in  perfect  seriousness, 
"  Are  we  really  seeing  a  battle  now  ?  Are  they 
supposed  to  be  fighting  where  all  that  smoke  is 
going  on  ?   This  is  rather  interesting,  you  know." 

Up  came  our  black  boy.  "Not  find  a  bit  to 
eat,  sir,  in  all  the  place."  We  had,  however,  my 
little  paper  of  sandwiches,  and  descended  the 


^li 


1C8 


MY  DIARY  NURTH  AND  SOUTH. 


1  :i. 


hill  to  tt  bye  lane  offtho  villngc,  wlioro,  scntcd  in 
the  sluule'of  the  Ki^'i  Mi".  Wiiire  and  myself,  di- 
viding '  provision  with  the  driver,  wouml  up 
a  very  scanty,  but  nnieh  relished,  repast  with  a 
bottle  of  tea  and  half  the  bottle  of  IJordeaux  and 
water,  the  remainder  hoinp  prudently  reserved  at 
my  request  for  contingent  remainders.  Leaving 
orders  for  the  saddle-liorsc,  wliieh  was  eating  his 
first  meal,  to  he  hronpht  up  tlio  moment  he  was 
ready,  I  went  with  Mr.  VVarrc  to  the  hill  oneo 
more,  and  observed  that  the  line  luid  not  sensibly 
altered  whilst  we  were  away. 

An  Kn^'lish  pentleman,  who  eamo  np  flushed 
and  lieated  from  the  plain,  told  us  that  the  Fed- 
erals had  been  advaneiuK  steadily  in  spite  of  a 
stuI)born  resistance,  and  had  behaved  most  gal- 
lantly. 

Loud  cheers  suddenly  burst  fro*-*  the  specta- 
tors as  a  man  dressed  in  the  uniform  of  an  offi- 
cer, wliom  I  had  seen  ridiiif;  violently  aerf)ss  the 
}ilain  in  an  open  space  below,  Kallojied  along  the 
front,  waving  iiis  cap  and  shouting  at  the  top  of 
his  voice.  Ho  was  l)rought  up  by  the  jjress  of 
people  round  his  horse  close  to  where  I  stood. 
"We've  whipped  them  on  all  points,"  he  cried. 
"We  iiavo  taken  all  their  batteries.  They  are 
retreating  as  fast  as  they  can,  and  we  are  after 
them."  Such  cheers  as  rent  the  welkin  !  The 
Congress-men  shook  hands  with  each  other,  and 
cried  out,  "Bully  for  us!  Bravo!  didn't  I  tell 
you  so?"  The  Germans  uttered  the  irniartial 
cheers,  and  the  Irish  hiu'rahed  wildly.  At  this 
moment  my  horse  was  brought  up  the  hill,  and  I 
mounted  and  turned  towards  the  road  to  the 
front,  whilst,  Mr.  Warrc  and  his  companion  pro- 
ceeded straight  down  the  hill. 

By  the  time  I  reached  the  lane,  already  men- 
tioned, which  was  in  a  few  minutes,  the  string 
of  commissariat  waggons  was  moving  onwards 
pretty  briskly,  and  I  was  detained  tnitil  my  friends 
ajjpcarcd  at  the  roadside.  I  told  Mr.  Warro  I 
was  going  forward  to  the  front  as  fast  as  I  could, 
but  that  I  would  come  back,  under  any  circum- 
stances, about  an  hour  before  dusk,  and  would  go 
straight  to  the  sjiot  where  we  had  put  up  the  gig 
by  the  roadside,  in  order  to  return  to  Washing- 
ton. Then  getting  into  the  fields,  I  pressed  my 
horse,  which  was  ([uite  recovered  from  his  twen- 
ty-seven miles'  ride  and  full  of  spirit  and  mettle, 
as  fast  as  I  could,  making  detours  here  and  there 
to  get  through  the  ox  fences,  and  by  the  small 
streams  which  cut  u])  the  country.  The  firing 
did  not  increase,  but  rather  diminished  in  vol- 
ume, tliougli  it  now  sounded  close  at  hand. 

I  hud  ridden  between  three  and  a  half  and 
four  miles,  as  well  as  I  could  judge,  when  I  was 
obliged  to  turn  for  the  third  and  fourth  time  into 
the  road  by  a  considerable  stream,  which  was 
spanntSl  by  a  bridge,  towards  which  I  was  thread- 
ing my  way,  when  my  attention  was  attracted  by 
loud  sliouts  in  advance,  and  I  ))crceived  several 
waggons  coming  from  the  direction  of  the  battle- 
field, the  drivers  of  which  were  endeavouring  to 
force  tiieir  horses  jjast  the  ammunition  carts  go- 
ing in  tlio  contrary  direction  near  the  bridge;  a 
thick  cloud  of  dust  rose  behind  them,  and  run- 
ning by  the  side  of  the  waggons  were  a  number 
of  men  in  uniform,  whom  I  supposed  to  be  the 
guard.  My  first  imjirossion  was  that  the, wag- 
gons were  returning  for  fresh  supplies  of  ammu- 
nition. But  every  moment  the  crowd  increased ; 
drivers  and  men  cried  out  with  the  most  vehe- 


inont  gestures,  "Turn  bark !  Turn  hack  !  Wo 
are  whijjiicd."  Tiiey  seized  the  heads  of  the 
horses  and  swore  at  the  o|)])osing  drivers. 
Emerging  from  tiie  crowd,  a  bnaililcss  num,  in 
the  uniform  of  an  officer,  with  an  empty  scab- 
bard dangling  by  his  side,  was  cut  otf  by  getting 
between  my  horse  and  a  cart  for  a  moment. 
"What  is  tlie  matter,  sir?  What  is  all  this 
about?"  "Why  it  means  wc  are  \ni'lty  badly 
whipjied,  that's  the  truth,"  ho  gasped,  and  con- 
tinued. 

By  this  time  the  confusion  had  been  commu- 
nicating itself  through  the  line  of  waggcms  to- 
wards the  rear,  and  the  drivers  endeavoured  to 
turn  round 'their  vehicles  in  the  narrow  road, 
which  caused  the  usual  amount  of  imprecations 
from  the  men  and  jdunging  and  kicking  from 
the  horses. 

The  crowd  from  the  front  continually  in- 
creased, tl'.c  heat,  the  uproar,  and  the  dust  were 
beyond  descrij)tion,  aiul  these  were  augmented 
when  some  cavalry  soldiers,  flourishing  their  sa- 
bres and  preceded  l)y  an  officer,  who  cried  out, 
"  Make  way  there — make  way  there  for  the  Gc  n- 
crnl,"  atteni])ted  to  force  a  covered  waggon,  in 
which  was  seated  a  num  with  a  bloody  handker- 
chief round  his  head,  through  the  press. 

I  had  succeeded  in  getting  across  the  bridge 
with  great  difficulty  before  the  waggon  came  up, 
and  I  saw  the  crowd  on  the  road  was  still  gath- 
ering thicker  and  thicker.  Again  I  asked  an 
officer,  who  was  on  f(J0t,  with  his  sword  under 
his  arm,  "What  is  all  this  for?"  "We  are 
whipped,  sir.  We  are  all  in  retreat.  Yoti  are 
all  to  go  back."  "  Can  you  tell  me  where  I  can 
find  General  M'Dowell?"  "No!  nor  can  any 
one  else." 

A  few  shells  could  be  heard  bursting  not  very 
far  oft",  but  there  was  nothing  to  account  for  such 
an  extraordinary  scene.  A  third  ofiicer,  how- 
ever, confirmed  the  report  that  the  whole  army 
was  in  retreat,  and  that  the  Federals  were  beaten 
on  all  points,  but  there  was  nothing  m  this  dis- 
order to  indicate  a  general  rout.  All  these  things 
took  place  in  a  few  .seconds.  I  got  up  out  of  tlie 
road  into  a  corn-field,  through  which  men  were 
hastily  walking  or  running,  their  faces  streaming 
with  jierspiration,  and  generally  without  arms, 
and  worked  my  way  for  about  half  a  mile  or  so, 
as  well  as  I  could  judge,  against  an  increasing 
stream  of  fugitives,  the  ground  being  strewed 
with  coats,  blankets,  firelocks,  cooking  tins,  cajis, 
belts,  bayonets  —  asking  in  vain  where  General 
M'Dowell  was. 

Again  I  was  compelled  by  the  condition  of  the 
fields  to  come  into  the  road;  and  having  ]>assed 
a  ]iiece  of  wood  and  a  regiment  which  seemed 
to  be  moving  back  in  column  of  march  in  toler- 
ably good  order,  I  turned  once  more  into  an 
opening  close  to  a  white  house,  not  far  from  the 
lane,  beyond  which  there  was  a  belt  of  forest. 
Two  field-pieces  unlimbered  near  the  house, 
with  panting  horses  in  the  rear,  were  pointed  to- 
wards the  front,  and  along  the  road  beside  them 
there  swept  a  tolerably  steady  column  of  men 
mingled  with  field  ambulances  and  light  bag- 
gage carts,  back  to  Centreville.  I  had  just 
stretched  out  my  hand  to  get  a  cigar-light  from 
a  German  gunner,  when  the  dropj)ing  shots 
which  had  been  sounding  through  the  woods  in 
front  of  us,  suddenly  swelled  into  an  animated 
fire.     In  a  few  seconds  a  crowd  of  men  rushed 


r 


\    *» 


MY  DIAliY  NUUTII  AND  SOUTH. 


IC!* 


Iiack!  Wo 
acl.s  ol"  iliu 
iR  drivers. 
L'SH  iiiim,  in 
ini)ty  Hcub- 
'  liy  nt'ttiiiR 
X  iiioiiicnt. 
is  all  till)) 
vctfy  badly 
I,  and  con- 
en  connnu- 
ain^oiis  to- 
avoiirod  to 
now  road, 
n]ircc'ntiiin3 
eking  IVuiu 

inually  in- 

13  dust  WlM'O 

aii(,'niented 
it»  their  sa- 
)  eried  out, 
"or  tluf  Gcn- 
\vngj.'on,  in 
y  handker- 
ss. 

the  bridge 
n  came  np, 
i  still  path- 
I  asked  an 
vord  under 
'  Wc  nic 
You  are 
rthere  I  can 
lor  can  anv 

ng  not  very 
lint  for  such 
ifiicor,  liow- 
ivliolo  army 
were  beaten 
m  tills  dis- 
these  tilings 
J)  out  ol"tlie 
!i  men  were 
s  streaming 
;hout  arms, 
mile  or  so, 
increasing 
ng  strewed 
g  tins,  ea]is, 
2 re  General 

lition  of  tlie 
ving  i>asscd 
ich  seemed 
ch  in  toler- 
re  into  an 
ar  from  the 
t  of  forest, 
the  house, 
pointed  to- 
jcside  them 
Tin  of  men 
light  bag- 
[  had  just 
•-light  from 
iping  shots 
e  woods  in 
1  animated 
ucn  rushed 


; 


X 


out  (if  the  wood  down  towards  the  guns,  ami  tho 
nrtillcrymen  near  nic  seized  the  trail  of  ii  piece, 
und  were  wheeling  it  round  to  fire,  when  an  offi- 
cer or  sergeant  called  out,  "  Stop  I  stop!  They 
are  our  own  ni<u;"  and  in  two  or  three  minutes 
tho  whole  liiittalion  came  swiM>ping  past  tlu;  guns 
at  the  double,  and  in  the  utmost  disorder.  Some 
of  the  artillerymen  dragged  iIks  horses  out  of  the 
tumbrils ;  and  for  a  monuut  the  confusion  was 
so  great  I  could  not  undei>i:iud  what  had  taken 
Iilaee;  but  a  soldier  whom  i  -tojipcd,  said,  "We 
are  pursued  by  their  cavalry ;  they  have  cut  us 
all  t(j  |)icces." 

Murat  himself  would  not  have  dared  to  move 
n  sqiuulroii  on  such  ground.  However,  it  could 
not  be  doiilited  that  sonu'thing  serious  was  tak- 
ing |)lace ;  and  at  that  monuuit  a  shell  burst  in 
front  of  the  house,  scattering  tho  soldiers  near 
it,  which  was  followed  by  another  that  bounded 
along  th(!  road  ;  and  in  a  few  minutes  more  out 
c:imo  another  regiment  fnmi  the  wood,  ahnost 
as  iiroken  as  tho  lirst.  Tho  scene  on  the  road 
luul  now  assumed  an  aspect  which  has  not  a  jiar- 
allcl  in  any  descrijition  1  have  ever  read.  In- 
fantry soldiers  on  mules  and  draught  horses, 
with  the  harness  clinging  to  their  heels,  as  much 
frightencnl  as  their  riders ;  negro  servants  on 
their  mastiu's'  chargers ;  ambulances  crowded 
with  iiuwounded  soldiers ;  waggons  swarming 
with  men  who  threw  out  the  contents  in  the 
road  to  make  room,  grinding  through  a  shouting, 
screaming  mass  of  men  on  foot,  who  were  liter- 
ally yelling  with  rage  at  every  halt,  and  shriek- 
ing out,  "  Here  are  the  cavalry!  Will  you  get 
on?"  This  portion  of  the  force  was  evidently 
in  discord. 

There  was  nothing  left  for  it  but  to  go  with 
the  current  one  could  not  stem.  I  turned  round 
my  horse  from  the  deserted  guns,  and  endeav- 
oured to  find  out  what  had  occurred  as  I  rodo 
quietly  back  on  the  skirts  of  the  crowd.  I  talk- 
ed with  those  on  all  sides  of  me.  Some  uttered 
prodigious  nonsense,  describing  batteries  tier  over 
tier,  and  ambuscades,  and  blood  running  knee 
deep.  Others  described  how  their  Ixiys  carried 
wIkjIo  lines  of  intrenchnuMits,  but  were  beaten 
back  for  want  of  reiuforeements.  The  names  of 
many  regiments  were  mentioned  as  being  utter- 
ly destroyed.  Cavalry  and  bayonet  charges  and 
masked  batteries  jilayed  jirominent  parts  in  all 
the  narrations,  yomo  of  the  ofUcers  seemed  to 
feel  the  disgr.aco  of  defeat ;  but  tho  strangest 
thing  was  tiie  general  indilferoncc  with  which  the 
event  seemed  to  be  reganled  by  those  who  e<j|- 
leeted  their  senses  as  soon  as  they  got  out  of  tire, 
and  who  said  they  were  just  going  as  far  as  Cen- 
treville,  and  would  have  a  big  fight  to-morrow. 

By  this  time  I  was  unwillingly  api)roacliing 
Centrcville  in  the  midst  of  heat,  dust,  confusion, 
imprecations  inconceivable.  On  arriving  at  the 
l)laee  where  a  small  rivulet  crossed  tho  road,  the 
throng  increased  still  more.  The  ground  over 
which  I  had  passed  going  out  was  now  covci'ed 
with  arms,  clothing  of  all  kinds,  accoutrements 
thrown  oil"  and  left  to  be  trampled  in  the  dust 
under  the  hoofs  of  men  and  horses.  The  runa- 
ways ran  alongside  the  waggons,  striving  to  force 
themselves  in  among  the  occupants,  who  resisted 
tooth  and  nail.  The  drivers  spurred,  and  whip- 
ped, and  urged  tho  horses  to  the  utmost  of  their 
bent.  I  felt  an  inclination  to  laugh,  which  was 
overcome  by  disgust,  and  by  that  vague  sense  of 


Homething  extraordinary  taking  place  which  is 
cxperieiucil  when  a  man  sees  a  iiuiulier  of  pco- 
jtle  lU'tiug  as  if  ilriveu  by  some  uiikiiowu  terror. 
As  I  mdc  in  the  crowd,  with  men  clinging  to  the 
stirrup-lcathei',  or  holding  on  by  aiiytliiiig  they 
coulil  lay  hands  on,  so  that  I  had  some  appre- 
hension of  being  jiulled  otV,  I  spoke  to  the  men, 
and  asked  them  over  and  over  again  not  to  be 
in  such  a  hiu'ry.  "There's  no  eui'iiiy  to  ])ursiio 
you.  All  the  cavalry  in  the  world  could  not  get 
at  you."  But  1  might  as  well  have  talked  to  the 
st«jnes. 

For  my  own  part,  I  wanted  to  get  out  of  the 
ruck  as  fast  as  1  could,  for  the  heat  and  <lnst 
were  very  distressing,  particularly  to  a  half- 
starved  man.  Many  of  the  fugitives  were  in  the 
last  stages  of  exhaustion,  and  some  actually  sank 
down  by  the  fences,  at  the  risk  of  being  tnim- 
)>led  to  death.  Above  the  roar  of  the  fight, 
which  was  like  the  rush  of  a  great  river,  the 
guns  burst  forth  from  time  to  tiuH'. 

Tho  road  at  last  became  somewliat  clearer; 
for  I  had  got  ahead  of  some  of  the  aimuunitioii 
train  luid  waggons,  and  the  others  \\v\v.  dasiiiug 
up  the  hill  towards  Ccntreville.  The  men's 
great-coats  ami  blank(!ts  lunl  been  stowed  in  tho 
trains ;  but  the  fugitives  had  ai)jiarently  thrown 
them  out  on  the  road,  to  make  rijoin  lor  them- 
selves. Just  beyond  tlui  stream  I  saw  a  hciip  of 
clothing  tiuuble  out  of  a  large  covered  cart,  and 
cried  out  after  tho  driver,  "Stop!  stop  I  All 
tho  things  are  tuinliling  out  of  the  cart."  But 
my  zeal  was  checked  by  a  scoundrt'l  ])Utting  his 
head  out,  and  shouting  with  a  curse,  "if  you 

try  to  stop  the  team,  I'll  blow  your brains 

out."  My  brains  advised  me  to  adopt  the  jain- 
cijdc  of  non-intervention. 

It  never  occuneil  to  me  that  this  was  a  grand 
deliacle.  All  along  I  believed  the  mass  of  the 
army  was  not  broken,  and  that  all  I  saw  annnd 
was  the  result  of  confusion  created  iii  a  crude 
organisation  by  a  forced  retreat ;  and  knowing 
the  reserves  were  at  0(^ntrcville  and  beyond,  I 
said  to  myself,  "Let  us  see  how  this  will  be 
when  we  get  to  the  hill."  I  iudnlgetl  in  a  quiet 
chuckle,  too,  at  the  iilea  of  my  piiilosoiiiiical 
friend  and  his*  stout  companion  fiiuliiig  tliein- 
selvos  suddenly  enveloped  in  the  crowd  of  fugi- 
tives, but  knew  they  could  easily  have  regained 
their  original  jiosition  on  the  hill.  Trotting 
ali/Ug  briskly  through  the  fields,  I  arrived  at  the 
foot  of  the  sloi)e  on  which  Centrcville  stands,  and 
met  a  German  regiment  just  deploying  into  line 
very  well  and  steadily — the  men  in  the  rear  coni- 
jianies  laughing,  smoking,  singing,  and  jesting 
with  the  fugitives,  who  were  filing  ]iast ;  Imt  no 
thought  of  stopj)ing  the  waggons,  as  tho  orders 
repeated  from  mouth  to  mouth  were  that  they 
were  to  fall  back  beyond  Centrcville. 

The  air  of  the  men  was  good.  The  officers 
were  cheerful,  and  one  big  German  with  a  great 
jiipe  in  liis  lioarded  moutli,  with  spectacles  on 
nose,  amusetl  himself  by  jiricking  the  horses  with 
his  sabre  point,  as  he  passed,  to  tho  sore  discom- 
fiture of  the  riders.  Behind  the  regiment  came 
a  battery  of  brass  field-pieces,  and  another  regi- 
ment in  column  of  march  was  following  the 
guns.  They  wore  going  to  form  line  at  tho  end 
of  the  slope,  and  no  fairer  position  could  well  be 
offered  for  a  defensive  attitude,  although  it  might 
be  tui'ued.  But  it  was  getting  too  late  for  the 
enemy,  wherever  they  were,  to  attempt  such  an 


170 


MY  DIAUY  NOIITII  AND  SOUTH. 


cxtciiiivo  nponition.  Several  times  I  liiul  been 
linketl  liv  olliceis  tiiid  men,  "  Wlieii)  ilo  voii 
tliiiik  we  will  halt?  Where  arc  tiio  rest  i»r  tiie 
uriiiy?"  1  alwayn  rt'iilieil  "Cetitrcvilie,"  and  I 
luul  heuril  hiiiiilredx  i)f  tho  t'ugitivert  my  they 
were  K<'iiiH  ti»  (,,'eiitreville. 

I  rodo  u]i  the  road,  tiinieJ  into  the  little  Mtroet 
vhieh  earries  tho  nuul  on  the  rij;lit-haml  side 
to  Fairtax  C'liurt  house  and  tiio  hill,  and  went 
8trait,'ht  to  the  place  where  I  had  left  the  bu^ny 
in  a  lanu  un  thu  left  of  tho  road  liesid(>  a  small 
liouse  and  shed,  exiieetini;  to  (inil  Mr.  Warre 
ritaily  for  a  start,  as  I  had  failhftdly  promised 
Lord  liVoiiH  ho  should  ho  hack  that  iiiK)>t  in 
Washington.      The   buggy  was   not    there.      I 

1)ulled  open  the  door  of  tho  Khed  in  which  tho 
lorses  had  been  sheltered  out  of  tho  sun.  They 
vere  gone.  "Oh,  "said  I,  to  myself,  "of  course! 
What  u  stupid  fellow  I  am !  Warre  has  bail  tho 
horses  jiut  in,  aiul  taken  I  he  gig  to  the  top  of  the 
liill,  in  order  to  sco  the  last  of  it  before  we  go." 
And  so  1  rodo  over  to  tho  ridgo ;  but  arriving 
there,  could  see  no  sign  of  our  vehicle  far  or 
near.  '  There  were  two  carriages  of  some  kind 
or  other  still  remaining  on  the  hill,  and  a  few 
8))ectat<n's,  civilians  and  military,  gazing  on  the 
Peeuo  below,  which  was  softened  in  the  golden 
rnys  of  the  declining  sun.  The  snu)ke  wreaths 
bad  ceased  to  curl  over  the  green  slusets  of  bil- 
lowy forest  as  sea  foam  crisping  in  u  gentle 
brce/e  breaks  the  lines  of  the  ocean.  iJut  far 
and  ntsar  yellow  and  ilun-coloured  ])iles  of  dust 
Beamed  the  huulseape,  leaving  behind  them  long 
trailing  clouds  of  lighter  vapours  which  were 
dotted  now  and  then  by  w  hite  putV-ltalls  from  tho 
bursting  of  shell.  On  the  right  these  clouds  wtro 
vi'ry  heavy  and  seemed  to  aj)]iroach  rapidly,  and 
it  occurred  to  me  they  might  be  caused  by  an 
advance  t>f  the  much-spoken-of  and  little  seen 
cavalry ;  aiul  remembering  the  cross-road  from 
(Jerman  Town,  it  seemed  a,  very  line  and  very 
tea>il)le  operation  for  the  Confederates  to  cut 
right  in  on  the  line  of  retreat  and  comnninica- 
tion,  in  whicdi  case  the  fate  of  the  army  and  of 
"Washington  coidd  not  be  dubious.  There  were 
now  few  civilians  on  the  hill,  and  these  were 
thinning  away.  Some  were  gesticulating  and 
explaining  to  one  another  the  causes  of  tiie  re- 
treat, looking  very  hot  and  rec'.  The  confusion 
among  the  last  jiortion  of  the  carriages  and  fu- 
gitives on  the  road,  which  I  had  outstripped,  had 
been  renewed  again,  and  the  crowd  there  pre- 
sented a  remarkable  and  ludicrous  aspect  through 
the  glass ;  but  there  were  two  strong  battalions 
in  good  order  near  the  foot  of  the  hill,  a  battery 
on  the  slope,  another  on  the  top,  and  a  portion 
of  a  regiment  in  and  about  the  houses  of  the 
village. 

A  farewell  look  at  the  scene  presented  no  new 
features.  Still  the  clouds  of  dust  moved  on- 
wards denser  and  higher  ;  flashes  of  arms  light- 
ed them  up  at  times  ;  the  fields  were  dotted  by 
fugitives,  among  whom  many  mounted  men  were 
marked  by  their  greater  speed,  and  the  little 
flocks  of  dust  rising  from  the  horses'  feet. 

I  put  np  my  glass,  and  turning  from  the  liill, 
with  difficulty  forced  my  way  through  the  crowd 
of  vehicles  which  were  making  their  way  towards 
the  main  road  in  the  direction  of  the  lane,  hop- 
ing that  by  some  lucky  accident  I  might  find  the 
gig  in  waiting  for  me.  But  I  sought  in  vain  ;  a 
sick  soldier,  who  was  on  a  stretcher  in  front  of 


the  house,  near  the  corner  of  the  Inne,  leaning  on 
his  elbow,  and  looking  at  tlxt  stream  ot  na  u  and 
carriages,  asked  me  if  1  could  tell  him  w  hat  they 
were  in  such  a  hurry  for,  and  1  said  they  were 
merely  getting  back  to  their  Itivouues.  A  man 
dressed  in  civilianVelothes  grinned  as  I  tipoke. 
"1  think  they'll  go  farther  tlian  that,"  said  he; 
and  then  added,  "  If  you're  looking  for  the  w^g. 
gon  you  came  in,  it's  jiretty  well  hack  to  Wash- 
ington by  this  time.  I  think  I  saw  you  down 
thcerc  with  a  nigger  and  two  men.  Yes. 
They're  all  olV,  gone  more  than  an  hour  and  a 
half  ago,  I  think,  and  a  stout  man — 1  thought 
Was  you  at  first — along  with  them." 

Nothing  was  left  for  it  but  to  brace  up  the 
girths  for  a  ride  to  the  Cajiitol,  for  w  hich,  hun- 
gry and  fagged  as  I  was,  1  felt  very  little  inclimi- 
tioii.  I  was  trotting  ([uictly  down  the  hill  road 
beyond  C'entreville,  when  suddenly  the  guns  oti 
the  other  side,  or  from  a  battery  very  near, 
opened  fire,  and  a  fresh  outburst  of  artillery 
Bounded  through  the  woods.  In  an  instant  tho 
mass  of  vehicles  and  retreating  siddicrs,  team- 
sters, and  civilians,  as  if  agonised  by  an  electric 
shock,  ([uivered  throughout  the  tortucuis  lino. 
Willi  dreadful  shouts  and  cursings,  the  drivers 
lashed  their  maddened  horses,  and  leaping  from 
the  carts,  left  them  to  their  fate,  and  ran  on 
foot.  Artillerymen  and  foot  soldiers,  and  ne- 
groes mounted  on  gun  horses,  with  the  chain 
traces  and  loose  trai)pings  trailing  in  the  dust, 
spurred  aiul  flogged  their  steeds  down  the  road 
or  by  the  side  jiaths.  The  firing  continued  and 
seemed  to  approach  the  hill,  and  at  every  rejiort 
the  agitated  body  of  h(M'semen  and  waggons  was 
seized,  as  it  were,  with  a  fresh  convulsion. 

Once  more  the  dreaded  cry,  "The  cavalry! 
cavalry  arc  coming!"  rang  througli  the  crowd, 
and  looking  back  to  ('entreville,  I  jierceivcd  com- 
ing down  the  hill,  bHwcen  me  and  the  sky,  a 
number  of  mounted  n'cii,  who  might,  at  a  hasty 
glance,  bo  taken  for  horsemen  in  the  act  of  .sabre- 
ing  the  fugitives.  In  reality,  they  were  soldiers 
and  civiliajis,  with,  I  regret  to  say,  some  ofHcers 
among  them,  who  were  whipping  and  striking 
their  horses  with  sticks  or  whatever  else  they 
could  lay  hands  on.  I  called  out  to  the  men 
who  were  frantic  Avith  terror  beside  me,  "'J'hey 
are  not  cavalry  at  all;  they're  your  own  men" 
— but  they  did  not  heed  me.  A  fellow  who  was 
shouting  out,  "  Kun  !  run  !"  as  loud  as  he  could, 
beside  me,  seemed  to  take  delight  in  creating 
alarm  ;  and  as  he  was  perfectly  collected  as  far 
as  I  could  judge,  I  said,  "What  on  earth  arc 
you  running  for?  What  are  you  afraid  of?" 
lie  was  in  the  roadside  below  me,  and  at  once 
turning  on  me,  and  exclaiming,  "  I'm  not  afraid 
of  you,"  presented  his  piece  and  pulled  the  trig- 
ger so  instantaneously,  that,  had  it  gone  off,  I 
could  not  have  swerved  from  the  ball.  As  tho 
scoundrel  deliberately  drew  up  to  examine  the 
nipple,  I  judged  it  best  not  to  give  him  another 
chance,  and  sjjurred  on  through  the  crowd,  where 
any  man  could  have  shot  as  many  as  he  jjleased 
without  interruption.  The  only  conclusion  I 
came  to  was,  that  he  was  mad  or  drunken. 
When  I  was  ])assing  by  the  line  of  the  bivouacs 
a  battalion  of  men  came  tumbling  down  tho 
bank  from  the  field  into  the  road,  with  fixed 
bayonets,  and  as  some  fell  in  the  road  and  others 
tumbled  on  top  of  them,  there  must  have  been  a 
few  ingloriously  wounded. 


MY  1)1  AUY  NOUTH  AND  SOUTU. 


171 


li'iniinjj  on 
>r  UK  II  mill 
1  wliat  llicy 
I  tlicy  were 
s.  A  niaii 
as  I  H|i<)ku. 
t,"  Naiil  liu ; 
or  the  w/iK- 
k  to  Wasli- 
jou  down 
icii.  Yes. 
Iioiir  and  a 
1  tliuu^lit 

•ace  up  tlio 
wliicli,  liuti- 
ttle  iiK'litia- 
lu  liill  road 
he  j{uns  on 
very  near, 
of  artillery 
instant  tlio 
lierH,  team- 
an electric 
tiioiis   lino, 
the  drivers 
•a|iiiiR  from 
and  ran  oil 
rs,  and  nc- 
I  the   chain 
in  the  dust, 
wn  tlic  road 
ntinued  and 
every  report 
ivafij^ons  was 
ilsion. 

he  cavalry  ! 
)  th(!  crowd, 
rceived  coni- 
d  tiie  sky,  a 
it,  at  n  hasty 
act  of  sabrc- 
rterc  soldiers 
some  officers 
and  striking 
or  else  they 
to  the  men 
1  nip,  "They 
r  own  men" 
low  who  was 
as  he  rould, 
t  in  creating 
Iceted  as  far 
an  earth  are 
afraid  of?" 
and  at  onco 
m  not  afraid 
lied  the  trig- 
t  gone  oft',  I 
lall.  As  tho 
examine  tho 
him  another 
crowd,  where 
is  he  pleased 
conclusion  I 
or  drunken, 
the  bivouacs 
ig  down  tho 
J,  with  fixed 
id  and  others 
have  been  a 


1  pnllopcd  on  for  a  short  distance  to  heinl  tho 
rnik,  for  t  could  not  tell  whether  this  body  of  in- 
fiintry  intcinled  moving;  back  townrds  (!entrc- 
villi!  or  were  coniing  down  the  road  ;  but  the 
mounted  men  ^ail()|iinK  furiously  past  me,  with 
u  cry  of  "Cavalry!  cavalry!"  on  their  lips, 
dw'cpt  on  faster  thuii  I  did,  au^meiitiiiK  the  alarm 
ami  excitement.  I  came  up  with  two  oftlccrs 
who  were  riding  more  leisur/dy  ;  and  touchinp; 
my  hilt,  said,  "  I  venture  to  sugKcst  that  these 
mi'ii  should  bo  s»op|)cil,  sir.  If  not,  tiicy  will 
iilarm  tho  whohi  i)f  the  po  f  and  jiickits  on  to 
Washington.  They  will  tiy  next,  and  the  con- 
soipicnccs  will  bo  most  disastrous."  One  of  tho 
two,  lookitif.;  at  mo  for  ii  moment,  nodded  his 
bend  without  saying  a  word,  spurred  his  horse 
to  full  sjieed,  and  dashed  on  in  front  nlonn  the 
road.  Following  more  leifiurely,  I  observed  the 
fiigitives  in  front  were  suddenly  checked  in  their 
speed;  and  r»  I  turned  my  horse  into  the  wood 
by  the  roadside  to  get  on  so  ns  to  i)revent  tl.i 
cliance  of  anothor  blockiip,  I  jiassed  several  \m- 
viite  vehicles,  in  one  of  w  hich  Mr.  Ilayniond,  of 
tlie  New  York  Times,  was  seated  with  some 
friends,  looking  by  no  means  hapj)y.  lie  says 
in  his  report  to  his  paper,  "About  a  mile  this 
side  of  Centrcville  a  stampede  took  jdace  amongst 
the  teamsters  and  others,  which  threw  every- 
thing-into  the  utmost  confusion,  and  indicted 
very  serious  injuries.  Mr,  Katon,  of  Michigan, 
in  trying  to  arrest  the  flight  of  some  of  these 
men,  was  shot  by  one  of  them,  the  ball  taking 
cfl'ect  in  bis  hand."  He  asked  me,  in  some  anx- 
iety, what  I  thought  would  happen.  I  replied, 
"No  doubt  M'Dowell  will  stand  fast  at  Centre- 
ville  to-night.  These  are  mere  runaways,  and 
unless  tho  enemy's  cavalry  succeed  in  getting 
through  at  this  road,  there  is  nothing  to  api)re- 
hend." 

And  I  continued  through  the  wood  till  I  got  a 
clear  space  in  front  on  the  road,  along  which  a 
regiment  of  infantry  was  advancing  towards  me. 
Thoy  halted  ere  I  came  nj),  and  with  levelled 
firelocks  arrested  the  men  on  horses  and  the 
carts  and  waggons  gallojjing  towards  them,  and 
blocked  up  the  road  to  stop  their  jjrogress.  As 
I  tried  to  edge  by  on  the  right  of  the  column  by 
the  kfl  of  tho  road,  a  soldier  ])resented  his  fire- 
Jock  at  my  head  from  the  higher  ground  on 
vhieii  ho  stood,  for  the  road  had  a  deep  trench 
cut  on  the  side  by  which  I  was  endeavouring  to 
pass,  and  sung  out,  "Halt!  Stop  —  or  I  fire!" 
Tho  officers  in  front  were  waving  their  swords 
and  shouting  mt,  "  Don't  let  a  soul  i)ass  !  Keep 
back!  keep  b.  ck!"  Bowing  to  tho  ofticcr  who 
was  near  me,  I  aid,  "1  beg  to  assure  you,  sir,  I 
am  not  running  .iway,  I  am  a  civilian  and  a 
British  subject.  1  have  done  my  best  as  I  came 
along  to  stop  this  disgraceful  rout.  I  am  in  no 
hurry ;  I  merely  want  to  get  back  to  Washing- 
ton to-night.  I  have  been  telling  them  all  along 
there  are  no  cavalry  near  us."  The  officer  to 
whom  I  was  speaking,  young  and  somewhat  ex- 
cited, kept  repeating,  "  Keep  back,  sir !  keep 
back!  you  must  keep  back."  Again  I  said  to 
him,  "I  assure  you  I  am  not  with  this  crowd; 
my  pulse  is  as  cool  as  your  own."  But  as  he 
paid  no  attention  to  what  I  said,  I  suddenly  bc- 
tiiought  mo  of  General  Scott's  lettei",  and  ad- 
dressing another  ofticer,  said,  "I  am  a  civilian 
going  to  Washington ;  will  you  be  kind  enough 
to  look  at  this  pass,  specially  given  to  me  by  Gun- 


oral  Scott  ?"  The  officer  looked  nt  it,  and  hand- 
ed it  to  a  mounted  man,  eitiier  adjutant  or  colo- 
nel, who,  having  examined  it,  returned  ir  to  iiiu, 
saying,  "Oh,  yes!  certainly.  I'ass  that  man!" 
And  with  a  cry  of"  I'ass  that  man  !"  along  the 
line,  1  rode  dow n  the  ticncli  very  leisurely,  and 
got  out  on  tlu!  road,  which  was  now  dear,  llioiigh 
some  fugitives  had  stolen  through  the  woods  on 
the  flanks  of  the  column  and  wero  in  front  uf 
me. 

A  little  further  on  there  was  a  cart  on  tho 
right-haml  side  of  tin;  road,  surroundiul  by  a 
group  of  soldiers.  I  was  trotting  jiast,  when  a 
respectable-looking  man  in  a  semi-military  garb, 
coming  out  from  the  group,  said,  in  a  tone  of 
much  doubt  and  distress,  "Can  you  tell  mo, 
sir,  for  God's  sake,  where  the  'J'JtIi  New  York 
are  ?  These  men  tell  me  they  an;  all  cut  to 
pieces."  "  And  so  they  are,"  exclaimed  oik!  of 
the  f«dloWH,  who  had  the  number  of  the  regiment 
on  his  cap. 

"You  hear  what  they  say,  sir?"  exclaimed 
the  man. 

"  I  do,  but  I  really  cannot  tell  you  where  the 
COth  arc." 

"I'm  in  charge  of  these  mails,  and  I'll  deliv- 
er them  if  I  die  for  it;  but  is  it  safe  forme  to  go 
on?  You  are  a  gentleman,  and  I  can  depend 
on  your  word." 

His  assistant  and  himself  were  in  the  greatest 
perplexity  of  mind,  but  all  I  could  say  was,  "  I 
really  can't  tell  you  ;  I  believe  the  army  will  halt 
at  Centrcville  to-night,  and  I  think  you  may  go 
on  there  with  the  greatest  safety,  if  you  can  get 
through  the  crowd."  "  Faith,  then,  ho  can't," 
exclaimed  one  of  the  soldiers. 

"Why  not?"  "  Siiiie,  ain't  we  cut  to  pieces? 
Didn't  1  hear  the  kurnel  hinisilf  saying  we  was 
all  (if  us  to  cut  and  run,  every  niiin  on  his  own 
hook,  as  well  as  be  could  ?  Stoj)  at  Cinihrcville, 
indeed!" 

I  bade  the  mail  agenf*"  good  evening  and  rode 
on,  but  even  in  this  short  colloquy  stragglers  on 
foot  and  on  horseback,  who  had  turned  the  flanks 
of  the  regiment  by  side  jiaths  or  through  tho 
woods,  came  pouring  along  the  road  once  more. 

•  I  Imvo  fliiro  met  tlic  por.Hnn  n-foircd  tn,  im  l",ni;linli- 
nian  living  in  AVadliiiiv:ti)ii,  iiinl  will  known  nt  tlii^  l.ijrn- 
tii)ii  nml  (l.-ti'wherc.  Mr.  I>invHim  ciinic  to  tell  nic  tliut  lio 
luul  i<i'en  11  litter  in  im  AniiiicnnJDiirnnl,  which  wii8  c,n\i- 
icil  extensively  nil  over  tho  L'nimi,  in  which  tho  writer 
Ftatcd  ho  ncconipnniod  mo  un  my  return  tn  rnirfiix  Coiirt- 
IMiiso,  nnd  tlmt  tho  incident  I  reliited  in  my  nccount  of 
Hull  Kun  did  not  nreiir,  I)iit  tlmt  hi!  was  thn  individual  re- 
ferred to,  and  could  Rwoar  with  hi.-*  a.s.-i.»tant  that  every 
word  I  wrote  wnt<  true.  I  did  not  need  any  such  corrolio. 
ration  for  the  pnti-faction  of  any  who  know  nie;  nnd  I  wim 
quite  will  awnro  that  if  one  camo  fiuni  the  dead  to  hiMir 
te.-^timony  in  my  favour  before  tho  American  journnl.-<  and 
puldic,  tho  evidence  would  not  countervail  the  slander  of 
any  characterlesH  Hcriho  who  80^^'ht  to  jjain  a  moment's 
notoriety  liy  a  tint  contradiction  ol  my  narrative.  I  may 
•dd,  that  Dawson  begged  of  mo  not  to  bring  him  l)eforo 

tho  public,  "because  1  am  now  sutler  to  tho lb,  over 

in  Virginia,  and  tliey  would  dismiss  me."  "  'What  1  for 
certifying  to  tho  truth?"  "You  know,  sir,  it  nv  ht  do 
mo  harm."  Whilst  on  this  subject,  let  mo  rem-  ,  that 
Homo  time  afterwards  I  wa.i  in  Mr.  Brady's  pho  ajihic 
atiidio  in  l'enn.''ylvania  Avenue,  Washington,  tho 

very  intelligent  and  obliging  manager  introducci'  .-nself 
to  me,  and  said  that  he  wished  to  have  tin  opportiiuity  of 
repeating  to  mo  personally  what  he  had  freiiuently  told 
persons  in  the  place,  that  ho  could  bear  tho  ful!o.'<t  testi- 
mony to  the  complete  accuracy  of  my  account  of  tho  panic 
from  Centrevillo  down  the  road  at  the  time  I  left,  and  that 
he  nnd  his  assistants,  who  were  on  the  sivit  trying  to  get 
nway  their  photographic  van  and  apparatus,  could  O'  rtify 
th.'ft  my  de.-oription  fell  far  .short  of  tho  disgraceful  apuc- 
tucle  and  of  the  cxcu8su8  of  the  flight. 


172 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


Somewhere  about  this  I  was  accosted  by  a 
stout,  elderly  man,  with  the  uir  and  a]iiiearance 
of  a  respectable  mechanic,  or  small  tavern-keep- 
er, who  introduced  himself  as  havin};  met  me  at 
Cairo.  lie  jionred  out  a  flood  of  woes  on  me, 
how  he  had  lost  his  friend  and  companion,  near- 
ly lost  his  seat  several  times,  was  unaccustomed 
to  riding,  was  sufl'erinft  much  jiain  from  the  un- 
usun'  position  and  exercise,  did  not  know  the 
road,  feared  he  would  never  bo  able  to  get  on, 
dreaded  he  might  be  cajitured  and  ill-treated  if 
he  was  known,  and  such  tojiics  as  a  selfish  man 
in  a  good  deal  of  pain  or  fear  is  likely  to  indulge 
in.  1  calmed  his  ap])rehensions  as  well  as  I 
conld,  by  saying,  "I  had  no  doubt  IM'Dowell 
w(,nl(l  halt  and  show  fight  at  Centreville,  and  be 
able  to  advance  from  it  in  n  day  or  two  to  renew 
tiie  iiglit  again  ;  that  he  couldn't  miss  the  road ; 
whiskey  and  talluw  were  good  for  abrasions ;" 
and  as  I  was  riding  vory  slowly,  he  jogged  along, 
for  he  was  a  burr,  and  would  stick,  with  many 
"Oh  dears !  Oh!  dear  me  !"  for  most  j^art  of 
tlie  way,  juinim-  me  at  intervals,  till  I  reached 
Pairfax  ('ourt-house.  A  body  of  infantry  were 
under  arms  in  a  grove  near  the  Court-house, 
on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  road.  The  door 
and  windows  of  the  houses  presented  crowds  of 
faces  black  and  white ;  and  men  and  women 
stood  out  u])on  the  porch,  who  asked  me  as  I 
passed,  "Have  yon  been  at  the  fight?"  "What 
are  they  all  running  for?"  "Are  the  rest  of 
them  c(jming  on?"  to  which  I  gave  the  same  re- 
l)lier,  as  before. 

Arrived  at  the  little  inn  where  I  had  halted  in 
tlu!  morning,  I  jierceived  the  shari)-faced  woman 
in  black  standing  in  the  verandah  v.ith  an  eld- 
erly man,  a  taller  and  younger  one  dressed  in 
block,  a  little  girl,  and  a  woman  who  stood  in 
the  ])assagc  of  the  door.  1  asked  if  I  could  get 
any  thing  to  cat.  "Not  a  morsel;  there's  not 
a  bit  left  in  the  house,  but  you  can  get  some- 
thing, i)evha])s,  if  y(m  like  to  stay  till  sui)jier- 
timc."  "Would  you  oblige  me  by  telling  me 
v.iicre  I  can  get  some  water  for  my  horse? 
"Oh,  certainly,"  said  the  elder  man,  and  call- 
ing to  a  negro,  he  directed  him  to  bring  a  buck- 
et from  tiic  well  or  jmmi),  into  which  the  tlursty 
biute  i.uried  its  head  to  the  eyes.  Whilst  the 
horse  was  drinking,  the  taller  or  younger  man, 
I'Miiiiig  over  t!ic  verandah,  asked  me  quietly, 
"^'\')lat  are  all  the  jjcojile  •.  Mning  back  for? — 
what's  set  them  a  running  towards  Alexandria  ?" 

"  Oh,  it's  only  a  fright  the  drivers  of  the  com- 
missariat wagg(jns  have  had  ;  they  are  afraid  of 
the  enemy's  ciivalry." 

"Ah  !"  said  the  man,  and  looking  at  me  nar- 
rowly, he  inquired,  after  a  i)ause,  "A^re  you  an 
American?" 

"No,  I  am  not,  thank  God ;  I'm  an  English- 
man." * 

"  Well,  then,"  said  he,  nodding  his  head  and 
speaking  slowly  throagh  his  teeth,  "there  icill 
be  cavalry  after  them  soon  enough  ;  there  is 
L'O.OOO  of  the  best  horsemen  in  the  world  in  old 
Virginny." 

Having  received  full  directions  from  the  ]ieo- 
plo  at  the  inn  for  the  road  to  the  Long  Bridge, 
which  I  was  most  anxious  to  reach  instead  of 
going  to  Alexandria  or  to  Georgetown,  I  bade 
the  Virginian  good  evening  ;  and  seeing  that  my 
stout  friend,  who  had  also  watered  his  horse  by 
my  advice  at  the  inn,  was  still  clinging  along- 


side, I  excu'^ed  myself  by  saying  I  must  press  on 
to  Washington,  and  galiopeil  on  for  a  mile,  un- 
til  I  got  inrh  the  cove;  of  a  wood,  where  I  dis- 
mounted to  examine  the  horse's  hoofs  and  shift 
the  saddle  for  a  moment,  wi]ie  the  sweat  off  his 
back,  and  make  him  and  myself  as  comfortable 
as  could  be  for  our  ride  into  Washington,  which 
was  still  s'venteen  or  eighteen  miles  before  me. 
I  passed  groups  of  men,  some  on  horseback,  oth- 
ers on  foot,  going  at  a  more  leisurely  rate  to- 
wards the  cajiital ;  and  as  I  was  smoking  my  last 
cigar  by  the  side  of  the  wood,  I  observed  the 
number  had  rather  iiu-reased,  and  that  among 
the  retreating  stragglers  were  some  men  who  aj)- 
peared  to  be  wounded. 

The  sun  had  set,  but  the  rising  moon  Avas  add- 
ing every  moment  to  the  lightness  of  tiie  road 
as  I  mounted  once  more  and  set  out  at  a  long 
trot  for  the  cajjital.  Presently  I  was  overtaken 
by  a  waggon  with  a  small  escort  of  cavalry  and 
an  officer  riding  in  front.  I  had  seen  the  same 
vehicle  once  or  twice  along  the  road,  and  ob- 
served an  officer  seated  in  it  with  his  head  hound 
uj)  with  a  handkerchief,  looking  very  j)ale  and 
ghastly.  The  mounted  officer  leading  tlie  es- 
cort  asked  me  if  I  was  going  into  AVashing|on 
and  knew  the  road.  I  told  him  I  had  never  been 
on  it  before,  but  thought  I  could  find  my  way ; 
"at  any  rate,  we'll  find  plenty  to  tell  us." 
"That's  Colonel  Hunter  inside  the  carriage: 
he's  shot  through  the  throat  and  jaw,  and  I  want 
to  get  him  to  the  doctor's  in  Washington  as  soon 
as  I  can.     Have  vou  been  to  the  fight?" 

"No,  sir." 

"  A  member  of  Congress,  I  suppose,  sir?" 

"No,  sir,  I'm  an  Englishman." 

"Oh  indeed,  sir,  then  I'm  glad  you  did  not 
sec  it ;  so  mean  a  fight,  sir,  I  never  saw ;  we 
whip])ed  the  cusses  and  drove  them  l)cfore  us, 
and  took  their  batteries  and  spiked  their  guns, 
and  got  right  up  in  among  all  their  dirt-works 
and  great  batteries  and  forts,  driving  them  be- 
fore us  like  sheeji,  when  up  more  of  ihein  would 
get,  as  if  out  of  the  ground  ;  then  our  boys  would 
drive  them  again  till  we  were  fairly  woin  out; 
tliey  had  nothing  to  cat  since  last  night  and 
nothing  to  drink.  I  myself  have  not  tasted  a 
morsel  since  two  o'clock  last  night.  Well,  there 
we  were,  waiting  for  reinforcements  and  exjiect-S" 
iiig  IM'Dowell  and  the  rest  of  the  army,  when 
wiiish  !  they  threw  oi)en  a  whole  lot  of  masked 
batteries  on  us,  and  then  came  down  such  swarms  ' 
of  horsemen  on  black  horses,  all  black  as  you 
never  saw,  and  slashed  our  boys  over  finely. 
The  colonel  was  hit,  and  1  thought  it  best  to  get 
him  off  as  well  as  I  could,  before  it  was  too  late. 
And,  my  God!  when  they  did  take  to  running 
tliey  did  it  first-rate,  I  can  tell  you,"  and  so  tlie 
officer,  who  had  evidently  taken  enough  to  affect 
his  empty  stomach  and  head,  chattering  about 
tlie  fight,  we  trotted  cm  in  the  moonlight :  di])- 
I)ing  down  into  the  valleys  on  the  road,  whieh 
seemed  like  irky  lakes  in  the  shadows  of  the 
black  trees,  then  mmtnting  nj)  again  along  the 
white  road,  which  shone  like  a  river  in  the  moon- 
light— the  country  silent  .is  death,  tliough  once, 
as  we  crossed  a  si;iall  water-course  and  the  noiso 
of  the  carriage  wheels  ceased,  I  called  the  atten- 
tion of  my  com])anions  to  a  distant  sound,  as  of 
a  great  multitude  of  people  mingled  with  a  faint 
re))ort  of  cannon.  "Do  you  hear  that?"  "No, 
I  don't.    But  it's  our  chajis,  no  doubt.    Thcy'ra 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


173 


press  on 
mile,  1111- 
u-e  I  (lis- 
iiiul  sliifc 
iit  of!"  !iis 
nifurtable 

n,  wliii'li 
efore  inc. 
lack,  otli- 
i'  rate  to- 
\g  my  last 
ervL'd  tlie 
It  arridng 
11  wliu  aj)- 

waf3  add- 

tlic  ruad 

at  a  IdiiR 

overtaken 

valry  and 

tlie  same 

, and  ob- 

■ad  l)Oiind 

jiale  and 

\^  tlie  cs- 

ashiiiRlon 

icver  been 

niv  \\i\v ; 

tell    us." 

carriage : 

nd  I  want 

jii  as  soon 

?" 

,sir?" 

u  did  not 
saw ;  we 
liei'ore  us, 
heir  suns, 
;lirt-w()rks 
;  them  bc- 
lem  would 
)(iys  would 
worn  out; 
night  and 
t  tasted  a 
iVell,  there 
ad  exjieet* 
iniy,  when 
ot"  masked 
eh  swarms 
L'k  as  you 
:er  finely, 
best  to  get 
s  too  late. 

0  running 
uid  so  the 
;h  to  afl'eet 
•ing  about 
iglit  :  di]i- 
)ad,  whieh 
iws  of  the 

along  the 
the  nioon- 
iiigh  once, 

1  the  noise 
the  al.en- 
nnd,  as  of 
ith  a  faint 
?"    "No, 

Thcy'ro 


y 


coming  along  fine,  I  can  promise  you."  At  lust 
some  miles  further  on  we  came  to  a  picket,  or 
main  guard,  on  the  roadside,  who  ran  forward, 
crying  out,  "What's  the  news?  anything  fresh  ? 
are  we  wliipjied?  is  it  a  fact?"  "Well,  gen- 
tlemen," exclaimed  the  Major,  reining  U[>  for  a 
niomeut,  "we  are  knocked  into  a  cocked  hat — 

lick(!d  to  li 1."     "Oh,  pray  don't  say  that," 

I  exclaimed;  "it's  not  quite  so  bad;  it's  only  a 
drawn  battle,  and  the  troops  will  occupy  Centre- 
ville  to-night,  and  the  posts  tliuy  started  from 
this  morning." 

A  little  further  on  we  met  a  line  of  commissa- 
riat carts,  and  my  excited  and  rather  injudicious 
military  friend  appeared  to  take  the  greatest 
pleasure  in  replying  lo  their  anxious  queries  for 

news,"  We  are  whipped  I    Whipped  like  li ." 

At  the  cross-roads  now  and  then  we  were  per- 
plexed, for  no  one  knew  the  bearings  of  Wash- 
ington, though  the  stars  were  bright  enough  ;  but 
good  fortune  favoured  us  and  kej /.  ns  straight, 
and  at  a  deserted  little  village,  with  a  solitary 
church  on  the  roadside,  I  increased  my  jiace, 
bade  good-night  and  good  speed  to  the  ofHeer, 
and  having  kept  company  with  two  men  in  a  gig 
for  some  time,  got  at  length  on  the  guarded  road 
leading  towards  the  capital,  and  was  stopped  liy 
the  pickets,  ])atrols,  and  grand  rounds,  making 
repeated  demands  for  the  last  accounts  from  tiie 
field.  The  houses  by  the  roadside  were  all 
closed  up  and  in  darkness.  I  knocked  in  vain  at 
several  for  a  drink  of  water,  but  was  answered 
only  by  the  angry  barkings  of  the  watch -dogs 
from  tlie  slave  (piarters.  It  was  a  peculiarity  of 
the  road  that  the  people,  and  soldiers  I  met,  at 
points  several  miles  apart,  always  insisted  that  I 
was  twelve  miles  from  Washington.  Up  hills, 
down  valleys,  with  the  silent,  grim  woods  4'or 
ever  by  my  side,  the  white  roads  and  the  black 
shadows  of  men,  still  I  was  twelve  miles  from  the 
Long  Bridge,  but  suddenly  I  came  upon  a  grand 
guard  under'arms,  who  had  quite  diffci'ent  ideas, 
and  who  said  I  was  only  about  four  miles  from 
the  river:  they  crowded  round  me.  "Wv.ll, 
man,  and  how  is  the  fight  going?"  I  repeated 
my  tale.  "What  does  he  say?"  "Oh,  begor- 
ra,  he  says  we're  not  bet  at  ail ;  it's  all  lies  they 
have  been  telling  us ;  we're  only  going  back  to 
the  ould  lines  for  the  greater  convaniency  of 
fighting  to-morrow  again;  that's  illigant.  hoc- 
ro!" 

All  by  the  sides  of  the  old  camps  the  men 
were  standing,  lining  the  road,  and  1  was  obliged 
to  evade  many  a  grasp  at  my  bridle  by  shouting 
out,  "Don't  sto])  me;  I've  important  news;  it's 
all  well  I"  and  still  the  good  horse,  refreshed  by 
the  cool  night  air,  went  clattering  on,  till  from 
the  top  (if  the  road  beyond  Arlington  I  caught  a 
sight  of  the  lights  of  Washington  and  the  white 
buildings  of  the  Capitol,  and  of  the  Executive 
Mansion,  glittering  like  snow  in  the  moonligiit. 
At  the  entrance  to  the  Long  Bridge  the  sentry 
cliallenged,  and  asked  for  the  countersign.  "I 
have  not  got  it,  but  I've  a  pass  from  General 
Scott."  An  olhcer  advancetl  from  the  guard, 
and  on  reading  the  pass  peVmitted  me  to  go 
on  witliout  difficulty.  lie  said,  "  I  have  becii 
obliged  to  let  a  good  many  go  over  to-night  be- 
fore you,  Congress-men  and  otiiers.  I  sui)pose 
you  did  not  expect  to  lie  coming  back  so  soon. 
I  fear  it's  a  had  business."  "  Oh,  not  so  had, 
after  all ;  I  expected  to  have  been  back  to-night 


before  nine  o'clock,  and  crossed  over  this  morn- 
ing witliout  the  countersign."  '•  Well,  I  guess," 
said  he,  "  we  don't  do  such  quick  fighting  as  that 
in  this  country," 

As  I  crossed  the  Long  Bridge  there  was 
scarce  a  sound  to  dispute  the  possession  of  its 
echoes  with  my  honse's  hoofs.  The  poor  beast 
had  carried  me  nobly  and  well,  and  1  made  up 
my  mind  to  buy  him,  as  I  had  no  doubt  he  would 
answer  jierfeetly  to  carry  nic  back  in  a  day  or 
two  to  M'])(nveirs  army  by  the  time  he  had  or- 
ganised it  for  a  new  attack  upon  the  enemy's  jio- 
sition.  Little  did  I  conceive  the  greatness  of  ilie 
defeat,  the  magnitude  of  tlie  disasters  which  it 
hail  entailed  upon  the  United  States,  or  the  in- 
terval that  would  elapse  before  another  army  set 
out  from  the  banks  of  the  I'otomac  onward  to 
liiehmond.  Had  I  sat  down  that  night  to  write 
my  letter,  quite  ignorant  at  the  time  of  the  great 
calamity  which  had  befallen  his  army,  in  all 
probability  I  would  have  stated  that  Al'Dowv^U 
i'.ad  received  a  severe  repulse,  and  had  fallen 
back  upon  Centreville ;  that  a  disgraceful  ))anic 
and  confusion  had  attended  the  retreat  of  a  \mv- 
tion  of  his  army,  but  that  the  apjiearance  of  the 
reserves  would  ]irobably  ]irevent  the  enemy  tak- 
ing any  advantage  of  the  disorder;  and  as  I 
would  have  merely  been  able  to  describe  such  in- 
cidents .IS  fell  under  my  own  observation,  and 
would  have  left  the  American  journals  to  nar- 
rate the  actual  details,  and  the  dispatches  of  the 
American  (Jenerals  the  strategical  events  of  the 
day,  I  sliould  have  led  the  world  at  home  to  be- 
lieve, as,  in  fact,  I  believed  myself,  that  M'Dow- 
cU's  retrograde  movement  would  be  arrested  at 
some  point  between  Centreville  and  I'airfax 
Court-honse. 

The  hitter  that  I  was  to  write  occupied  my 
mind  whilst  I  was  crossing  the  Long  Bridge,  gaz- 
ing at  the  lights  refiected  in  the  I'otoinac  fioiii 
the  city.  The  night  had  become  overcast,  and 
heavy  clouds  rising  uj)  rapidly  obscured  the 
moon,  forming  a  most  jihantastic  nniss  of  shapes 
in  the  sky. 

At  the  Washington  end  of  the  bridge  I  was 
challenged  again  by  the  men  of  a  whole  regiment, 
who,  with  piled  arms,  were  halted  on  the  eliaus- 
see,  smoking,  laughing,  and  singing.  "Stran- 
ger, have  you  been  to  the  fight?"  "  I  have  been 
only  a  little  beyond  Centreville."  But  that  was 
quite  enough.  Soldiers,  civili.ins,  and  women, 
who  seemed  to  be  out  unusually  late,  crowded 
round  the  horse,  and  again  L  told  my  stereotyped 
story  of  the  unsuccessful  attempt  to  carr;  the 
Confederate  jjosition,  and  the  retreat  to  ('entre- 
ville  to  await  better  luck  next  time.  The  sol- 
diers ahmgsid  •  me  cheered,  and  those  next  then 
took  it  UJ),  till  it  ran  through  the  whole  line,  and 
must  have  awnke  the  night-owls. 

As  I  !  issed  Willaid's  hotel  a  little  further  on, 
a  clock — I  think  the  only  public  clock  which 
strikes  the  hours  in  Washington — tolled  ovt  the 
hour;  and  I  siipjiosed,  from  what  the  sentry  lohl 
me,  tliougli  1  did  not  count  the  strokes,  that  it 
was  eleven  o'clock.  AM  the  rooms  in  the  hotel 
were  a  blaze  of  light.  The  pavement  before  the 
door  was  crowded,  and  some  mounted  men  and 
the  clattering  of  sabres  on  the  pavement  led  me 
to  infer  that  the  escort  of  the  wounded  ofiicer 
had  '.rrivi;!]  befor6  me.  I  jiassed  o:i  to  the  liv- 
eiy-stables,  where  every  one  was  alive  and  stil- 
ling. 


I 


ri 


174 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOl^TH. 


"  I'm  sure,"  said  the  mnn,  "  I  thought  I'd  nev- 
er  see  you  nor  tlic  liorse  back  again.  The  gig 
and  the  other  gentleman  has  been  back  a  long 
time.     How  did  he  carry  you  ?'.' 

"Oh,  pretty  well ;  whaVs  his  price?" 

"  Well,  now  that  I  look  at  him,  and  to  you,  it 
will  be  100  dollars  less  than  I  said.  I'm  in  good 
heart  to-night." 

"Why  so?  A  number  of  your  horses  and 
carriages  have  not  come  back  yet,  you  tell  me." 

"  oil,  well,  I'll  get  paid  for  them  some  time  or 
anotiier.  Oh,  such  news  !  such  news!"  said  he, 
rubi)ing  his  hands.  "Twenty  thousand  of  them 
killed  and  wounded!  ]\Iay-bc  tiiey'ro  not  hav- 
ing fits  in  the  White  House  to-night!" 

I  walked  to  my  lodgings,  and  just  as  I  turned 
the  key  in  the  door  a  Hash  of  light  made  me 
pause  ibr  a  moment,  in  expectation  of  the  report 
of  a  gun  ;  for  I  could  not  help  tliinking  it  quite 
pos&ible  that,  somehow  or  another,  the  Confeder- 
ate cavalry  would  try  to  beat  up  the  Imcs,  but 
no  sound  followed.  It  must  have  been  light- 
ning. I  walked  up-stairs,  and  saw  a  most  wel- 
come supper  ready  on  the  table — an  enormous 
piece  of  cheese,  a  sausage  of  unknown  comjio- 
nents,  a  knuckle-bone  of  ham,  and  a  bottle  of  a 
very  light  wine  of  France  ;  but  I  would  not  have 
exclianged  that  repast  and  have  waited  half  an 
hour  for  any  banquet  that  Soyer  or  Caromc 
could  have  prepared  at  their  best.  Then,  having 
pulled  oft"  my  boots,  batlied  my  head,  trimmed 
candles,  and  lighted  a  ]'ipe,  I  sat  down  to  write. 
I  made  some  feeble  sentences,  but  the  ])en  went 
flying  about  the  pajjcr  as  if  the  spirits  were  play- 
ing tricks  with  it.  When  I  screwed  up  my  ut- 
most resolution,  the  "y's"  would  ftill  run  into 
long  streaks,  and  the  letters  combine  most  curi- 
ously, and  my  eyes  closed,  and  my  pen  slipjied, 
and  just  as  I  was  aroused  fi-om  a  na]),  and  set- 
tled into  a  stern  determination  to  hold  my  pen 
straight,  I  was  interrupted  by  a  messenger  from 
Lord  Lyons,  to  inquire  whether  I  had  returned, 
and  if  so.  to  ask  me  to  go  up  to  the  Legation, 
and  get  something  to  eat.  I  explained,  with  my 
than):",  that  I  was  quite  safe,  and  had  eaten  sup- 
per, and  learned  from  the  servant  that  Mr.  Warrc 
and  his  companion  had  arrived  about  two  hours 
previously.  I  resumed  my  seat  once  more,  haunt- 
ed  by  tlic  memory  of  the  Boston  mail,  which 
would  be  closed  in  a  few  hours,  and  I  had  nnicli 
to  tell,  although  I  iiad  not  seen  the  battle,  ^^gain 
and  again  I  woke  up,  but  at  last  the  greatest 
conqueror  but  death  overcame  me,  and,  with  my 
head  on  the  blotted  paper,  I  fell  fast  asleep. 


CIIAPTKR  LI. 

A  ninnway  crowd  at  WaHliiiigton — Tho  army  of  the  Poto- 
iimc  in  rpti'Piit — Mail-<liiy — Want  of  nnlt-r  and  author- 
ity—  Ncwspapor  lies — Alarm  at  Wat^hinptcin—< Confeder- 
ate prisrinorH — (fencnil  M'Clolhin — M.  Merrier — ICffeets 
of  tlic  (Icfcat  on  Mr.  Seward  and  tlie  rresidcut — McDow- 
ell— (tencral  I'atterson. 

JkIiI  22ncL — I  awoke  from  a  deep  sleej)  this 
morning,  about  six  o'clock.  The  rain  was  fall- 
ing in  torrents,  and  beat  with  a  dull,  thudding 
sound  on  the  leads  outside  my  window ;  lint, 
louder  than  all,  came  a  strange  sound,  as  if  of 
the  tread  of  men,  a  confused  tramp  and  splash- 
ing, and  a  murmuring  of  voices.  I  got  u]>  and 
ran  to  the  front  room,  the  windows  of  which  look- 
ed on  the  street,  and  there,  to  my  intense  sur- 


jirise,  I  saw  a  steady  stream  of  men  covered  with 
mud,  soaked  through  with  rain,  wlio  were  jjour- 
iug  irregularly,  without  any  semblance  of  order, 
uj)  I'ennsylvania  Avenue  towards  the  Cajiitol. 
A  dense  stream  of  vapour  rose  from  the  nnilti- 
tude ;  but  looking  closely  at  the  men,  I  perceived 
they  belonged  to  difterent  regiments.  New  I'ork- 
ers,  Miehiganders,  Jihode  1  slanders,  Massachu- 
setters,  Minnesotians,  ming.  d  pellmell  together. 
Many  of  them  were  witliout  knapsacks,  cross- 
belts,  and  firelocks.  Some  had  neither  great- 
coats  nor  shoes,  others  we-e  covered  with  blank- 
ets. Hastily  putting  on  my  clothes,  I  ran  down 
stairs  and  asked  an  "ofhce'*,"  who  was  passing 
by,  a  pale  young  man,  who  looked  exhausted  to 
death,  and  who  had  lost  his  sword,  for  the  empty 
sheath  dangled  at  his  side,  where  the  men  were 
coming  from.  "Where  from?  Well,  sir,  I  guess 
we're  all  coming  out  of  Verginny  as  far  as  we 
can,  and  pretty  well  whipped  too."  "What! 
the  whole  army,  sir?"  "That's  more  than  I 
know.  They  may  stay  that  like.  I  know  I'm 
going  home.  I've  had  enough  of  fighting  to  last 
my  lifetime." 

Tiie  news  seemed  incredible.  But  there,  be- 
fore my  eyes,  were  the  jaded,  dispirited,  broken 
remnants  of  regiments  passing  onwards,  where 
and  for  what  I  knew  not,  and  it  was  evidi  nt 
enough  that  the  nmss  of  the  grand  army  of  tlie 
Potomac  was  jilacing  that  river  between  it  and 
the  enemy  as  rajiidly  as  possible.  "Is  there  any 
pm-siut?"  I  asked  of  several  men.  Some  were 
too  surly  fi)  reply  ;  others  said,  "They're  coming 
as  fast  as  they  can  after  us."  Others,  "I  guess 
they've  stopi)ed  it  now — the  rain  is  too  much  for 
them."  A  few  said  they  did  not  know,  and  look- 
ed as  if  they  did  not  care.  And  here  came  one 
of  these  small  crises  in  which  a  s])ecial  corre- 
spondent would  give  a  good  deal  for  the  least 
portion  of  duality  in  mind  or  body.  'A  few  sheets 
of  blotted  paper  and  writing  materials  lying  on 
the  table  beside  the  luirnt-out  candles  reminded 
me  tlu'.t  the  imperious  post -day  was  running  on. 
"  The  mail  for  Europe,  i-in  Boston,  closes  at  one 
o'clock,  Monday,  July  22nd,"  stuck  up  in  largo 
cliaractevs,  warned  me  I  had  not  a  moment  to 
lose.  I  knew  the  event  would  be  of  the  utmost 
interest  in  England,  and  tliat  it  would  be  import- 
pnt  to  tell  tlie  truth  as  far  as  I  knew  it,  leaving 
the  American  jiapers  to  state  their  own  case,  that 
the  public  mijiht  form  their  own  conclusions. 

But  then,  1  felt,  how  interesting  it  would  be  to 
riue  out  and  wa,; )'  the  evacuation  of  the  sacred 
soil  of  Virginia,  lo  see  what  the  enemy  were  do- 
ing, to  examine  the  situation  of  affairs,  to  hoar 
what  the  men  said,  and,  above  all,  find  out  tho 
cause  of  this  retreat  and  headlong  eonfu'ion,  in- 
vestigate the  extent  of  the  Federal  losses  .  id  the 
condition  of  the  wounded — in  fact,  to  find  mate- 
rials for  a  dozen  of  letters.  I  would  fain,  too, 
have  seen  General  Scott,  and  heard  his  ojiinit  ns, 
and  have  visited  the  leading  senators,  to  get  a 
notion  of  the  way  in  which  they  looked  on  this 
catastrophe.  —  "I  do  perceive  here  n  divided 
duty." — But  the  more  I  relleetcd  on  the  matter 
the  more  strongly  I  became  convinced  that  it 
W(,uld  not  be  advisable  to  ])Ostpone  the  letter,  and 
that  the  evonts  of  the  21st  ought  to  have  ]irece- 
dence  of  those  of  the  22nd,  and  so  I  stuck  u]i  my 
usual  notice  on  the  door  otitside  of  "  Mr.  Russell 
is  out,"  and  resumed  my  letter. 

Whilst  the  rain  fell,  the  tramp  of  feet  went 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


17S 


'erpcl  with 
i(!rc  jKuir- 
of  order, 
!  Ca]iiti)l, 
lie  iiinlti- 
peiTciviHl 
<cw  i'ork- 
klassiiclui- 
toyc'llior. 
cks,  oniss- 
licr  proat- 
itl)  blank- 
ran  down 
IS  passing 
laustcd  to 
tlio  empty 
men  were 
sir,  I  gnc'ss 
far  as  wo 
"What! 
tre  til  an  I 
know  I'm 
ing  to  last 

there,  he- 
ed, broken 

rds,  wbcre 
[IS   evident 

my  of  tlie 
een  it  and 

there  any 
Some  were 
're  coming 
,  "1  guess 
1  much  for 
,  and  look- 
came  one 
icial  corrc- 
r  the  least 
.  few  sheets 
Is  lying  on 
i  reminded 
mining  on. 
OSes  at  one 
ip  in  largo 
moment  to 
the  vitmost 

be  imjiort- 

it,  leaving 
1  case,  that 
lasions. 
vould  be  to 

the  sacred 
y  were  do- 
irs,  to  hear 
nd  out  tho 
ifu'ion,  in- 
ses  .  ;d  the 

find  raate- 
1  fain,  too, 
s  opinii  ns, 
■s.  to  got  a 
Lcd  on  this 

a  divided 
the  matter 
:ed  that  it 

letter,  and 
lave  preeo- 
uck  u]>  my 
Mr.  Russell 

'  feet  went 


steadily  on.  As  T  lifted  my  eyes  now  and  then 
from  the  paper,  I  saw  the  beaten,  foot-sore, 
spongy-looking  soldiers,  oflicers,  and  all  the  de- 
bris of  the  army  filing  through  mud  and  rain,  and 
forming  in  crowds  in  front  of  tlie  spirit-st(Tes. 
Underneath  my  room  is  the  magazine  of  Jost, 
negociant  cii  vins,  and  he  drives  a  roaring  trade 
this  morning,  interrupted  occasionally  by  loud 
dis])utes  as  to  the  score.  When  the  lad  came  in 
with  my  breakfast  he  seemed  a  degree  or  two 
lighter  in  colour  than  usual.  "What's  the  mat- 
ter with  you?"  "I  'spects,  massa,  the  Secesh- 
ers  soon  be  in  here.  I'm  a  free  nigger;  I  must 
go,  sar,  afor^-  de  come  cotch  me."  It  is  rather 
pleasant  to  be  neutral  under  such  circumstances. 

I  speedily  satisfied  myself  I  could  not  finish 
my  letter  in  time  for  post,  and  I  therefore  sent 
for  my  respectable  Englisliman  to  go  direct  to 
IJoston  by  the  train  which  leaves  this  at  four 
o'clock  to-morrow  morning,  so  as  to  catch  the 
mail  steamer  on  Wednesday,  and  telegraphed  to 
the  agents  there  to  inform  them  of  my  intention 
of  doing  so.  Visitors  came  knocking  at  the  door, 
and  insisted  on  getting  in — military  friends  who 
wantei'.  to  give  me  their  v<!rsions  of  the  battle — 
the  w'titrhc.s  of  legations  and  others,  who  desired 
to  hear  the  news  and  have  a  little  gossi]) ;  but  I 
tn.vned  a  deaf  ear  doorwards,  and  they  went  ofl' 
into  the  outer  rain  again. 

More  draggled,  more  muddy,  and  down-heart- 
ed, and  fool-weary  and  vapid,  the  great  army  of 
the  Potomac  still  straggled  by.  Towards  even- 
ing I  seized  my  hat  and  made  off  to  the  stable 
to  inquire  how  the  poor  horse  was.  There  he 
stood,  nearly  as  fresh  as  ever,  a  little  tucked  up 
in  the  ribs,  but  eating  heartily,  and  jicrfectly 
sound.  A  change  had  come  over  Mr.  Wroe's 
dream  of  horseHesh.  "They'll  be  going  cheap 
now,"  thought  he,  and  so  he  said  aloud,  "If 
you'd  like  to  buy  that  horse,  I'd  let  yon  have  him 
a  little  under  what  I  said.  Dear !  dear !  it 
must  a'  been  a  sight  sure-ly  to  see  them  Yankees 
running ;  you  can  scarce  get  through  the  Avenue 
with  them." 

And  what  Mr.  W.  says  is  quite  true.  Tho  rain 
has  abated  a  little,  and  the  i)avements  are  dense- 
ly packed  with  men  in  ■.:  iform,  some  with,  oth- 
ers without,  arms,  on  whom  the  shopkeepers  are 
looking  with  evident  alarm.  They  seem  to  be 
in  possession  c '  all  the  s]!irit-houses.  Now  and 
then  shots  are  lieard  down  the  street  or  in  tho 
distance,  and  cries  and  shouting,  as  if  a  scuiHc 
or  a  dilhculty  were  occurring.  Willard's  is  turn- 
ed into  a  barrack  for  oHicers,  and  presents  such 
a  scene  in  the  hall  as  could  oidy  be  witnessed  in 
a  city  occupied  by  a  demoralised  army.  There 
is  no  jn'ovost  guard,  no  jjatrol,  no  authority  visi- 
ble in  tlu^  streets.  General  Scott  is  (juite  over- 
whelmiMl  by  the  aftair,  and  is  unable  to  stir. 
General  M'Dowcll  has  not  yet  arrived.  Tho 
Secretary  of  War  ktiows  not  what  to  do,  Mr.  Lin- 
coln is  equally  helpless,  and  Mr.  Seward,  who  re- 
tains some  calmness,  is,  notwithstanding  his  mili- 
tary rank  and  militia  experience,  without  re- 
source or  expedient.  There  ar.T  a  good  many 
troops  hanging  on  about  the  camps  and  forts  on 
the  other  side  of  the  river,  it  is  said  ;  but  they 
are  thoroughly  disorganised,  and  will  run  away 
if  the  enemy  comes  in  sight  without  a  shot,  and 
then  the  ca])ital  must  fall  at  once.  Why  Beau- 
regard does  not  come  I  know  not,  nor  can  I  well 
guess.     I  have  been  expecting  every  hour  since 


noon  to  hear  his  cannon.  Here  is  a  golden  oji- 
portunity.  If  the  C!onfederates  do  not  grasp  that 
which  will  never  come  again  on  such  terms,  it 
stamjis  them  with  mediocrity. 

The  morning  papers  are  quite  ignorant  of  the ' 
defeat,  or  affect  to  ba  unaware  of  it,  and  declare 
yesterday's  battle  to  have  been  in  favour  of  tho 
Federals  generally,  tli.i  least  arrogant  stating  tliat 
SI'Dowell  will  resumf  liis march  from  Centrevillo 
immediately.  The  evening  papers,  however, 
seem  to  be  more  sensible  of  the  real  nature  of 
the  crisis :  it  is  scarcely  within  the  reach  of  any 
.1  ■■.ount  of  impertinence  or  audacious  assertion 
lo  deny  what  is  passing  before  their  very  eyes. 
The  grand  army  of  the  Potomac  is  in  the  streets 
of  Washington,  instead  of  being  on  its  way  to 
Richmond.  One  paper  contains  a  statement 
which  would  make  mo  nneasy  about  myself  if  I 
had  any  confidence  in  these  stories,  for  it  is  as- 
serted "that  Mr.  Russell  was  last  seen  in  the 
thick  of  the  fight,  and  has  not  yet  returned. 
Fears  are  entertained  for  his  safety." 

Towards  dark  the  rain  moderated  and  tho 
noise  in  the  streets  waxed  louder ;  all  kinds  of 
rumours  respecting  the  advance  of  the  enemy, 
the  annihilation  of  Federal  regiments,  tlie  tre- 
mendous losses  on  botli  sides,  charges  of  cavalry, 
stormings  of  great  intrencliments  and  stupendous 
masked  batteries,  and  elaborate  reports  of  ur- 
parallelcd  feats  of  ])ersonal  valour,  were  circu- 
hited  under  the  genial  iiitluenee  of  excitement, 
and  by  the  quantities  of  alcohol  necessary  to  keep 
out  the  infiuenci;  of  the  external  moisture.  I 
did  not  hear  one  expression  of  confidence,  or  see 
one  cheerful  face  in  all  that  vast  crowd  whi<'h 
but  a  few  days  before  con:;(itutcd  an  army,  and 
was  now  nothing  better  than  a  semi- armed  nioli. 
I  could  see  no  cannon  returning,  and  to  my  in- 
quiries after  them,  I  got  generally  the  answer, 
"I  suppose  the  Seceshers  have  got  hold  of  them." 

Whilst  I  was  at  table,  several  gentlemen  vlio 
have  cntrc^e  call.id  on  me,  vho  confirmed  r.iy  im- 
pressions respecting  the  niagnitude  of  the  disas- 
ter that  is  so  rajiidly  developing  its  proportions. 
They  agree  in  describing  the  army  as  disorgan- 
i.sed.  Washington  is  rendered  almost  untena'nle, 
in  consequence  of  the  contUict  of  the  army,  wliich 
was  not  only  to  have  defended  it,  but  to  have 
ca])tured  the  rival  caj)ital.  Some  of  my  visitors 
declared  it  was  dangerous  to  move  abroad  in  the 
streets.  Many  think  tho  contest  is  now  over; 
but  the  gentlemen  of  Washington  have  Southern 
symiiathies,  and  I,  on  the  contrary,  am  persuaded 
this  prick  in  the  great  Northern  balloon  will  let 
out  a  quantity  of  jioisonous  gas,  and  rouse  tlio 
jjcople  to  a  sense  of  tlie  nature  of  the  conflict  on 
which  they  have  entered.  Tho  inmates  of  the 
White  House  are  in  a  state  of  tho  utmost  trejii- 
dation,  and  Mr.  Lincoln,  who  sat  in  the  telegr.ipli 
operaNir's  rooHi  with  (Jcncral  Scott  and  Mr.  Sew- 
ard, listening  to  the  dispatches  as  they  arrived 
from  the  scene  of  action,  left  it  in  despnii  when 
the  fatal  words  tripped  from  the  needle,  and  the 
defeat  was  clearly  revealed  to  him. 

Having  finally  cleared  my  room  of  visitors  and 
locked  the  door,  T  sat  down  once  more  to  my 
desk,  and  continued  my  narrative.  The  night 
wore  on,  and  the  tumult  still  reigned  in  the  city. 
Once,  indeed,  if  not  twice,  my  attention  was 
aroused  by  sounds  like  distant  cannon  and  out- 
bursts of  mu.'sketry,  but  on  reflection  I  was  satis- 
fied the  Confederate  general  would  never  be  rash 


17B 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


enough  to  attack  the  place  by  night,  and  that, 
after  all  the  rain  which  had  fallen,  he  in  alli)rob- 
nbility  would  ^ivc  horses  and  men  a  day's  rest, 


fore  the  battle.  Their  just  indignation  was  ftn- 
dible  enough  One  of  them,  af'i  iv.„nis,  toM 
General  M'Dowell,  who  hurried  over  as  soon  n>^ 


niarciiing  them  through  the  niglir,  so  as  to  ap-    he  was  made  aware  of  the  disgraecfiii  ov* 


'pear  before  the  city  in  the  eonrso  if  to-morrow 
Again  aii''  fgain  T  was  interrnpti^i'  by  f^oldiers 
clamouring  fo''  ;'  'iik  .;iul  for  nioni'v,  attracted 
by  the  hull  I  hi  uy  .vindows;  one  or  two  irrc- 
praesil '  ii.'i  irresistible  friends  actually  succeed- 
ed in  cakiTig  their  way  into  my  room — -just  as 
on  the  r.:.'lii  when  I  was  en;4aged  in  writing  an 
account  of  the  last  attack  on  the  Redan,  my  hut 
was  stormed  by  visitors,  and  much  of  my  letter 
was  penned  under  the  ai^preheiision  of  a  sharp 
pair  of  sjiurs  fixed  in  the  heels  of  a  jolly  little 
adjutant,  who,  overcome  by  ftiti{:,iie  and  riim-and- 
water,  fell  asleep  in  my  chair,  with  his  legs  cock- 
ed up  on  my  writing-table ;  but  I  saw  the  last 
of  them  about  midnight,  and  so  continued  writ- 
ing till  the  uioruing  light  began  to  steal  through 
the  case'>ient.  Then  came  the  trusty  messenger, 
and,  at  ?>  A.Ai.,\\heu  1  had  handed  him  the  ])ar- 
eel  and  looked  round  to  see  all  my  things  were 
in  readiness,  lest  a  rajiid  toilet  might  be  neces- 
sary in  the  morning,  with  a  sigh  of  relief  I  plunged 
into  bed,  and  sle])t. 

,/('///  '2liid. — The  morning  was  far  advanced 
when  I  awoke,  and  hearing  the  roll  of  waggons 
in  the  street,  I  at  lirst  inuipined  the  Federals  were 
actunlly  about  to  abandon  Washington  itself; 
hut  on  going  to  the  window,  I  ])erceived  it  aiosc 
from  an  irregular  train  of  commissariat  carts, 
country  waggons,  ambuiances,  and  sutlers'  vans, 
in  the  centre  of  the  street,  the  paths  being  crowd- 
ed as  before  with  soldiers,  or  rather  wiiii  men  in 
uniform,  many  of  whom  seemed  .as  if  they  had 
been  rolling  in  the  mud.  Poor  General  Alans- 
field  was  running  back  and  forw  ds  between  his 
quarters  and  the  War  Deiiartni  nt,  and  in  the 
afternoon  ^onie  efforts  were  made  to  restore  or- 
der, by  appointing  rendezvous  to  which  the  frag- 
ment of  regiments  should  rejiair,  and  by  organ- 
ising mounted  patrols  to  clear  the  streets.  In 
the  middle  of  the  day  I  went  out  through  the 
streets,  and  walked  down  to  the  long  bridge  with 
the  intention  of  crossing,  but  it  was  literally  block- 
ed up  from  end  to  end  with  a  mass  of  waggons 
and  ambulances  full  of  wounded  men,  whose  cries 
of  pain  echoed  above  the  shouts  of  the  drivers, 
so  that  I  .abandoned  the  attempt  to  get  "..oss, 
which,  indeed,  would  not  have  been  easy  with 
any  comfort,  owing  to  the  depth  of  mud  in  the 
roads.  To-day  the  aspect  of  Washington  is  more 
unseemly  and  disgraceful,  if  that  were  jjossible, 
than  yesterday  afternoon. 

As  I  returned  towards  my  lodgings  a  scene  of 
greater  disi'-der  and  violence  than  usual  attract- 
ed my  ./.li'!iti(m.  A  body  of  Confederate  jiris- 
oncrs,  marching  two  and  two,  were  with  dilli- 
cidty  saved  by  their  guarJ  'Vom  the  murderous 
assaidts  of  a  hooting  lahble,  composed  of  civilians 
and  men  dres.scd  like  soldiers,  who  hurled  all 
kinds  of  missiles  they  could  lay  their  hands  'ijion 
over  the  heads  of  the  guard  at  their  victims,  spat- 
tering them  with  mud  and  filthy  langnag".  It 
was  very  grafif\ing  to  see  the  v.  ay  in  which  the 
dastardly  mob  di';iersed  i.t  the  aii])earance  of  a 
sipiad  of  mounted  men  who  charged  them  bold- 
ly, and  escorted  the  prixmcrs  to  General  Mans- 
field. Tiiey  consisted  ni  a  pick .  t  or  grand  gnard, 
which,  uuaw.are  of  liie  retreat  of  iheii'  regiment 
from  Fairfax,  marched  into  the  Federal  lines  be- 


tt)  which  they  had  been  expo.sed,  "I  ivoiild  liu\o 
died  a  hundred  deaths  before  I  fell  into  ti:cr,a 
wretches'  hands,  if  I  had  known  this.  Set  ii  ■„ 
me  free  for  five  minutes,  and  let  any  two,  oi  fcuj, 
of  them  insult  me  wlien  my  handsare  loose." 

Soon  afterwards  a  rejiort  Hew  about  that  a 
crowd  of  soldiers  were  hanging  a  Secessionist. 
A  senator  rushed  to  General  M'Dowell,  and  told 
him  that  he  had  seen  the  man  swinging  with  his 
own  eyes.  Off  went  the  General,  ventre  a  tcrre, 
and  Avas  considerably  relieved  by  finding  that 
they  were  hanging  merely  a  dummy  or  effigy  of 
Jeii',  Davis,  not  having  succeeded  in  getting  at 
the  original  yesterday. 

Poor  iM'Dowell  has  been  swiftly  punished  for 
his  defeat,  or  rather  for  the  unhajijiy  termination 
to  his  advance  As  so(m  as  the  disaster  was  as- 
certained beyond  doubt,  the  President  telegrajihed 
to  General  M'Clellan  to  come  and  take  commnnd 
of  his  army.  It  is  a  commentary  full  of  instruc- 
tion on  the  military  system  of  ihe  Ame.ican.-:, 
that  they  have  not  a  soldier  who  has  ever  handled 
a  brigade  in  the  field  fit  for  service  in  the  North. 

The  new  connnander-in-ehief  is  a  hrevet-nuijor 
who  has  been  in  civil  enijiloy  on  a  railway  for 
several  years.  He  went  once,  with  two  other 
West  Point  officers,  conmiissioncd  by  Mr.  Jef- 
ferson Da\  is,  then  Secretary  of  War,  to  exan^ine 
and  rejiort  on  the  operations  in  the  Crimea,  v  .  u 
were  judiciously  despatched  when  the  war  was 
over,  and  I  used  to  see  him  and  his  com]'anions 
jioking  about  the  ruins  of  the  deserted  tienches 
and  batteries,  mounted  on  horses  furnished  bv 
the  courtesy  of  British  officers,  just  as  they  iived 
in  English  qiuirtcrs,  when  they  were  smililied 
and  refused  an  audience  by  the  Duke  of  Mal- 
akhofF  in  the  French  camj).  Major  MTlclian 
forgot  the  afl.  ;\t,  did  not  even  mention  it,  and 
.showed  his  C-  i'^tian  sjiirit  by  ])rai>ing  the  allies, 
and  damni  •, ,  J'>i^n  Bull  with  very  faint  appl.ause, 
seasoned  wit'  ■  '/censure.  He  was  very  young, 
however,  at  t!ie  time,  and  is  so  well  s])oken  of 
that  his  appointment  will  be  popular ;  hut  all 
that  he  has  done  to  gain  siudi  re])ulation,  and  to 
earn  the  ciuifidence  of  the  government,  is  to  have 
had  some  skirmishes  with  hands  of  (Confederates 
in  Western  Virginia,  in  which  the  leader,  Gar- 
nett,  was  killed,  his  "forces"  routed,  and  finally, 
to  the  number  of  a  thousand,  oh'iged  to  surren- 
der as  prisoners  of  war.  That  success,  however, 
at  such  a  time,  is  quite  enough  to  elevate  any 
man  to  the  highest  command.  M'Clellan  is 
about  thirty-six  years  of  age,  was  educated  at 
West  Point,  where  lu'  was  junior  to  M'Dowell, 
and  a  class-ft'llow  of  Beauregard. 

I  dined  with  M.  Mercier,  the  French  minister, 
who  has  a  jirettily  situated  house  on  the  heights 
of  Georgetown,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
city.  Lord  Lyons,  Mr.  Monson,  his  firivate  sec- 
r<^fary,  M.  Baroche,  son  of  the  French  minister, 
who  has  been  e::]doiting  the  Southern  states, 
were  the  only  additions  to  the  family  circle. 
The  minister  is  a  man  in  the  prime  of  life,  of 
more  than  moderate  ability,  with  a  ra])id  man- 
ner and  (juiekuess  of  apprehension.  Ever  since 
I  first  met  M.  Mercier  he  has  expressed  hi,^  con- 
viction that  the  North  never  can  succeed  in  c(  n- 
qucring  the  South,  or  even  restoring  the  Union, 


MY  DIARY  NOIITH  AND  SOUTH. 


177 


was  mi- 
nis, loM 
5  soon  aw 

)nKl  Ijuvo 
nto  tlit^o 
Set  li  „ 
),  ui  fcui, 
oose." 
It  that  a 
'cssii)iiist. 
,  ami  told 
C  with  his 
e  a  Urre, 
ling  that 
flligy  of 
jolting  at 

lishcd  for 
niination 
■r  was  as- 
Icgrajjlicd 
coniinaud 
i)f  instnic- 
iiic.ieans, 
r  luindled 
lie  North, 
vi't-mnjor 
lilway  lor 
wo  other 
IMr.  ,j(f- 
3  exunnnc 
iniea,  w.o 
?  war  was 
)nii  anions 
d  trenches 
nished  by 
they  lived 
c  sr.iililied 
LC  of  Mul- 
MTloiiMu 
ion  it,  and 
;  the  allies, 
1  ai)i)hiuse, 
eryyoniip, 
sjioken  of 
r ;  but  all 
ion,  and  to 
,  is  to  have 
)n  federates 
■ader,  Gar- 
md  finally, 
to  snrren- 
!,  however, 
Icvate  any 
'Clellan  is 
ducated  at 
M'Dowell, 

h  minister, 
the  heights 
df  from  the 
irivate  ser- 
h  ndnister, 
lorn  states, 
nily  circle. 
of  life,  of 
■npid  man- 
Ever  since 
ed  his  con- 
eed  in  e(  n- 
the  Union, 


ftnd  that  an  attempt  to  do  either  by  armed  force 
nit  -I  (  ad  Ml  disaster.  He  is  the  iii'.'  •  .'iifinned 
ill  Ihs  fpnii;!-!  by  the  result  of  Sunday's  battle, 
but  tb"  'iin.'ivity  of  the  Confederates  ^ives  rise 
ti)  tilt  bcdii'f  that  they  HuiVered  seriously  in  the 
affair.  M.  Baroche  has  arrived  at  the  convic- 
tion, without  reference  to  this  fate  of  the  Federals 
in  tlieir  march  to  Richmond,  tli.it  the  Union  i.s 
utterly  }^one — as  dead  as  the  Achaiaii  league. 

Whilst  Madame  Mercier  and  her  friends  are 
conversing  on  much  more  agreeable  subjects, 
the  men  liohl  a  tobacco  council  under  the  shade 
of  the  magiiiliceiit  trees,  and  France,  Russia,  and 
minor  ])owers  talk  politics.  Lord  Lyons  alone  not 
joining  in  the  nicotian  coiitrover.sy.  Reneath  us 
flowed  lh<!  l'(jtomac,  and  on  the  wooded  heights 
at  the  other  side,  the  Federal  flag  rose  over  Fort 
Corcoran  and  Arlington  House,  from  which  the 
grand  army  had  set  forth  a  few  days  ago  to  crush 
rebellion  and  destroy  its  chiefs.  There,  sad, 
anxious,  and  despairing,  Mr.  Lincoln  and  Mr. 
Seward  were  at  that  vcrymomeiit  i)assiiig  through 
tiie  wreck  of  the  army,  which,  silent  as  ruin  it- 
self, took  no  notice  of  their  i)resence. 

It  had  bt'cii  rumoured  that  the  Confederates 
wore  advancing,  and  the  I'resident  and  the  P^or- 
eign  Minister  set  out  in  a  carriage  to  see  with 
their  own  eyes  the  state  of  the  troops.  What 
they  beheld  filled  them  with  despair.  The  pla- 
teau was  covered  with  the  men  of  different  regi- 
ments, driven  by  the  patrols  out  of  the  city,  or 
arrested  in  their  flight  at  the  bridges.  In  Fort 
Corcoran  tiic  men  were  in  utter  disorder,  threat- 
ening to  murder  the  officer  of  regulars  who  was 
essaying  to  get  them  into  some  state  of  efficiency 
to  meet  the  advancing  enemy.  He  had  menaced 
one  of  the  ofHcers  of  the  liDth  with  death  for  flat 
disobedience  to  orders ;  the  men  had  taken  the 
part  of  their  captain ;  and  the  President  drove 
into  the  work  just  in  time  to  witness  the  con- 
fusion. The  soldiers  with  loud  cries  demanded 
that  the  officer  should  be  ])nnisbed,  and  the  Pres- 
ident asked  hiin  why  he  had  used  such  violent 
language  towards  his  subordinate.  "1  told  liiin, 
Mr.  President,  that  if  he  refused  to  obey  my  oribM's 
I  would  siioot  him  on  the  s])ot ;  and  I  here  repeat 
it,  sir,  that  if  [  remain  in  eomimmd  here,  and  he 
or  any  other  man  refuses  to  obey  my  orders,  I'll 
shoot  him  on  the  spot." 

The  firmness  of  Sherman's  language  and  de- 
meanour in  presence  of  the  chief  of  the  State 
overawed  tlie  mutineers,  and  they  proceeded  to 
put  the  work  in  some  kind  of  order  to  resist  the 
enemy. 

Mr.  Seward  was  deajdy  impressed  by  the  scene, 
and  retired  with  the  President  to  consult  as  to 
the  best  course  to  |)Ursi;e,  in  some  dejec-tion,  but 
they  were  rather  comforted  by  the  telegrams 
from  all  jinrts  of  the  North,  which  proved  that, 
thoiigli  disappointed  and  surprised,  the  ])eoplc 
were  not  disheartened  or  ready  to  relinquish  the 
contest. 

The  accounts  of  the  battle  in  the  principal 
journals  nv,  ruriously  inaccurate  and  absurd. 
Thew:  .  ■>  '  avn  t'ow  recovered  themselves.  At 
first  ihir\  ^.  iCkIcc  '.o  the  pressure  of  facts  and  to 
the  ace  umts  off  »eir  corre,-.pondcnts.  They  ad- 
mitted tlu  rej  uisis  the  losses,  the  disastrous  re- 
treat, the  kfs  of  guns,  in  strange  contrast  to  their 
prophecies  and  -vondrous  hyperboles  about  the 
hyperbolic  granu  urmy.  Now  they  set  them- 
selves U)  stem  !  he  tMirrcnt  they  have  miide.  Let 
M      ' 


any  one  read  the  New  York  journuls  for  the  last 
week,  if  h(!  wislics  to  frame  an  imlu-tuieut  ag:.insi, 
such  journalism  as  the  people  dcligiit  to  honour 
in  America. 

J  lib/  2\th. — I  rode  out  before  breakfast  in  com- 
pany wirh  'ir.  'do. .son  acr(.;s  the  Loni;  liridgc 
over  10  Arlington  House.  Ccneri'  M'Dowell 
was  seated  at  a  table  under  a  iwc  in  front  of  his 
tent,  and  got  uut  his  plans  and  maps  to  explain 
the  scheme  of  battle. 

C/ast  down  from  his  Jiigh  estate,  placed  as  a 
subordinate  to  his  junior,  ct'Vcred  with  oblo(piy 
and  abuse,  the  American  General  disjdayed  a 
calm  self-possession  and  jicrfeet  amiability  which 
could  only  proceed  from  a  ])hilosopliic  tempera- 
ment and  a  consciousness  that  he  would  outlive 
the  calumnies  of  his  countrymen.  He  accused 
nobody ;  but  it  was  not  difficult  to  j)erecive  ho 
had  been  sacrificed  to  the  vanity,  self-seeking, 
and  disobedience  of  some  of  his  oificers,  and  to 
radical  vices  in  the  composition  of  his  army. 

When  M'Dowell  found  he  could  not  turn  the 
enemy's  right  as  he  iulendcd,  because  the  coun- 
try by  the  Occo(piiin  was  unfit  for  the  movements 
of  a.  tillery,  or  even  infantry,  he  reconnoitred  the 
ground  towards  their  left,  and  formed  the  ))ioject 
of  turning  it  by  a  movement  which  would  bring 
the  weight  of  his  columns  on  their  extreme  left, 
ami  at  the  same  time  ovcrla]i  it,  whilst  a  strong 
demonstration  was  made  I'li  the  ford  at  Bull's 
l?un,  where  (Jeneral  Tyler  brought  on  the  serious 
skirmish  of  the  IStli.  In  order  tf)  carry  out  this 
plan,  he  had  to  debouch  his  columns  from  a  nar- 
row point  at  Centreville,  and  march  them  round 
by  various  roads  to  ])oints  on  the  upper  jiart  of 
the  Run,  where  it,  was  fordable  in  all  directions, 
intending  to  turn  the  <  ■nemy's  batteries  on  the 
lower  roads  and  bridges.  But  although  he  start- 
ed them  at  an  early  hour,  the  troops  moved  so 
slowly  the  Confederates  became  aware  of  their 
design,  and  were  enabled  to  concentrate  consid- 
erable masses  of  troojis  on  thi-ir  left. 

The  Federals  were  not  only  slow,  but  disor- 
derly. The  regiments  in  advance  stopf«'d  at 
streams  to  drink  and  fill  their  cantn-ens,  del  'ag 
the  regiments  in  the  rear.  They  wasted  ineir 
provisions,  so  that  many  of  them  were  without 
food  at  noon,  when  they  were  exhausted  by  tlie, 
heat  of  the  sun  and  by  the  stilling  vapours  of 
their  own  dense  coluii  ns.  When  they  at.  last 
came  into  action,  some  divisions  were  not  in  their 
jdaccs,  so  that  the  line  of  battle  was  broken  ;  and 
those  which  were  in  their  proj)cr  position  were 
ex])osed,  without  su]i])ort,  to  the  enemy's  fire. 
A  delusion  of  masked  batteries  pressed  on  tlieir 
brain.  To  this  was  soon  added  a  hallucination 
about  cavalry,  which  might  have  been  cured  had 
the  Federals  possesseil  a  few  steady  squadrons  to 
manoeuvre  on  their  flanks  and  in  the  intervals 
of  their  line.  Nevertheless,  they  advanced  and 
encountered  the  enemy's  fire  with  some  spirit: 
but  the  Confederates  were  enabled  to  move  up 
fresh  battalions,  and  to  a  certain  extent  to  es- 
tablish an  equality  b'itween  the  numbers  of  their 
own  troops  and  the  a.ssailants,  whilst,  they  had| 
the  advantages  of  better  cover  and  ground.  An 
apparition  of  a  disorderly  crowd  of  horsemen  in 
front  of  the  much-boasting  Fire  Zouaves  of  New 
York  threw  them  into  confusion  and  Hight,  and 
a  battery  wliieii  they  ought  to  have  jiroteeted 
was  taken.  Another  battery  was  eaptnnd  by 
the  mistake  of  an  officer,  who  allowed  a  Confed- 


178 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


erate  rogimeiit  to  approach  tlie  frims,  tliinking 
tlicy  Avere  Federal  troojis,  till  their  first  volley 
destroyed  botli  horses  and  giinuers.  At  the  criti- 
calindinent,  (jeneral  Jolinston,  who  had  escaped 
from  tiie  tVehlo  observation  and  untenacious  j^rip 
of  General  Patterson  and  his  time-ex]tired  volun- 
teers, and  had  been  Imrryin^  down  his  troops 
from  Winclxsier  by  train,  threw  his  fresh  bat- 
talions on  tiic  llank  and  rear  of  the  Federal 
rigiit.  Wiien  tlic  General  ordered  a  retreat, 
rendered  necessary  by  tl^e  failure  of  the  attack 
— disoriler  spread,  wliicii  increased — the  retreat 
became  a  flight,  which  degenerated — if  n  flight 
can  degenerate — into  a  panic,  the  moment  the 
(Joufederatns  pressed  ♦hem  with  a  few  cavalry 
and  horse  artillery.  Tiie  eflbrts  of  the  Generals 
to  restore  order  and  confidence  were  futile.  For- 
tunately a  weak  reserve  was  posted  at  Centre- 
vilie,  and  tiiese  were  formed  in  line  on  the  slope 
of  the  hill,  wiiilst  M'Dowell  and  his  officers  ex- 
erted liiemselvcs  with  indift'crent  success  to  ar- 
rest the  mass  of  the  army,  and  make  them  draw 
uj)  behind  tiie  lesen-e,  telling  the  men  a  bold 
front  was  tJieir  sole  chance  of  safety.  At  mid- 
night it  became  evident  the  morale  of  the  army 
was  destroyed,  and  nothing  was  left  but  a  speedy 
retrograde  movement,  with  the  few  regiments 
and  guns  which  were  in  a  condition  api)roach- 
ing  to  elHciency,  upon  the  defensive  works  of 
Washinj;ton. 

Notvii  iistanding  the  revcrseof  fortuno,M'Dow- 
cll  did  not  :i])pear  willing  to  admit  liis  estimate 
of  the  Southern  troops  was  erroneous,  or  to  say, 
"Change  armii^s,  and  I'll  fi'/ht  ilie  battle  over 
again."  He  still  held  Mississii)])ians,  Aiabami- 
ans,  Louisianians,  very  chea]),  and  did  not  see, 
or  wf)uM  not  confess,  the  .'ull  extent  of  the  cal- 
umny whicli  had  fallen  so  lieai  ilv  on  iiim  jier- 
sonail'-.  Tiic  fact  of  the  evening's  inactivity 
was  conclusive  in  his  mind  that  they  had  a  dear- 
ly-bought success,  and  lie  looked  forward,  though 
in  a  subordinate  capacity,  to  a  sjieedy  and  glori- 
ous revenge. 

Julil  2'itli. — The  unfortunate  General  Patter- 
son, wlio  could  not  keep  Johnston  from  getting 
away  from  Wincliester,  is  to  be  dismissed  the 
service — iionourably,  of  course — that  is,  he  is  to 
be  punished  because  his  men  would  insist  on  go- 
ing home  in  face  of  the  enemy,  a-  soon  as  their 
tln-ee  montlis  were  up,  and  Ih  rt  time  happened 
t )  arrive  just  as  it  would  be  desirable  to  ojierato 
against  the  Confederates.  The  i.'tter  have  lost 
their  chance.  The  Senii.  ■,  the  'iIoufi^  of  Rep- 
resentatives, the  Cabineu  the  Pujfddenf.,  are  all 
at  their  ease  once  more,  and  feel  secure  in  Wasli- 
ington.  Up  to  this  moment  the  Jont :  Icrafes 
could  have  taken  it  with  very  little  >  'oublc. 
Maryland  could  have  been  roused  to  arms,  and 
Baltimore  would  have  declared  for  them.  The 
trium])h  of  tiie  non-apgressionisf..  at  the  heao 
of  wliich  is  Mr.  Dav'  -,  in  resisting  the  demands 
of  the  i)arty  wliicli  urges  an  actual  invasion  of 
the  Nortii  as  the  !\'st  way  of  obtaining  peace, 
may  prove  to  be  very  disastrous.  Final  material 
results  must  have  iustified  the  occupation  of 
Washington. 

I  dined  at  the  Legation,  where  were  Mr.  Sum- 
ner and  some  English  visitors  desirous  of  going 
South.  Lord  Lyons  gives  no  encouragement  Uy 
these  adventurous  jiersous. 

July  2ijth. — Whether  it  is  from  curiosity  to 
hear  what  I  have  to  say  or  net,  the  number  of 


my  vijitors  is  augmenting.  Among  them  was  a 
nail  in  soh'-er's  uniform,  who  sauntered  into  my 
room  to  borrow  "five  or  ten  dollars,"  on  tiie 
ground  that  he  was  a  waiter  at  the  (Ilarendon 
Hotel  wlien  I  was  stopping  there,  and  wanteil 
to  go  Nortii,  as  his  time  was  up.  His  anecdotes 
were  stupendous.  General  Meigs  and  Captain 
Macomb,  of  tiie  United  States  Engineers,  paid 
me  a  visit,  and  talked  of  the  disaster  very  sensi- 
bly. Tiie  former  is  an  able  officer,  and  an  ac- 
complished man  ;  the  latter,  son,  I  believe,  of  the 
American  general  of  that  name,  distinguished  in 
the  war  witli  Great  Britain.  I  had  a  Icmg  con- 
versation witli  General  M'Dowell,  wlio  licars  his 
sujiercession  with  admirable  fortitude,  and  com- 
plains of  notiiing  excejit  the  failure  of  his  otli- 
cers  to  obey  orders,  and  tlie  hard  fate  which 
condemned  him  to  lead  an  army  of  volunteers — 
Captain  Wright,  aide  de  camp  to  General  Scott, 
Lieutenant  Wise,  of  the  Navy,  and  many  others. 
Tlie  cummunications  received  from  tiie  North- 
ern States  have  restored'the  spirits  of  all  Union 
men,  and  not  a  few  declare  they  are  glad  of  tlie 
reverse,  as  the  Nortii  will  now  be  obliged  to  ])Ut 
forth  all  its  strength. 


CHAPTER  LIT. 

Attnrk  of  lUnesR— Gciipral  M'Cli'Uan— RccopHon  at  the 
^Vllito  IIoii.-'i' — Drankeiiuesa  ninoiig  tlie  Vuluntecrrt — 
\'\Ai  from  Mr.  Olmsted — (iedrgctfnvu—  Intense  Heat — 
M'tiellan  and  the  Newspapers — Reception  at  Mr.  Sew- 
nrd's — Alexandria — A  Storm— Sudden  Death  of  an  En- 
(jlisli  OtVrcer — The  Maryland  Club — A  Priiyer  and  Faat 
Day — Financial  DifftcHlt-es. 

Jult]  27th. — So  ill  to-day  from  lieat,  bad  smells 
in  tlie  house,  and  fatigue,  that  I  sent  for  Dr. 
Miller,  a  great,  fine  Virginian  practitioner,  wlio 
ordered  me  imwders  to  be  taken  in  "mint  juleps." 
Now  mint  juleps  are  made  of  whisky,  sugar,  ice, 
\'eiy  little  water,  and  sprigs  of  fresh  mint,  to  be 
sucked  up  after  the  manner  of  sherry  cobblers, 
if  so  it  be  jdeased,  with  a  straw. 

"A  powder  every  two  hours,  v,ith  a  mint  julep. 
Why,  tlint's  six  a  day,  Doctor.  Won't  that  be 
— eh? — won't  that  be  ratlier  intoxicating?" 

"Well,  sir,  that  dejiends  on  tlie  constitution. 
You'll  find  they  will  do  you  no  harm,  even  if  the 
worst  takes  place." 

Day  after  day,  till  the  month  was  over  and 
August  had  come,  I  jiassed  in  a  state  of  powder 
and  jiili')),  which  tlie  Virginian  doctor  declared 
saved  my  life.  Tlic  first  time  I  stirred  out  the 
change  wliieh  liad  taken  ])lace  in  the  streets  was 
at  once  ajijiarent :  no  drunken  rablilement  of 
armed  men,  no  begging  soldiers ;  instead  of 
these  were  ]iatrols  in  the  streets,  guards  at  tlie 
corners,  and  a  rigid  system  of  ))a^ses.  Tlie 
North  begin  to  perceive  tlieir  niMgnificent  armies 
arc  niytliica],  but  knowing  they  have  tlie  ele- 
nu.iits  of  making  one,  they  are  setting  about  the 
manufacture.  Nuniliers  of  tajisters  and  servinir- 
inen,  and  cunaiUr  fiom  the  cities,  wlio  now  dis- 
grace swords  and  slionlder-straps,  are  to  be  dis 
missed.  Round  the  corner,  witii  a  kind  of  staff" 
at  his  heels  and  an  escort,  comes  Major  General 
George  B.  M'CIellan,  tlie  young  Nnjioleon  (of 
Western  Virginia),  the  conqueror  of  Garnett,  the 
ca])tor  of  Peagrini,  the  coniniaiider-in-cliief,  un- 
der the  President,  of  the  army  of  tlu!  United 
States.  He  is  a  very  squarcly-buili,  tiiick-throat- 
ed,  liroad-chested  man,  under  the  middle  height, 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH, 


179 


icm  was  a 
111  into  my 
'  on  the 
(Ilmcntlon 
111  wanted 

anecdotes 
d  Captain 
iiecrs,  paid 
reiy  i<ensi- 
>nd  an  ac- 
icve,  of  the 
ifinislied  in 

long  eon- 
0  hears  his 
,  and  com- 
of  his  otfl- 
ate  wiiieh 
liinteers — 
leral  Seott, 
my  otlicrs. 
tile  North- 
f  all  Union 
glad  of  the 
igcd  to  ])Ut 


!pHon  at  the 
Volunteom — 
tense  Heat — 
1  at  Mr.  Sew- 
ith  of  an  En- 
yer  and  Fast 

,  bad  smells 
>iit  for  Dr, 
tioner,  who 
lint  jnleps." 
,  sugar,  ice, 
mint,  to  be 
ry  cobblers, 

mint  julep. 

■n't  that  be 

iring?" 

onstitution. 

even  if  the 

IS  over  and 
e  of  powder 
or  declared 
red  out  the 
'  streets  was 
blement  of 
instead  of 
lards  at  the 
i^i^ses.  The 
cent  armies 
ive  the  eic- 
ig  about  the 
uul  servinsi- 
lio  now  (lis- 
e  to  be  (lis 
iind  of  staff 
ijor  General 
ipoleon  (of 
Garnett,  the 
n-chief,  un- 
the  United 
hic'k-throat- 
ddle  height, 


with  slightly-bowed  legs,  a  tt-ndency  to  cuiiun- 
point.  •His  head,  covered  with  a  dosely-eiit 
crop  of  dark  auburn  hair,  is  well  set  on  his  shoul- 
ders. His  features  are  regular  aiul  prepossessing 
— the  brow  small,  contracted,  and  furrowed  ;  the 
eyes  deep  and  anxious-looking.  A  short,  thick, 
reddish  moustache  conceals  his  mouth;  the  rest 
of  his  face  is  dean  shaven.  He  has  made  his 
father-in-law,  -Major  Marey,  chief  of  his  stalf,  and 
is  a  good  deal  influenced  by  his  opinions,  winch 
are  entitled  to  some  weight,  as  i\Iajor  Marcy  is 
a  soldier,  and  has  seen  frontier  wars,  and  is  a 
great  traveller.  The  task  of  licking  this  army 
into  shape  is  of  Herculean  magnitiidc.  Every 
one,  however,  is  willing  to  do  as  he  bids:  th" 
President  confides  in  him,  and  "Georges"  him  ; 
the  press  fawn  u]»on  him,  the  jieoplo  trust  hitn  ; 
he  is  "the  little  corporal"  of  unfought  fields — 
omnis  ii/no/us  pro  iiiirijiro,  here.  He  hjoks  like 
a  stout  little  cajitain  of  dragoons,  biU  for  his 
American  seat  and  saddle.  The  latter  is  adapt- 
ed to  a  man  who  caimot  ride :  if  a  squadron  so 
mounted  were  to  attempt  a  fence  or  ditch,  lialf 
of  thoin  would  bo  ru])tured  or  spilled.  The  sent 
is  a  marvel  to  any  Eurojiean.  But  M'Clellan 
is  nevertheless  "the  man  on  horseback"  just 
now,  and  the  Americans  must  ride  in  his  saddle, 
or  in  anything  he  likes. 

In  the  evening  of  my  first  day's  release  from 
juleps  the  President  held  a  r(!C(>])tion  or  levee, 
and  I  went  to  the  White  House  about  nine 
o'clock,  when  the  rooms  were  at  their  ftillest. 
The  company  were  arriving  on  foot,  or  cranuned 
in  hackney  coaches,  and  did  not  aiVeet  any  neat- 
ness of  attire  or  evening  dress.  The  doors  were 
open  :  any  one  could  walk  in  who  chose.  Pri- 
vate soldiers,  in  hoiiden  grey  and  hob-nailed 
shoes,  stood  timorously  chewing  on  the  thresh- 
old of  the  state  ajjartments,  alarmed  at  the  lights 
and  gilding,  or,  haply,  by  the  marabout  feathers 
and  finery  of  a  few  ladies  who  were  in  ball  cos- 
tume, till,  assured  by  fellow-eitizciis  there  was 
nothing  to  fear,  they  plunged  into  the  dreadful 
revelry.  Faces  familiar  to  me  in  the  magazines 
of  the  town  were  visible  in  the  crowd  which 
filled  tlui  recei)tion-rooms  and  the  ball-room,  in 
a  small  room  off  which  a  military  band  was  sta- 
tioned. 

The  President,  in  a  suit  of  black,  stood  near 
the  door  of  one  of  the  rooms  near  the  hall,  and 
shook  hands  with  every  one  of  the  crowd,  who 
was  then  "))assed"  on  by  his  secretary,  if  the 
President  didn't  wish  to  sjieak  to  him.  Mr. 
Lincoln  has  recovered  his  spirits,  and  seemed  in 
good  humour.  Mrs.  Lincoln,  who  did  the  hon- 
ours in  another  room,  surrounded  by  a  few  la- 
dies, did  not  appear  to  be  iiuite  so  contented. 
•All  i\w  ministers  are  present  except  Mr.  Seward, 
who  has  gone  to  bis  own  state  to  ascertain  the 
frame  of  mind  of  the  i)eoi)le,  and  to  judge  for 
himself  of  the  sentiments  they  entertain  respect- 
ing the  war.  After  walking  up  and  down  the 
hot  and  crowded  rooms  for  an  hour,  and  seeing 
and  speaking  to  all  the  celebrities,  I  withdrew. 
Colonel  Richardson,  in  his  ofiieinl  re])ort,  states 
Colonel  AHles  lost  the  battle  of  Pull  Run  by  be- 
ing drunk  and  disorderly  at  a  critical  moment. 
Colonel  Miles,  who  commanded  a  division  of 
three  brigades,  writes  to  say  he  was  not  in  any 
such  state,  and  has  demanded  a  court  of  inquiry. 
^n  a  Philadel]ihia  i)a])cr  it  Is  stated  M'Dowell 
was  helplessly  drunk  during  the  action,  and  sat 


up  all  t!io  night  before  drinking,  smoking,  and 
playing  cards.  M'Dowell  never  drinks,  aiid 
never  has  drunk,  wine,  spirits,  nndt,  tea,  or  cof- 
fee,  or  smoked  or  useil  tobacco  in  any  form  nor 
does  he  play  cards;  and  that  remark  does  not 
aj)])ly  to  many  other  Feileral  oHicers, 

Dnmkeimess  is  only  too  common  among  the 
American  volunteers,  and  General  Butler  has 
put  it  oflieiallv  in  orders,  that  "the  use  of  intox- 
icating lifjuo.s  prevails  to  an  alarming  extent 
among  the  officers  of  his  command,"  and  has  or- 
dered the  seizure  of  their  grog,  which  will  only  be 
allowed  on  medical  certificate.  He  announces, 
t(jo,  that  he  will  not  use  wine  or  spirits,  or  give 
any  to  his  friends,  or  allow  any  in  his  own  (juar- 
ters  in  fiUure — a  ipiaint,  vigorous  creature,  this 
Massachusetts  lawyer. 

The  outcry  against  Patterson  has  not  yet  sub- 
sided, though  he  states  that,  out  of  twenty-three 
regiments  composing  his  force,  nineteen  refused 
to  stay  an  hour  over  their  time,  which  would 
have  been  up  in  a  week,  so  that  he  would  fiavo 
been  left  in  an  eneTuy's  coiuitry  with  four  regi- 
ments. He  wisely  led  his  i)atriot  band  back,  and 
let  them  disbaiiil  themselves  in  their  own  bor- 
ders. \'erily,  these  are  not  the  men  to  conquer 
the  South. 

Fresh  volunteers  are  pouring  in  by  tens  of 
thousands  to  take  their  places  from  all  i)arts  of 
the  Union,  and  in  three  days  after  the  battle, 
80,000  men  were  aeeeiited.  Strange  ])eople ! 
The  regiments  which  i  ave  returned  to  New  York 
after  disgraceful  conduct  at  Bidl  Run,  with  the 
stigmata  of  cowardice  im[)ressed  by  tlieir  com- 
manding officers  on  the  colours  and  souls  of  their 
corps,  are  actually  welcomed  with  the  utmost 
enthusiasm,  and  receive  po])ular  ovations!  It 
becomes  obvious  every  day  that  M'Clellan  does 
not  intend  to  adviince  till  he  has  got  some  sem- 
blance of  an  army.:  that  will  be  a  long  time  to 
come ;  but  he  can  get  a  good  deal  of  fighting 
out  of  them  in  a  few  months.  Meantime  the 
whole  of  the  Northern  states  are  waiting  anx- 
iously for  the  advance  which  is  to  take  jjlace  at 
once,  according  to  ])romises  from  New  York.  As 
Washington  is  tlie  jirincipal  scene  of  interest, 
the  South  bfing  tabooed  to  me,  1  have  resolved 
to  stay  here  till  the  army  is  fit  to  move,  making 
little  exem-sions  to  points  of  interest.  The  de- 
tails in  my  diary  arc  not  very  interesting,  and  I 
shall  make  but  brief  extracts. 

Aiifjii.sf.  2nd. — Mr.  Olmsted  visited  me  in  com- 
pany with  a  young  geiuleman  named  Ritchie, 
son-in-law  of  James  V"  \dsworth,  who  has  been 
serving  as  honorary  aide-de-camp  on  M'Dowell's 
statf,  but  is  now  called  to  higher  functions.  Ther 
dined  at  my  lodgings,  and  we  talked  over  Bull 
Run  again.  Mr.  Ritchie  did  not  leave  Centre- 
ville  till  late  in  the  evening,  iind  slept  at  Fairfax 
Court-house,  where  be  remained  till  8. ,30  a.m. 
on  the  morning  of  Jidy  22nd,  Wadsworth  not 
stirring  for  two  hours  later.  He  said  the  panic 
was  "horrible, disgusting,  sickening,"  and  spoke 
in  the  harshest  terms  of  the  officers,  to  whom  he 
applied  a  variety  of  epithets.  Prince  Napoleon 
has  arrived. 

Aiir/nst  Srd. — M'Clellan  orders  regular  parades 
and  drills  in  every  regiment,  and  insists  on  all 
ordiMs  being  given  by  bugle  note.  I  had  a  long 
ride  through  the  camps,  and  saw  some  improve- 
ment in  the  look  of  the  men.  Coming  home  by 
Georgetown,  met  the  Prince  driving  with  M. 


180 


MY  DIAllY  NORTH  AM)  SOUTH. 


Mcrcicr,  to  pny  a  visit  to  the  I'rcsidont.  I  um 
sure  tiiiit  the  politicitins  are  not  (iiiite  well  j)k'iise(l 
witii  this  arrival,  hciause  they  do  not  unilerstand 
it,  and  cannot  inmgine  a  man  would  eoino  no  far 
without  a  purpose.  The  drunken  soldiers  now 
resort  to  quiet  lanes  and  courts  in  the  suburbs. 
Georgetown  was  full  of  them.  It  is  n  much 
more  respectable  and  old-world  looking  i)laee 
than  its  vulgar,  empty,  overgrown,  mushrooii 
neit'l'h.i'.ir,  'Wusliington.  An  oftiLcr  who  had 
fiiiicn  in  his  men  to  gcj  on  duty  was  walking 
down  the  line  this  evening,  when  his  eye  rested 
on  the  neck  of  a  bottle  sticking  out  of  a  man's 
coat.  "  Thunder,"  (juoth  he,  "James,  what  have 
you  got  there?"  "Well,  1  guess,  caj)tain,  it's  a 
drop  of  real  good  Bourbon."  ''Then  let  ns  have 
a  drink,"'  said  the  captain;  and  thereui)on  |)ro- 
ceeded  to  take  a  long  ))ull  and  a  strong  jaill,  till 
the  man  cried  out,  ''That  is  not  fair,  Captain. 
You  won't  leave  me  a  drop" — a  remonstrance 
which  had  a  pro])er  eiVect,  and  the  captain 
marched  down  his  company  to  the  bridge. 

It  was  extremely  hot  when  I  returnetl,  late  in 
the  evening.  1  asked  the  boy  for  a  glass  of  iced 
water.  "  Dere  is  no  ice,  m-issa,"  ho  said.  "No 
ice?  What's  the  reason  of  that?"  "IV  Sc- 
ceshcrs,  massa,  block  u])  dc  river,  ami  touch  otV 
deir  guns  at  tie  ice-boats."  The  (/onfedcratt^s 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  Potomac  have  now  es- 
tablished a  close  blockade  of  the  river.  Lieu- 
tenant Wise,  of  the  Navy  Departnient,  admitted 
the  fact,  but  said  that  the  United  States  gunboats 
would  soon  sweep  the  rebels  from  the  shore. 

Ani/ust  \:th. — 1  had  no  idea  tnat  the  sun  could 
be  powerful  in  Washington ;  even  in  India  the 
heat  is  not  much  more  oppressive  than  it  was 
here  to-day.  There  is  this  extenuating  circum- 
stance, however,  that  after  some  hours  of  such 
very  high  temperature,  thunder-storms  and  tor- 
nadoes cool  the  air.  I  received  a  message  from 
General  M'Clellan  that  'le 'was  about  to  ride 
along  the  lines  of  the  arn  v  across  the  river,  and 
would  be  happy  if  I  accompanied  him ;  but  as 
I  had  many  letters  to  write  for  the  next  mail,  I 
was  tmwillingly  obliged  to  abandon  the  chance 
of  seeing  the  army  under  such  favourable  cir- 
cumstances. There  are  daily  arrivals  at  Wash- 
ington of  military  adventurers  from  all  ))arts  fif 
the  world,  some  of  them  with  many  extraordi- 
nary certificates  and  qualifications;  but,  as  Mr. 
Seward  says,.  "  It  is  best  to  detain  them  with  the 
hope  of  employment  on  the^orthern  side,  lest 
some  really  good  man  shoflld  get  among  the 
rebels."  Garibaldians,  Hungarians,  Poles,  ofli- 
cers  of  Turkish  and  other  contingents,  the  ex- 
ecutory devises  and  remaindei-s  of  European 
revolutions  and  wars,  surround  the  State  dei)art- 
ment,  and  infest  unsuspecting  politicians  with 
illegible  testimonials  in  unknown  tongues. 

Avifust  r^th. — Tiie  roads  from  the  station  are 
crowded  with  troops,  coming  from  the  North  as 
fast  as  the  railway  can  carry  them.  It  is  evi- 
dent, as  the  war  fever  spreads,  that  such  politi- 
cians as  Mr.  Crittenden,  who  resist  the  extreme 
violence  of  the  liepublican  partj',  will  be  stricken 
down.  The  Confiscation  Bill,  for  the  emanci- 
pation of  slaves  and  the  absorption  of  property 
belonging  to  rebels,  has,  indeed,  been  l)oldIy  re- 
sisted in  the  House  of  Representatives;  but  it 
passed  with  some  trifling  amendments.  The 
journals  are  still  busy  with  the  at^'air  of  Bull 
Kun,  and  eacli  seems  anxious  to  eclipse  the  oth- 


er in  the  ai)sin'dity  of  its  statements.  A  Phila- 
delphia journal,  for  instance,  states  to-dliy  that 
the  real  cause  of  tlu^  disaster  was  not  a  desire  to 
retreat,  but  a  mania  to  advance.  In  its  own 
words,  "  the  only  drawback  was  the  im|)etuous 
feeling  to  go  aliead  and  fight."  Because  one 
officer  is  accused  of  drunkenness,  a  great  move- 
ment is  on  foot  to  prevent  the  army  getting  any 
drink  at  all. 

(ieneral  M'Clellan  invited  the  newspaper  cor- 
respondents in  Washington  to  meet  him  to-day, 
and  with  their  assent  drew  uj)  a  treaty  of  jieace 
ami  amity,  which  is  a  curiosity  in  its  way.  In 
the  first  ])lace,  the  editors  are  to  alistain  from 
])rinting  anything  which  can  give  aid  or  comfort 
to  the  enemy,  and  their  correspondents  are  to 
observe  ecpnil  caution  ;  iii  return  for  which  com- 
jilaisiuiee.  Government  is  to  be  nsk"d  to  give  the 
])ress  opportunities  for  obtaining  and  transmit- 
ting intelligence  suitable  for  jjublication,  partic- 
ularly toiu'Iiing  engagements  with  the  enemy, 
'i'he  Confccleratc  jirivateer  Sumter  has  forced 
the  blockade  at  New  Orleans,  and  has  already 
been  heard  of  destroying  a  number  of  Union 
vessels. 

AiufUKt  C)th. — Prince  Napoleon,  anxious  to  vinit 
the  biittle-ticld  at  Hull  Hun,  has,  to  Mr.  Si-ward's 
diseomfitm-e,  applied  for  ])asses,  and  arrange- 
ments are  being  made  to  escort  him  as  far  as  the 
Confederate  lines.  This  is  a  recognition  of  the 
Confederates,  as  a  belligerent  power,  which  is  liy 
no  means  agreeable  to  the  authorities.  I  drove 
down  to  the  Senate,  where  the  proceedings  were 
very  nnintercsting,  although  Congress  was  on 
the  eve  of  adjournment,  and  returning,  visited 
Mr.  Sewr.rd,  Mr.  Bates,  Mr. Cameron,  Mr.  Blair, 
and  left  cards  for  Mr.  Breckinridge.  The  old 
woman  who  opened  the  door  at  the  house  where 
the  latter  lodged  said,  "Massa  Breckinridge 
jiack  up  all  his  boxes  ;  I  s'pose  he  not  cum  back 
here  again." 

Anrjust  71  ft. — In  the  evening  I  went  to  Mr.  Sew- 
ard's, who  gave  a  recc])tion  in  honour  of  Prince 
Najioleon.  The  Minister's  rooms  were  crowded 
aiui  intensely  hot.  Lord  Lyons  and  most  of  the 
diplomatic  circle  were  f)resent.  The  Prince 
wore  his  Order  of  the  Bath,  and  bore  the  on- 
slaughts of  ])oliticians,  male  and  female,  with 
much  good  humour.  The  contrast  between  the 
uniforms  of  tin,  officers  of  the  United  States 
army  and  navy  and  those  of  the  French  in  the 
Prince's  suit  by  no  means  redounded  to  the 
credit  of  the  military  tailoring  of  the  Americans. 
The  Prince,  to  whom  I  was  ])resente(l  by  Mr. 
Seward,  asked  me  particularly  about  the  roads 
from  Alexandria  to  Fairfax  Cotirt-housc,  and 
from  there  to  Centreville  and  Manassas.  I  told 
liim  I  had  not  got  quite  so  far  as  the  latter  place, 
at  which  he  laughed.  He  inquired  witli  much 
interest  about  General  Beauregard,  whether  he 
spoke  good  French,  if  he  seemed  a  man  of  ca- 
pacity, or  was  the  creation  (jf  an  accident  and  of 
circumstances.  He  has  been  to  Mount  Vernon, 
and  is  struck  with  the  air  of  neglect  around  the 
lilace.  Two  of  his  horses  dropped  dead  from  the 
lieat  on  the  journey,  and  the  Prince,  who  was 
perspiring  profusely  in  the  crowded  room,  asked 
me  whether  the  climate  was  not  as  bad  as  mid- 
summer in  India.  His  manner  was  perfectly 
easy,  but  ho  gave  no  encouragement  to  bores, 
nor  did  he  court  popularity  by  unusual  nfi'abili- 
ty,  and  he  moved  oft'  long  before  the  guests  were 


MY  DIAUY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


181 


A  Pliilii- 
j-dhy  tliHt 
II  desire  to 
II  its  own 
iiMpctuoiis 
liuise  one 
•cat  iiiovn- 
I'ttiiig  liny 

s))n]ier  cor- 
iiii  to-day, 
y  of  |icace 

way.  In 
slain  from 
or  comfort 
nts  arc  to 
liicli  com- 
to  give  the 

transmit- 
on,  ])artic- 

i'.  enemy, 
has  forced 
lis  already 

of  Union 

ions  to  vir.it 
r.  Seward's 
il  arranfre- 
is  far  as  I  lie 
ition  of  the 
which  is  l)y 
s.  I  drove 
dinps  were 
ss  was  on 
inp,  visited 
,  Mr.  lilair. 
The  old 
lonse  where 
reekinridfie 
It  cum  back 

to  Mr.  Sc\y- 
r  of  I'rince 
■re  crowded 
most  of  the 
riie  Prince 
ire  tlie  on- 
?male,  with 
jctween  the 
ited  States 
™ch  in  the 
ded  to  the 
Americans, 
ted  by  Mr. 
t  the  roads 
■lioiiso,  and 
sas.  I  told 
alter  place, 
with  much 
whother  he 
man  of  ca- 
lent  and  of 
mt  Vernon, 
aronnd  the 
ad  from  the 
e,  who  was 
'oom,  asked 
lad  as  m id- 
is  jterfectly 
t  to  hores, 
lal  affabili- 
guests  were 


tired  of  looking  at  him.  On  returninjj  to  my 
rooms,  II  (ierniaii  K<'"f'''i'iiii>  named  Hinj; — who 
went  out  witii  the  Kederal  army  from  Washiiit;- 
ton,  was  t-ikeii  jirisotier  at  i^ull's  Kun,  and  cur- 
ried to  Uiclimond — ciune  to  visit  me,  hut  his  ac- 
count of  whiit  he  saw  in  the  dark  uiid  mysteri- 
ous South  was  not  lucid  or  intcrestiiic;. 

Aiii/'ist  Hill. — f  had  urranned  to  j;o  with  Mr. 
Olmsteil  and  Mr.  Uitchi(!  to  visit  the  hospitals, 
hut  the  it'at  was  so  intolerable,  we  uhandoneil 
the. idea  till  tin;  afternoon,  wiuui  we  drove  across 
till!  lion^,'  Uridine  mid  ]u'oc.(  eded  to  Alexandria. 
The  town,  which  is  now  ful'y  occupied  by  mili- 
tary, and  is  abandoned  by  tlu  respcctublo  inhab- 
itants, has  an  iiir,  owing  to  tlr;  al)sencc  of  wom- 
en and  children,  which  tells  the  tale  of  a  hostile 
occupation.  In  a  larjie  building,  which  had 
once  been  a  school,  tiie  wounded  of  Bull  Uun 
were  lyiiifj;,  not  uncomfortably  packed,  nor  un- 
skilfully cared  for,  and  the  arrangements  were, 
taken  alton(!tlier,  creditable  to  the  skill  and  hu- 
manity of  the  surgeons.  Olose  nt  hand  was  the 
ohiireli  in  which  Ueorgo  Washington  was  wont 
in  latter  days  to  pray,  when  he  drcjve  over  from 
Mount  Vernon  —  further  on,  Marshall  House, 
where  Kjllswortb  was  shot;  by  the  Virginian  land- 
lord, and  was  ho  sjiecdily  avenged.  A  strange 
train  of  thought  was  suggested  by  the  rapid 
grouping  of  incongruous  ideas,  arising  out  of  the 
proximity  of  ihoiic  scenes.  As  one  of  my  friends 
said,  "I  wonder  what  Washington  would  do  if 
ho  were  h;u'e  now — and  how  he  would  act  if  he 
were  sumin...'ed  from  tiiat  church  to  Marshall 
House,  or  to  this  h(jspital?"  The  man  who  ut- 
tered the^e  words  was  not  either  of  my  compan- 
ions, but  wore  the  shoulder-straps  of  a  Union  of- 
ficer. "Stranger  still,"  said  I,  "would  it  be  to 
speculate  on  the  thoughts  and  actions  of  Najio- 
leon  in  tiiis  crisis,  if  he  were  to  'vake  up  and  see 
a  Prince  of  his  blood  escorted  by  Federal  sol- 
diers to  the  spot  where  the  troops  of  the  South- 
ern States  had  intiicted  on  them  a  signal  defeat, 
in  a  land  where  the  nejihew  who  now  sits  on  the 
throne  of  France  has  been  an  exile."  It  is  not 
quite  certain  that  many  America. .s  nnderstand 
who  Prince  Napoleon  is,  for  one  of  the  troopers 
belonging  to  the  escort  who  took  him  out  from 
Alexandria  declared  positively  he  had  ridden 
with  the  EniiK'ror.  The  excursion  is  swallowed, 
but  not  well  digi^sted.  In  Washington  the  only 
news  to-night  is,  that  a  small  ])rivateer  from 
Charkscon,  mistaking  the  St.  Lawrence  for  a 
merchanr-vessci,  fired  into  her,  ind  was  at  once 
sent  to  Mr.  Davy  Jones  by  a  rattling  broadside. 
Congress  having  niljoiirned,  there  is  bi  nla  to 
render  V/aslup.gton  less  uninteresting  i,uun  it 
must  be  in  its  iiormal  state. 

Tiie  truculent  and  overbearing  spirit  which 
arises  from  the  uncontrovcrted  action  of  demo- 
cratic majorities  developes  itself  in  the  North, 
where  they  have  taken  to  burning  newspaper  of- 
fices, and  destroying  all  the  projierty  belonging 
to  the  projiriotors  and  editors.  These  actions  are 
a  strange  commentary  on  Mr.  Seward's  declara- 
tion "that  no  volunteers  are  to  be  refiKsed  be- 
cause they  do  not  si)eak  Knglisli,  inasmuch  as 
the  contest  for  the  Union  is  a  battle  of  the  free 
men  of  the  world  for  the  institutions  of  self-gov- 
ernment." 

AiKpist  Wth. — On  the  old  Indian  principle,  I 
rode  out  this  morning  very  early,  and  wsis  re- 
warded by  a  breath  of  cold,  fresh  air,  and  by  the 


sight  of  sonu!  very  disorderly  regiments  Just 
turning  out  to  parade  in  lliit  cam)is;  but  I  was 
not  particularly  gratified  by  being  mistaken  for 
Prince  Napoleon  by  some  Irish  ri^cruils,  who 
shouted  nut,  "  Hoiia|iarte  for  ever  !"  and  gradu- 
ally subsided  into  rei|uests  for  "sonictliing  to 
drink  your  i{oyal  Illghness's  health  with."  As 
I  returned,  I  saw  on  the  steps  of  (ieneral  Mans- 
ficlil's  (piarters  a  tall,  soldierly- looking  young 
man,  whose  breast  was  coven^d  with  ('rimean' 
rililxjiis  and  medals,  and  I  recognised  him  iisonu 
who  had  calbnl  iijion  me  a  few  days  before,  re- 
newing our  slight  accpiainlunce  before  Sebasto- 
pol,  where  his  courage  was  conspicuous,  to  ask 
me  for  information  respecting  the  mode  of  ob- 
taining a  commission  in,  the  Federal  army. 

Towards  mid-day  iin  ebony  sheet  of  clouds 
swept  over  the  city.  I  went  out,  regardless  of 
the  threatening  storm,  to  avail  myself  of  the  cool- 
ness to  make  a  few  visits ;  but  soon  a  violent 
wind  arose,  bearing  clouds  like  those  of  an  In- 
dian dust-storm  down  the  streets.  The  black 
sheet  overhead  became  agitated  like  the  sea,  and 
tossed  about  grey  clouds  which  careered  against 
each  other  and  burst  into  lightning;  then  sud- 
denly, witiiout  other  warning,  down  came  the 
rain — a  perfect  tornado;  sheets  of  water  flood- 
ing the  streets  in  a  moment,  turning  the  bed  into 
water-courses  and  the  channels  into  dccj)  rivers. 
I  waded  up  the  centre  of  Pennsylvania  Avenue, 
jiast  the  President's  house,  in  a  current  winch 
would  have  made  a  respectable  trout-stream ; 
and  on  getting  opposite  my  own  door,  made  a 
rush  for  the  porch,  but,  forgetting  the  deej)  chan- 
nel at  the  side,  stepped  into  a  riv^t  which  was 
literally  above  my  hips,  and  I  was  carried  oil"  my 
legs,  till  I  succeeded  in  catching  the  kerbstone, 
and  escaped  into  the  hall  as  if  I  had  just  swum 
across  the  Potomac. 

(Ml  returning  from  my  ride  next  morning,  I 
took  up  the  Baltimore  ])a)ier,  and  siiw  a  para- 
graj)h  announcing  the  death  of  an  English  otli- 
cer  at  the  station  ;  it  was  the  poor  fellow  whom 
I  saw  sitting  at  General  Mansfield's  steps  yester- 
day. The  consul  was  absent  on  a  short  tour, 
rendered  necessary  by  the  failure  of  his  health 
consecpient  on  the  discharge  of  his  duties.  Find- 
ing the  Legation  were  anxious  to  see  due  care 
la'ken  of  the  poor  fellow's  remains,  I  left  for  Bal- 
timore at  a  quarter  to  three  o'clock,  and  proceed- 
ed to  inquire  into  the  circumstances  connected 
with  his  death.  lie  had  been  struck  down  at 
the  station  by  sonre  cerebral  attack,  brought  on 
by  the  heat  and  excitement ;  had  been  carried 
to  the  police  station  and  j)laced  upon  a  bench, 
from  which  he  liail  fallen  with  his  head  down- 
wards, and  was  found  in  that  posHon,  with  life 
quite  extinct,  by  a  casual  visitor.  My  a.stonish- 
mcnt  may  be  conceived*ivhen  I  learned  that  not 
only  had' the  Coroner's  incpiest  sat  and  returned 
its  verdict,  but  that  the  man  had  absolutely  been 
buried  the  same  morning,  and  so  my  mission 
was  over,  and  I  could  only  report  what  had  oc- 
curred at  Washington.  Little  value  indeed  has 
human  life  in  this  new  world,  to  which  the  old 
gives  vital  power  so  lavishly,  that  it  is  regarded 
as  almost  worthless.  I  have  seen  more  "fuss" 
made  over  an  old  woman  killed  by  a  cab  in  Lon- 
don than  there  is  over  half  a  dozen  deaths,  with 
suspicion  of  murder  attached,  in  New  (hleans  or 
New  York. 

I  remained  in  Baltimore  a  few  days,  and  had 


182 


MY  DIAllY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


an  opiiortimity  ofknowinj:  tlio  feelings  of  some 
oftliL'  li'adiiij^'mim  in  tlu;  pliKr.  It  may  l)u  dv.- 
81'iilK'd  in  one  word — intense  IuUrmI  of  Now  Kii- 
j;l;ind  and  l)Iiick  lepubiieans.  wiiicli  lias  licen  in- 
creaHed  to  mania  l»y  the  hi.  ,;ont  measims  of 
the  military  dictator  of  the  Anieriean  Warsaw, 
thi!  soarclu'S  of  private  iioiises,  iloniieiliary  visits, 
nrliitrary  arreslH,  the  Huppression  of  adverse  jour- 
nals, tilt!  overtiirow  of  the  corporate  Ixxiy — all 
the  acts,  in  fact,  which  constitute  tiie  machinery 
and  tiie  grievances  of  a  tyranny.  When  1  s)!oku 
of  the  brutal  indilfereiicc  of  the  police  to  the  poor 
officer  previously  mentioned,  the  IJaltimoreans 
told  me  the  constables  npimiuted  by  the  Federal 
general  were  scoundrels  who  led  the  IMmk  Uglies 
in  fovnier  days — the  worst  characters  in  a  city 
not  sweet  or  savoury  in  rcj)nte — but  that  the  old 
police  wero  men  of  very  different  description. 
Tlie  Maryland  Club,  wl'uM-e  I  had  spent  some 
pleasant  hours,  was  now  like  a  secrc*  tribunal  or 
the  haunt  of  conspirators.  The  police  entered 
it  a  few  days  nan,  searched  every  room,  took  up 
the  flooring,  and  even  turned  np  the  coals  in  the 
kitchen  and  the  wine  in  the  cellar.  Such  indig- 
nities fired  the  blood  of  tiie  members,  who  are, 
with  one  exception,  opposetl  to  the  attempt  to 
coerce  the  South  by  the  sword.  Not  one  of 
tliem  but  could  tell  of  some  outrage  perpetrated 
on  himself  or  on  some  members  of  his  family  by 
the  police  and  Federal  authority.  Many  a  de- 
lalor  amiri  was  suspected  but  not  convicted. 
Men  sat  moodily  reading  the  j)apers  with  knit- 
tod  brows,  or  whisjiering  in  corners,  taking  each 
other  apart,  and  glancing  suspiciously  at  their 
fellows. 

There  is  a  peculiar  stamp  aliout  the  Baltim.ore 
men  which  distinguislies  them  from  most  Amer- 
icans— a  style  of  dress,  frankness  of  manner,  and 
n  general  ai)])earance  assimmilating  thmi  close- 
ly to  the  upper  classes  of  Englishmen.  They 
are  fond  of  sport  and  travel,  exclusive  and  high- 
spirited,  and  the  iron  rule  of  the  Yankee  is  the 
more  intolerable  because  they  dare  not  resent  it, 
and  arc  unable  to  sliake  it  ofV. 

I  return'^d  to  Washington  on  l."»th  August. 
Nothing  changed;  skirmishes  along  the  fnmt; 
]Sr  'Clellan  reviewitig.  The  loss  of  General  I^yon, 
wlio  was  killed  in  an  action  with  the  Confeder- 
ates under  Ben  MeCnllougli,  at  Wilson's  Creek, 
S]iringfield,  Missouri,  in  wliich  thc-Unionists  were 
with  ditticulty  extricated  by  General  Sigel  from 
a  very  dangerous  position,  after  the  death  of  their 
leader,  is  severely  felt.  He  ^'as  one  of  the  very 
few  oflieers  who  combined  military  skill  and  ])er- 
sonal  bravery  with  ])olitical  sagacity  and  moral 
firmness.  The  I'resident  has  issued  his  jirocla- 
mation  for  a  day  of  fa.ft  and  jirayer,  which,  say 
liie  Baltimoreans,  is  a  sign  that  the  Y'ankees  are 
in  a  bad  way,  as  they  would  never  think  of  jn-ay- 
ing  or  fasting  if  their  cause  was  pi-os]iering.  The 
stories  which  have  been  so  sedulously  spread, 
and  which  never  will  be  quite  discredited,  of  the 
barbarity  and  cruelty  of  the  Confederates  to  all 
the  wounded,  otight  to  be  set  at  rest  by  the  print- 
ed statement  of  the  eleven  Union  surgeons  just 
released,  who  have  come  back  from  Richmond, 
where  they  were  sent  after  their  capture  on  the 
field  of  Bull  Rnn,  with  the  most  distinct  testimo- 
ny that  the  Confederates  treated  their  prisoners 
with  humanity.  Who  are  the  miscreants  who 
tried  to  make  the  evil  feeling,  quite  strong  enough 
as  it  is,  perfectly  fiendish,  by  asserting  the  rebels 


burned  the  wounded  in  liospitals,  and  br  .v)ncted 
them  as  they  lay  hclj  less  on  the  field? 

The  pecuniary  diflicidties  of  the  Government 
hav(!  iieen  alleviated  iiy  the  bankers  of  New  York, 
I'hiladeli)h'a,  and  Boston,  who  have  agreed  to 
lend  them  fifty  millions  of  dollars,  on  condition 
that  they  receive  tlas  'I  rcasnry  notes  which  Mr. 
('base  is  about  to  issue.  As  wc  read  the  pa)iers 
and  hear  thcr  news,  it  is  dillicult  to  beli('V(i  that 
the  foiihdations  of  society  arc  not  melting  away 
in  the  heat  of  this  conlliet.  Thus,  a  Federal 
judge,  named  Garrison,  who  h;i .  i-sucd  his  writ 
of  habeas  corpus  for  certain  ])n -oners  in  Fort 
Lafayette,  being  quietly  sniifK^d  out  by  the  com- 
nuindant.  Colonel  Hurke,  «lesires  to  lead  an  arm\ 
against  the;  fort  and  have  a  little  civil  war  of  his 
own  in  New  York.  He  applies  to  the  command- 
er of  the  coimty  militia,  who  informs  (iarrison 
he  can't  get  into  the  fort,  as  there  was  no  artil- 
lery strong  enough  to  breach  the  walls,  and  that 
it  would  re(piire  l(),()()l)  men  to  invest  it,  where- 
as on'y  1400  militiamen  were  available.  What 
a  faneur  Judge  Garrison  must  be!  In  addition 
fo  the  gutting  and  burning  of  newspaper  offices, 
and  the  cxercitation  of  the  eilitors  on  rails,  the 
re))ul)lican  grand  juries  hav(!  taken  to  iiuiictiug 
the  di'inocratic  journals,  and  Fn.'mont's  jirovost 
marshal  in  St.Tjouis  has, /Hviy^co  ?/(o^«,  snjipres.s- 
ed  those  which  he  considers  disatVectcd.  A  mu- 
tiny which  broke  out  in  the  Aicotch  Ri'giment 
7!>th  N.  Y.  has  been  followed  by  another  in  the 
L'nd  Maine  Regiment,  and  !i  display  of  cannon 
and  of  caviilrv  was  rccpiired  to  iniluce  t.'wMn  to 
allow  the  ringleaders  to  be  arrested.  The  I'res- 
ident was  greatly  alarmed,  but  M 'Clellan  acted 
with  some  vigour,  and  rhe  refractory  volunteers 
are  to  be  sent  off  to  a  j'l.'asant  station  called  the 
"Dry  Tortugas"  to  work  on  the  fortifications. 

!\Ir.  Seward,  with  whom  1  dined  and  spent  the 
evening  <m  HJtli  August,  has  been  much  reas- 
sur(>d  and  conifm'ted  by  the  demonstrations  of 
readiness  on  the  part  of  the  peo))le  to  continue 
the  contest,  and  of  confidence  in  the  cause  among 
the  moneyed  men  of  the  great  cities.  ''All 
we  want  is  time  to  develope  our  strcigth.  We 
have  been  blamed  for  not  making  greater  use  of 
our  navy  and  extending  it  at  once.  It  was  our 
first  duty  to  i)rovid{!  for  the  safety  of  our  ca))ital. 
Besides,  a  man  will  generally  pay  little  attention 
to  agencies  he  does  not  understand.  None  of  us 
kiiew  anything  about  a  navy.  I  doubt  if  the 
President  ever  saw  anything  more  formidable 
than  a  river  steamboat,  and  I  don't  think  Mr. 
Welles,  the  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  knew  the  stem 
from  the  stern  of  a  shij).  Of  the  whole  Cabinet, 
I  am  the  only  member  who  ever  was  Jinrlij  at 
sea  or  crossed  the  Atlantic.  Some  of  ns  never 
even  saw  it.  No  wonder  wc  did  not  understand 
the  necessity  for  creating  a  navy  at  once.  Soon, 
liowever,  our  Government  will  be  able  to  dispose 
of  a  respectable  marine,  and  when  our  army  is 
ready  to  move,  co-operating  with  the  fleet,  the 
days  of  the  rebellion  are  numbered." 
"When  will  that  be,  Mr.  Secretary  ?" 
"  Soon  ;  very  soon,  I  hope.  We  can,  howev- 
er, bear  delays.    The  rebels  will  be  ruined  by  it." 


CHAPTER  LIII. 

Rpturn  to  Ilaltimorf  —  Colnnrl  C'nn'oU  —  A  PricRt's  v\ov 
of  tlie  Abolition  of  Slavery  —  Slaveiy  in  Mainland  — 


MY  DIAUY  NOItTH  AND  SOUTH. 


18:5 


vcrmncnt 

st-w  York, 

n^'iccd  to 

f'oiidition 

^vliich  Mr. 

till'  |ia)icr.s 

■licv(!  tliat 

liriK  awny 

a   l'\'{Jcnil 

(I  Ills  writ 

rs  ill  Kort 

\'  tlic  com- 

(1  nil  mm  J 

war  ot"  his 

coiniiiand- 

<  (iarrison 

s  no  artil- 

i,  and  that 

it,  whcre- 

lo.     What 

II  addiiion 

per  (liliccs, 

rails,  tile 

I)  iiulicting 

t's  |irovo8t 

/,  sii]i])ross- 

1.     A  111  11- 

h'cpinicnt 

tlier  in  the 

of  cannon 

I'C  t'lPin  to 

Tlie  I'lcs- 

(dlan  acted 

volunteers 

1  called  the 

fications. 

d  spent  the 

iimdi  rcas- 

;trations  of 

to  continue 

luse  iiiuoiifr 

tics.     '-All 

"Kfh.     We 

atcr  use  of 

Jt  was  our 

air  ca)iital. 

le  attention 

None  of  us 

oubt  if  the 

formidable 

think  Mr. 

!W  the  stem 

le  Cabinet, 

IS  fiiirlji  at 

of  US  never 

understand 

ice.    Soon, 

i  to  disjiosc 

jur  army  is 

le  fleet,  the 

■?" 

an,  howev- 

ined  bv  it." 


PricRt's  vipv 
Mai-vland  — 


Harper'it  lurry— .J.ilin  Ilrown— IlKck  by  irivlti  to  Wii^li. 
lUKtiiii  — I'urilior  luiMiinl-i  nt  Hull  Unn  .Aincriiiiu  viiu- 
ity  -My  urtii  utiiiupiiiiirUy  i,,r  rt|iciikliiK  ilir  inuli_. 
Klllliig  a  "  Mt?,i,'.;r"  no  iiim-ilcr— Niivy  l)i,|iiiitiuuiit. 

On  tho  17tli  Aiijjiist  I  returned  to  Haltiinoro 

on  my  way  to  l)iiili(»n>nan  .Manor,  the  seat  of 
Colonel  (Jarroli,  in  .Maryland,  wiiere  I  bad  been 
invited  to  spend  a  few  thus  by  his  sou-in-iaw,  an 
English  nenllcmaii  of  my  ac(|imintance.  Leav- 
ing Ilaltimore  at  .'i.+O  r.M.,  in  coniiiaiiy  with  Mr. 
Tucker  ('arroll,  I  proceeded  by  train  tu  Kllicott's 
Mills,  a  station  fourteen  miles  on  the  Ohio  and 
Baltimore  railroad,  from  wliieh  our  host's  resi- 
dence is  distant  more  than  an  hour's  drive.  The 
country  throiif^h  which  the  line  jiasses  is  pictur- 
esque and  iindiilatini?,  with  hills  an  1  valleys  and 
brawling;  streams,  spreading,'  in  woodland  and 
j^hul',  ravine,  and  hi^li  u|)lands  on  either  side, 
liaunted  by  eottcai  faet(a"ies,  poisoning  air  and 
water;  but  it  has  been  a  formidable  district  for 
theenKiiicerstoKct  tlirou>rli,  and  the  line  aliounds 
in  those  triumphs  of  eiif^ineering  which  are  gen- 
erally the  ruin  of  sharcdiolders. 

All  these  lines  are  now  in  the  hands  of  tho 
military.  At  the  Washington  terminus  there  is 
a  guard  jdaced  to  sec-  that  no  unauthorised  per- 
sim  or  unwilling  volunteer  is  going  north ;  the 
line  is  watcluid  liy  patrols  and  sentries ;  troops 
are  encamped  along  its  course.  Tin!  factory 
chiiniieys  are  smokeless;  half  the  pleasant  villas 
whicdi  cover  the  hills  or  dot  the  openings  in  tlio 
forest  have  a  deserted  look  and  closed  windows. 
And  so  these  great  works,  the  Carroltoii  viaduct, 
the  Thomas  viaduct,  and  the  high  embankments 
and  great  cuttings  in  the  ravine  by  the  riverside, 
over  which  the  line  jiasses,  have  almost  a  de- 
pressing etfi'ct,  as  if  the  jieoplc  for  whose  use 
tliey  were  intended  hail  all  become  extinct.  At 
Kllicott's  Mills,  which  is  a  considerable  manu- 
facturing town,  more  soldiers  and  Union  flags. 
Tile  peojjle  are  Unionists,  but  the  neighbouring 
gentry  and  country  jieople  are  Seceshers. 

This  is  th(>  case  n  herever  there  is  a  manufac- 
turing ])opiilation  in  Maryland, because  the  work- 
men are  giuierally  foreigners,  or  have  come  from 
the  Nortiiern  States,  and  feel  little  sympathy 
with  States  rights'  doctrines,  and  tlic  tendencies 
of  the  landed  gentry  to  a  Conservative  action  on 
the  slave  riuestion.  There  was  no  good  will  in 
the  eyes  of  the  mechanicals  as  they  stared  at  our 
vehicle;  for  the  political  bias  of  Colonel  Carroll 
was  well  known,  as  well  as  the  general  senti- 
ments of  his  family.  It  was  dark  when  wo 
reached  the  manor,  which  is  ajijiroaclied  by  an 
avenue  of  tine  trees.  The  house  is  old-fash  m- 
ed,  and  has  received  additions  from  time  to  time. 
But  for  the  black  faces  of  the  domestics,  one 
might  easily  fancy  he  was  in  some  old  country 
house  in  Ireland.  The  family  h.ave  adhered  to 
their  ancient  faith.  The  founder  of  the  Carrolls 
ill  Maryland  came  over  witli  the  Catliolic  col- 
onists led  by  Lord  Baltimore,  or  by  his  brotlier, 
liconard  Calvert,  and  tho  colonel  jiossesses  some 
interesting  deeds  of  grant  and  conveyance  of  the 
vast  estates,  which  have  been  diminishcvl  by  large 
sales  year  after  year,  but  still  spread  over  a  con- 
iiderablo  part  of  several  counties  in  the  State. 

Colonel  Carroll  is  an  immediate  descendant 
of  one  of  the  leaders  in  the  revolution  of  1770, 
and  he  |)ointed  out  to  me  the  room  in  which  Car- 
roll, of  Carrolton,  and  George  Washington,  were 
wout  to  meet  when  they  wc/c  concocting  their 


splendid  treason.  One  of  his  coiiiic(  lions  mar- 
ried tilt!  late  .Manjiiis  WcUesley,  ami  the  colonel 
takes  iileiisuro  in  setting  forth  how  the  daughter 
of  the  Irish  recusant,  who  lied  from  his  nativo 
country  all  but  an  outlaw,  sat  on  tlu;  ilMoiie  of 
the  (.2"*'i'"  "f  Ireland,  or,  in  other  words,  held 
court  ill  Dublin  Castle  as  wife  of  the  Viceroy. 
Drohoregau  is  supposed  to  mean  "llall  of  the 
Kings,"  and  called  after  an  old  place  belonging, 
some  time  or  otlier,  to  the  family,  tin-  early  his- 
tory of  whieh,  as  set  forth  in  the  Celtic  author- 
ities and  lri-<h  antiipiarian  works,  possesses  great 
attractions  for  the  kindly,  genial  old  man — kind- 
ly and  genial  to  all  but  the  Abolitionists  and 
black  republicans ;  nor  is  lie  iiidilVerent  to  the 
reputation  of  the  State  in  the  Uevoliitionaiy 
War,  where  the  "Mar\laiid  line"  .seems  to  have 
ditfercd  from  many  of  the  contingents  of  the  oth- 
er States  in  not  running  away  so  often  at  crit- 
ical moments  in  the  serious  actions.  Colonel 
Carroll  has  sound  arguments  to  j)rove  the  sover- 
eign iudependeiiee  and  right  of  every  State  in 
the  Union,  derived  from  family  teacliing  and  the 
lessons  of  those  who  founded  the  Constitution  't- 
self. 

On  the  day  after  my  arrival  the  rain  fell  \v 
torrents.  The  wi'aihcr  is  as  uncertain  as  tlia' 
of  our  own  isle.  The  torrid  heats  at  \\'asliington. 
the  other  day,  wens  suceeeded  by  bitter  cold  days: 
now  there  is  a  dense  mist,  chilly  and  cheerless, 
seeming  as  a  sort  of  strainer  for  the  even  down 
pour  tliat  falls  through  it  continuously.  The 
family,  after  breakfast,  slijjped  round  to  the  little 
chapel  which  forms  the  extremity  of  one  wing 
of  the  house.  The  coloured  |)eoi)le  on  the  estate 
were  already  trooping  across  tht!  'awn  and  up 
the  avenue  from  the  sl.avo  (piarters,  decently 
dressed  for  the  most  Jiart,  having  diu;  allowance 
for  the  extraordinary  choice  of  colours  in  their 
gowns,  bonnets,  and  ribbons,  and  for  the  unhappy 
imitations,  on  the  jiart  of  the  men,  of  tho  attire 
of  their  masters.  They  walked  demurely  and 
quietly  past  the  house,  and  presently  the  ])riest, 
dressed  like  a  French  cure,  trotted  uj),  and  serv- 
ice began.  The  negro  houses  were  of  a  much 
better  and  more  substantial  character  than  those 
one  sees  in  the  South,  though  not  remarkable  for 
cleanliness  and  good  order.  Truth  to  say,  they 
were  jialaces  com])arcd  to  the  huts  of  Irish  la- 
bourers, such  as  might  be  found,  perhaps,  on  the 
estates  of  tho  colonel's  kinsmen  at  home.  The 
negroes  are  far  more  indeiicndent  than  they  are 
in  the  South.  They  are  less  civil,  less  obliging, 
and,  although  they  do  not  come  cringing  to  shake 
hands  as  the  field-hands  on  a  Louisiana  jdanta- 
tion,  less  servile.  They  inhabit  a  small  village 
of  brick  and  wood  houses,  across  the  road,  at  the 
end  of  tlie  avenue,  .and  in  sight  of  the  house. 
The  usual  swarms  of  little  children,  ]ioultry, 
pigs,  enlivened  by  goats,  embarrassed  the  steps 
of  tho  visitor,  and  the  old  people,  or  those  who 
were  not  finely  dressed  enough  for  mass,  peered 
out  at  the  strangers  from  the  glassless  windows. 
When  chapel  was  over,  the  boys  and  girls  came 
up  for  catechism,  and  passed  in  review  before  tho 
ladies  of  the  house,  with  whom  they  were  on  very 
good  terms.  The  priest  joined  us  in  tho  veran- 
dah when  his  labours  were  over,  and  talked  with 
intelligence  of  the  terrible  war  which  has  burst 
over  the  land.  He  has  just  returned  from  a 
tour  in  the  Northern  States,  and  it  is  his  belief 
the  native  Americans  there  will  not  enlist,  but 


<8^^< 


%^.    ''^-       .V 


IMAGE  EVALUATION 
TEST  TARGET  (MT-3) 


-^"^K^ 


1.0 


I.I 


ISO     ""* 

lit  m 

^   1^    12.0 


2.2 


L25  IIIU   11.6 


—    6" 


VI 


^>' 


// 


7 


/^ 


Photographic 

Sciences 

Corporation 


33  WEST  MAIN  STREET 

WEBSTER,  N.Y.  14SS0 

(716)872-4503 


0 


ii 


^ 


184 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


:l 


that  they  will  got  foreigners  to  fight  their  bat- 
tles, lie  admitted  that  slavery  was  in  itself  an 
evil,  nay,  more,  that  it  was  not  profitable  in  Ma- 
ryland. But  what  are  the  landed  proprietors  to 
do  ?  The  slaves  have  been  bequeathed  to  them 
ns  property  by  their  fathers,  with  eertain  obliga- 
tions to  be  respected,  and  duties  to  be  fii) filled. 
It  is  impossible  to  free  them,  because,  at  the  mo- 
ment of  emancipation,  nothing  short  of  the  con- 
fiscation of  all  the  labour  and  property  of  the 
whites  would  be  required  to  maintain  the  ne- 
groes, who  would  certainly  refuse  to  wck  un- 
less they  had  their  masters'  land  as  their  own. 
Where  is  white  labour  to  be  found  ?  Its  intro- 
duction must  be  the  work  of  years,  and  mean- 
time many  thousands  of  slaves,  who  have  a  right 
to  protection,  would  canker  the  land. 

In  Maryland  they  do  not  breed  slaves  for  the 
purpose  of  selling  them  as  they  do  in  Virginia, 
and  yet  Colonel  Carroll  and  other  gentlemen, 
who  regarded  the  slaves  they  inlicritcd  almost 
AS  members  of  their  families,  have  l)een  stigma- 
tised by  abolition  orators  as  slave-breeders  and 
slave-dealers.  It  was  these  insults  which  stung 
the  gentlemen  of  Maryland  and  of  the  other 
Slave  States  to  the  quick,  and  made  tliem  re- 
solve never  to  yield  to  the  domination  of  a  party 
which  had  never  ceased  to  wage  war  against  their 
institutions  and  their  reputation  and  honour. 

A  little  knot  of  friends  and  relations  joined 
Colonel  Carroll  at  dinner.  Tlicre  are  few  fam- 
ilies in  this  part  of  Maryland  which  have  not 
representatives  in  the  other  army  across  the  Po- 
tomac ;  and  if  Beauregard  could  but  make  his 
appearance,  the  women  alone  would  give  him 
welcome  such  as  no  conqueror  ever  received  in 
liberated  city. 

Next  day  the  rain  fell  incessantly.  The  mail 
was  brought  in  by  a  little  negro  boy  on  horse- 
back, and  I  was  warned  by  my  letters  that  an 
immediate  advance  of  M'Clcllan's  troops  was 
probable.  This  is  an  old  story.  "Battle  ex- 
pected to-morrow"  has  been  a  heading  in  the 
papers  for  the  last  fortnight.  In  the  afternoon 
I  was  driven  over  a  part  of  the  estate  in  a  close 
carriage,  through  the  windows  of  which,  how- 
ever, I  caught  glimpses  of  a  beautiful  country, 
wooded  gloriously,  and  soft,  sylvan,  and  well- 
cultivated  as  the  best  parts  of  Hampshire  and 
Gloucestershire,  the  rolling  lands  of  which  latter 
country,  indeed,  it  much  resembled  in  its  large 
fields,  heavy  with  crops  of  tobacco  and  corn. 
The  weather  was  too  unfavourable  to  admit  of  a 
close  inspection  of  the  fields ;  but  I  v'sited  one 
or  two  tobacco  houses,  where  the  fragrant  Mary- 
land was  lying  in  masses  on  the  ground,  or  hang- 
ing from  the  rafters,  or  filled  the  heavy  hogs- 
heads with  compressed  smoke. 

Next  day  I  took  the  train  at  Ellicott's  Mills, 
and  went  to  Harper's  Ferry.  There  is  no  one 
spot,  in  the  history  of  this  extraordinary  war, 
which  can  be  well  more  conspicuous.  Had  it 
nothing  more  to  recommend  it  than  the  scenery, 
it  might  well  command  a  visit  from  the  tourist ; 
but  as  the  scene  of  old  John  Brown's  raid  upon 
the  Federal  arsenal,  of  that  first  passage  of  arms 
between  the  abolitionists  and  the  slave  conserva- 
tives, which  has  developed  this  great  contest; 
above  all,  as  the  spot  where  important  military 
demonstrations  have  been  made  on  both  sides, 
and  will  necessarily  occur  hereafter,  this  place, 
which  probably  derives   its  name  from  some 


wretched  old  boatman,  will  be  renowned  for  ever 
in  the  annals  of  the  civil  war  of  18G1 .  The  Pa- 
tapsco,  by  the  bank  of  which  the  rail  is  carried 
for  some  miles,  has  all  the  character  of  a  moun- 
tain torrent,  rushing  through  gorges  or  carving 
out  its  way  at  the  base  of  granite  hills,  or  boldly 
cutting  a  path  for  ith-lf  through  the  softer  slate. 
Bridges,  viaducts,  remarkable  archways,  and  great 
spans  of  timber  trestle-work  leaping  from  hill  to 
hill,  enable  the  rail  to  creep  onwards  and  up- 
wards by  the  mountain  side  to  the  Potomac  at 
Point  of  Hocks,  whence  it  winds  its  way  over 
undulating  ground,  by  stations  with  eccentric 
names  to  tiie  river's  bank  once  more.  We  were  • 
carried  on  to  the  station  next  to  Harper's  Ferry 
on  a  ledge  of  the  precipitous  mountain  range 
which  (ilmost  overhangs  the  stream.  But  few 
civilians  were  in  the  train.  The  greater  number 
of  passengers  consisted  of  soldiers  and  sutlers, 
proceeding  to  their  encampments  along  the  river. 
A  strict  watch  was  kept  over  the  passengers, 
whose  passes  wei*c  examined  by  officers  at  the 
various  stations.  At  one  place  an  officer  who 
really  looked  like  a  soldier  entered  the  train, 
and  on  seeing  my  pass  told  me  in  broken  En- 
glish that  he  had  served  in  the  Crimen,  and  was 
acquainted  with  me  and  many  of  my  friends. 
Tile  gentleman  who  accompanied  me  observed, 
"  I  do  not  know  whether  he  was  in  the  Crimea 
or  not,  but  I  do  know  that  till  very  lately  your 
friend  the  Major  was  a  dancing-master  in  New 
York."  A  person  of  a  very  different  type  made 
his  offers  of  service.  Colonel  Gordon,  of  the  2nd 
Massachusetts  Regiment,  who  caused  the  train  to 
run  on  as  far  as  Harper's  Ferry,  in  order  to  give 
me  a  s'.ght  of  the  place,  although  in  consequence 
of  the  evil  habit  of  firing  on  the  carriages  in 
which  the  Confederates  across  the  river  have  been 
indulging,  the  locomotive  generally  halts  at  some 
distance  below  the  bend  of  the  river. 

Harper's  Ferry  lies  in  a  gorge  formed  by  a  rush 
of  the  Potomac  through  the  mountain  ridges, 
which  it  cuts  at  right  angles  to  its  course  at  its 
junction  w^h  the  river  Shenandoah.  So  trench- 
ant and  abrupt  is  the  division  that  little  land  is 
on  the  divided  ridge  to  build  upon.  The  pre- 
cipitous hills  on  both  sides  are  covered  with  for- 
est, which  has  been  cleared  in  patches  here  and 
there  on  the  Maryland  shore,  to  jiennit  of  the 
erection  of  batteries.  On  the  Virginian  side 
there  lies  a  mass  of  blackened  ai>d  ruined  build- 
ings, from  which  a  street  lined  with  good  houses 
stretches  up  the  hill.  Just  above  tiie  junction 
of  the  Shenandoah  with  the  Potomoc,  an  ele- 
vated bridge  or  viaduct  300  yards  long  leaps 
from  hill-side  to  hill-side.  The  arches  had  been 
broken — the  rails  which  ran  along  the  top  torn 
up,  and  there  is  now  a  deep  gulf  fixed  between 
the  shores  of  Maryland  and  Virginia.  The  rail 
to  Winchester  from  this  point  has  been  destroy- 
ed, and  the  line  along  the  Potomac  has  also  been 
ruined. 

But  for  the  batteries  which  cover  the  shoal 
water  at  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers  below  the 
bridge,  there  would  be  no  difficulty  in  crossing 
to  the  Maryland  shore,  and  from  that  side  the 
whole  of  the  ground  around  Harper's  FeiTy  is 
completely  commanded.  The  gorge  is  almost 
as  deep  as  the  pass  of  Killiecrankie,  which  it 
resembles  in  most  respects  except  in  breadth  and 
the  size  of  the  river  between,  and  if  ever  a  rail- 
road finds  its  way  to  Blair  Athol,  the  passengers 


wil 

cry 

hu 

ab( 

Fe 

a  • 

ab( 

m( 

inf 

th( 

au( 

gin 

Fe 


MY  DIARY  NOliTII  AND  SOUTH. 


185 


>y  a  rush   • 

ridges, 
Te  at  its 
)  trench- 
■!  land  is 
.he  pre- 
ivith  for- 
lere  and 
of  the 
ian  side 
Mi  build- 
d  houses 
junction 

an  ele- 
ig  leaps 
lad  been 
top  torn 
between 
rhe  rail 
destroy- 
Iso  been 


will  find  something  to  look  at  very  like  the  scen- 
ery on  the  route  to  Harper's  Ferry.  The  viyi- 
lanco  required  to  guard  tiie  puss  of  the  river 
above  and  Iwlow  this  point  is  incessant,  but  the 
Federals  possess  the  advantage  on  tiieir  side  of 
a  deep  canal  parallel  to  the  railway  and  running 
above  the  level  of  the  river,  wliicii  would  be  a 
more  formidable  obstacle  than  tiie  Totoinac  to 
infantry  or  guns.  Tliere  is  reason  to  believe  that 
the  Secessionists  in  Maryland  cross  backwards 
and  forwards  whenever  tliey  please,  and  the  Vir- 
ginians, coming  down  at  tlieir  leisure  to  the  op- 
posite shore,  inflict  serious  annoyance  on  the 
Federal  troops  by  constant  rifle  practice. 

Looking  up  and  down  the  river  the  scenery  is 
picturesque,  though  it  is  by  no  means  entitled  to 
tlie  extraordinary  praises  wliicii  American  tour- 
ists lavish  upon  it.  Probably  old  John  Brown 
cared  little  for  the  wild  niuKic  of  streamlet  or 
rill,  or  for  the  blended  ciiarui  of  vale  and  wood- 
land. When  he  made  his  attack  on  the  arsenal 
now  in  ruins,  ha  probably  tiiought  a  valley  was 
as  high  as  a  hill^  and  that  there  was  no  necessity 
for  water  running  downwards — assuredly  he  saw 
as  little  of  the  actual  heights  and  depths  around 
him  when  he  ran  across  tlie  Potomac  to  revolu- 
tionize Virginia.  He  has  left  behind  him  mil- 
lions either  as  clear-sighted  or  as  blind  as  him- 
self. In  New  England  parlours  a  statuette  of 
John  Brown  may  be  found  as  a  j)endant  to  the 
likeness  of  our  Saviour.  In  Virginia  his  name 
is  the  synonym  of  all  that  is  base,  bloody,  and 
cruel. 

Harper's  Ferry  at  present,  for  all  practical 
purposes,  may  be  considered  as  Confederate  j)rop- 
erty.  Tiie  few  Union  inhabitants  remain  m  their 
houses,  but  many  of  tiie  Government  workmen 
and  most  of  the  inhabitants  have  gone  otf  South. 
For  strategical  purposes  its  possession  would  be 
most  important  to  a  force  desiring  to  operate  on 
Maryland  from  Virginia.  Tlie  Blue  Kidge  range 
running  up  to  the  Siienandoah  divides  tlie  coun- 
try so  as  to  permit  a  force  deboucliing  from  Har- 
per's Ferry  to  advance  down  the  valley  of  the 
Shenandoah  on  the  ri^jht,  or  to  move  to  the  loft 
between  the  Blue  Ridge  and  the  Katoctin  mount- 
ains towards  the  Manassas  railway  at  its  discre- 
tion. After  a  false  alarm  that  some  Secesh  cav- 
alry were  coming  down  to  renew  the  skirmish- 
ing of  the  day  before,  I  returned,  and,  travelling 
to  Relay  House,  just  saved  the  train  to  Washing- 
ton, where  I  arrived  after  sunset.  A  large  num- 
ber of  Federal  troops  arc  employed  along  tiiesc 
lines,  which  they  occupy  as  if  they  were  in  a  hos- 
tile country.  An  imperfectly  formed  regiment 
broken  up  into  these  detachments,  and  placed  in 
isolated  posts,  under  ignorant  ofhcers,  may  be  re- 
garded as  almost  worthless  for  military  opera- 
tions. Hence  the  constant  night  alarms — the 
mistakes — the  skirmishes  and  instances  of  mis- 
behaviour wiiich  arise  along  these  extended 
lines. 

On  the  journey  from  Harper's  Ferry,  the  con- 
centration of  masses  of  troops  along  the  road, 
and  the  march  of  heavy  artillery  trains,  caused 
me  to  think  a  renewal  of  the  offensive  movement 
against  Richmond  was  immediate,  but  at  Wash- 
ington 1  heard  that  all  M'Clellan  wanted  or 
hoped  for  at  present  was  to  make  Maryland  safe 
and  to  gain  time  for  the  formation  of  his  army. 
The  Confederates  appear  to  be  moving  towards 
their  leyft,  and  M'Clellan  is  very  uneasy  lest  they 


should  make  a  vigorous  attack  before  he  is  pre- 
pared to  receive  tlicin. 

In  the  evening  the  New  York  jiapers  came  in 
with  the  extracts  from  the  London  ]>apers  con- 
taining my  account  of  the  battle  of  Bull's  Run. 
Utterly  forgetting  tiieir  own  versions  of  the  en- 
gagement, the  New  York  editors  now  find  it  con- 
venient to  divert  attention  from  the  Ititter  truth 
that  was  in  them  to  tlie  letter  of  the  foreign 
newspaper  corresjiondent,  who,  because  lie  is  a 
Britisli  suliject,  will  j)rovc  not  only  useful  as  a 
c()nductor  to  carry  oft'  the  po])uiar  wrath  from 
the  American  journalists  themselves,  but  as  a 
means  by  induction  of  charging  the  vials  afresh 
against  the  British  people,  inasmuch  as  tliey  have 
not  condoled  with  the  Nortli  on  the  defeat  of 
armies  which  they  were  assured  would,  if  suc- 
cessful, be  immediately  led  to  cflect  the  disrup- 
tion of  the  British  empire.  At  the  outset  I  had 
foreseen  this  would  be  the  case,  and  deliberately 
accepted  the  issue  ;  Iiut  when  I  fuuiul  the  North- 
ern journals  far  exceeding  in  severity  anything  I 
could  have  said,  and  indulging  in  general  in- 
vective against  whole  classes  of  American  sol- 
diery, officers,  and  statesmen,  I  was  foolish  enough 
to  expect  a  little  justice,  not  to  say  a  word  of  the* 
smallest  generosity. 

Auf/ust  21*7. — The  echoes  of  Bull  Run  are 
coming  back  with  a  vengeance.  This  day  month 
the  miserable  fragments  of  a  iic.iton,  washed  out, 
demoralised  army  were  flooding  in  disorder  and 
dismay  tlie  streets  of  the  capital  from  which  they 
liad  i.ssucd  fortli  to  repel  the  tide  of  invasion. 
This  day  month,  and  all  the  editors  and  journal- 
ists in  the  Statis.  weeping,  wailing,  and  gnash- 
ing their  teeth,  infused  extra  gall  into  tiieir  ink, 
and  poured  out  invective,  abuse,  and  obloquy  on 
their  defeated  general  and  their  broken  hosts. 
The  President  and  his  ministers,  stunned  by  the 
tremendous  calamity,  sat  listening  in  fear  and 
trembling  for  the  sound  of  the  enemy's  cannon. 
The  veteran  soldier,  on  whom  the  boasted  hopes 
of  the  nation  rested,  heartsick  and  beaten  down, 
had  neither  counsel  to  give  nor  action  to  oft'er. 
At  any  moment  the  Confederate  columns  i.ight 
be  expected  in  Pennsylvania  Avenue  to  re-  liive 
the  welcome  of  their  friends  and  the  sulimission 
of  tiieir  heljdess  and  disheartened  enemies. 

All  this  is  forgotten — and  nuich  more,  which 
need  not  now  be  repeated.  Saved  from  a  great 
peril,  even  the- bitterness  of  death,  they  forget  the 
danger  that  has  passed,  deny  tliat  they  uttered 
cries  of  distress  and  appeals  for  help,  and  swag- 
ger in  all  the  insolence  of  recovered  strength. 
Not  only  that,  but  they  turn  and  rend  those 
whose  writing  has  been  dug  up  after  thirty  days, 
and  comes  back  as  a  rebuke  to  their  pride. 

Conscious  tiiat  they  have  insulted  and  irritated 
their  own  army,  that  they  have  earned  the  bitter 
hostility  of  men  in  power,  and  have  for  once  in- 
flicted a  wound  on  the  vanity  to  which  they  have 
given  such  off'ensive  dimensions,  if  not  life  itself, 
they  now  seek  to  run  a  drag  scent  between  the 
public  nose  and  their  own  unpopularity,  and  to 
create  such  an  amount  of  indignation  and  to 
cast  so  much  odium  upon  one  who  has  had 
greater  facilities  to  know,  and  is  more  willing  to 
tell  the  truth,  than  any  of  their  organs,  that  he 
will  be  unable  henceforth  to  jierform  his  duties 
in  a  country  where  unpopularity  means  simply  a 
political  and  moral  atrophy  or  death.  In  the 
telegraphic  summary  some  days  ago  a  few  phrases 


t    4 

i  ■ 


\A 


186 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


"4' 
I 


were  picked  out  of  my  letters,  which  were  but 
very  faint  paniphrascs  of  some  of  the  sentences 
which  miKht  ixj  culled  from  Northern  newspa- 
pers; but  the  storm  has  been  gathering  ever  sirce, 
and  I  am  no  doubt  to  experience  the  truth  of 
De  Toctiucville's  remark,  "that  a  stranger  who 
injures  American  vanity,  no  matter  how  justly, 
may  make  uj)  his  mind  to  be  a  martyr." 
August  22nd. — 

"  Tlie  little  dogs  and  nil, 
Triiy,  Itlunche,  nn<l  Sweetheart, 
tjeo  ihey  bark  at  me." 

The  North  have  recovered  their  wind,  and  their 
.pipers  are  blowing  with  might  and  main.  The 
time  given  them  to  breathe  after  Bull  Run  has 
certainly  been  accompanied  with  a  greater  de- 
veloi)ment  of  lung  and  power  of  blowing  than 
could  have  been  expected.  The  volunteer  army 
whicli  dispersed  and  returned  Iiomc  to  receive 
the  Jo  /'rt««,s  of  the  North,  has  been  replaced  by 
better  and  more  numerous  levies,  which  have  tlie 
strong  finger  and  thumb  of  General  M'Clellan 
on  their  windpii)e,  and  find  it  is  not  quite  so 
easy  as  it  was  to  do  as  they  pleased.  The  North, 
besides,  has  received  supplies  of  money,  and  is 
•using  its  great  i*esourees,  by  land  and  sea,  to 
'  some  purpose,  and  as  they  wax  fat  they  kick. 
•  A  general  officer  said  to  me,  "Of  course  you 
will  never  remain  when  once  all  the  prdss  are 
down  upon  you.  I  would  not  take  a  million 
dollars  and  be  in  your  place."  "But  is  what 
I've  written  untrue  ?"  "  God  bless  you !  do  you 
know,  in  this  country,  if  you  can  get  enougli  of 
jieople  tc  start  a  lie  about  any  man,  he  would  be 
•  ruined,  if  the  Evangelists  came  forward  to  swear 
the  story  was  false  There  are  thousands  of 
people  who  this  moment  believe  that  M'Dowell, 
who  never  tasted  anything  stronger  than  a  wa- 
termelon in  ail  his  life,  was  helplessly  drunk  at 
Bull's  Run.  Mind  what  I  say ;  they'll  run  you 
into  a  mud-hole  as  sure  as  you  live."  I  was 
not  much  impressed  with  the  danger  of  my  posi- 
tion, further  than  that  I  knew  tiiere  would  be  a 
certain  amount  of  ri^k  from  the  rowdyism  and 
vanity  of  what  even  the  Americans  admit  to  be 
the  lower  orders,  for  which  I  had  been  j)repared 
from  the  momont  I  had  despatched  my  letter ; 
but  I  confess  I  was  not  by  any  means  disposed 
to  think  that  the  leaders  of  public  opinion  would 
seek  the  small  gratification  of  revenge,  and  the 
petty  popularity  of  pandering  to  the  passions  of 
the  mob,  by  creating  a  popivlar  cry  against  me. 
I  am  not  aware  that  any  foreigner  ever  visited 
the  United  States  who  was  injudicious  enough  to 
write  one  single  word  derogatory  to  their  claims 
to  be  the  first  of  created  beings,  who  was  not  as- 
sailed with  the  most  viperous  malignity  and  ran- 
cour. The  man  who  says  he  has  detected  a  sin- 
gle spot  on  tlie  face  of  their  sun  should  prepare 
his  winding-sheet. 

Tlie  New  York  Times,  I  find,  states  "that  the 
terrible  epistle  has  been  read  with  quite  as  much 
avidity  as  an  average  President's  message.  We 
scarcely  exaggerate  the  fact  when  we  say,  the 
first  and  foremost  thought  on  the  minds  of  a 
very  large  jiortion  of  our  people  after  the  repulse 
-  at  Bull's  Run  was,  what  will  Russell  say  ?"  and 
then  they  repeat  some  of  the  absurd  sayings  at- 
tributed to  me,  who  declared  openly  from  the 
very  first  that  I  had  not  seen  the  battle  at  all,  to 
the  eft'ect"that  I  had  never  seen  such  fighting 
in  all  my  life,  and  that  nothing  at  Alma  or  Ink- 


erman  was  equal  to  it."  An  analysis  of  the  let- 
ter  follows,  in  which  it  is  admitted  that  "with 
perfect  candour  I  purported  to  give  an  account 
of  what  I  saw,  and  not  of  the  action  which  I  did 
not  see;"  and  the  writer,  who  is,  if  I  mistake  not, 
the  Hon.  Mr.  Raymond,  of  the  New  York  Times, 
like  mySelf  a  witness  of  the  facts  I  describe, 
quotes  a  passage  in  which  I  say,  "  There  was  no 
flight  of  troops,  no  retreat  of  an  army,  no  reason 
for  all  this  precipitation,"  and  then  declares 
"  that  my  letter  gives  a  very  spirited  and  per- 
fectly just  description  of  the  panic  which  impel- 
led and  accompanied  ihc  troops  from  Centreville 
to  Washington.  He  docs  not,  for  he  cannot,  in 
the  least  exaggerate  its  horrible  disorder,  or  the 
disgraceful  behaviour  of  the  incompetent  officers 
by  whom  it  was  aided,  instead  of  being  checked. 
He  saw  nothing  whatever  of  the  figliting,  and 
therefore  says  nothing  whatever  of  its  quality. 
He  gives  a  clear,  fair,  perfectly  just  and  accu- 
rate, as  it  is  a  sjnrited  and  grajjhic  account  of 
the  extraordinary  scenes  which  passed  under  his 
observation.  Discreditable  as  those  scones  were 
to  our  army,  we  have  nothing  in  connection  with 
them  whereof  to  accuse  the  rejjorter ;  he  has 
done  justice  alike  to  himself,  his  subject,  and  the 
country." 

Ne  nobis  hiandlar,  I  may  add,  that  at  least  I 
desired  to  do  so,  and  1  can  prove  from  Northern 
papers  that  if  their  accounts  were  true,  I  certain- 
ly much  "  extenuated  and  naught  set  down  in 
malice" — nevertheless,  Philip  drunk  is  very  dif- 
■  ferent  from  Philip  sober,  frightened,  and  running 
away,  and  the  man  who  attcmjits  to  justify  his 
version  to  the  inebriated  polycephalous  monarch 
is  sure  to  meet  such  treatment  as  inebriated  des- 
pots generally  award  to  their  censors. 

Augttst  23rd. — The  torrent  is  swollen  to-day 
by  anonymous  letters  threatening  me  with  bowie- 
knife  and  revolver,  or  simply  abusive,  frantic 
with  hate,  and  full  of  obscure  warnings.  Some 
bear  the  Washington  post-mark;  others  came 
from  New  York ;  the  greater  number — for  I  have 
had  nine — are  from  Philadelphia.  Perhaps  they 
may  come  from  the  members  of  that  "  gallant" 
4th  Pennsylvania  Regiment. 

Aui/nst  24th. — My  servant  came  ia  this  morn- 
ing to  announce  a  trifling  accident — he  was  ex- 
ercising my  horse,  and  at  the  corner  of  one  of 
those  charming  street-crossings,  the  animal  fell 
and  broke  its  leg.  A  "vet"  wns  sent  for.  I 
was  sure  that  such  a  portent  had  never  been 
born  in  those  Daunian  woods.  A  man  about 
twenty-seven  or  twenty-eight  stone  weight,  mid- 
dle-aged and  active,  with  a  fine  professional  feel- 
ing for  distressed  horse-flesh ;  and  I  was  right 
in  my  conjectures  that  he  was  a  Briton,  though 
the  vet  had  become  Americanised,  and  was  f"ll 
of  enthusiasm  about  "our  war  for  the  Union," 
which  was  yielding  him  a  fine  harvest.  He 
complained  there  was  a  good  many  bad  charac- 
ters about  Washington.  The  matter  is  jiroved 
Ixjyond  doubt  by  what  we  see,  hear,  and  read. 
To-day  there  is  an  account  in  the  papers  of  a 
brute  shooting  a  negro  boy  dead,  because  he 
asked  him  for  a  chew  of  tobacco.  Will  he  be 
hanged?  Not  the  smallest  chance  of  it.  The 
idea  of  hanging  a  white  man  for  killing  a  nig- 
ger !  It  is  more  preposterous  here  than  it  is  in 
India,  where  our  authorities  have  actually  exe- 
cuted whites  (or  the  murder  of  natives. 

Before  dinner  I  walked  down  to  the  Wpshing- 


I  ^ 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


18T 


I  M'- 


ton  navy  yard.  Captain  Dahlgren  was  sorely 
perplexed  with  an  intoxicated  iSenator,  whose 
ndmc  it  is  not  necessary  to  mention,  and  who 
sctnicd  to  think  lio  paid  me  a  groat  compliment 
by  exj)re.ssin}j:  his  repeated  desire  "to  have  a 
pood  look  at"  mc.  "I  guess  you're  quite  noto- 
rious now.  You'll  excuse  me  because  I've  dined, 
now — and  so  you  are  the  Mr.  &c.,  &c.,  &c."  The 
Senator  informed  me  tliat,  he  was  "none  of  your 

d d  blackfaccd  republicans.     He  didn't  care 

a  d about  niggers — his  business  was  to  do 

good  to  his  fellow  white  men,  to  hold  our  glori- 
ous Union  together,  and  let  the  niggere  take  care 
of  themselves." 

I  was  glad  when  a  diversion  was  effected  by  the 
arrival  of  Mr.  Fox,  Assistant-Secretary  of  the 
Navy,  and  Mr.  Blair,  Postmaster-General,  to  con- 
sult with  the  Captain,  who  is  greatly  looked  up  to 
by  all  tlie  members  of  the  Cabinet — in  fact  he  is 
rather  inconvenienced  by  the  perpetual  visits  of 
the  President,  who  is  animated  by  a  most  extraro- 
dinary  curiosity  about  naval  matters  and  machin- 
ery, and  is  attracted  by  the  novelty  of  the  whole 
department,  so  that  he  is  continually  running 
down  "  to  have  a  talk  with  Dahlgren"  when  he  is 
not  engaged  in  "  a  chat  with  George."  The  Sen- 
ator opened  such  a  smart  fire  on  the  Minister  that 
the  latter  retired,  and  I  mounted  and  rode  back 
to  town.  In  the  evening  Major  Clarence  Brown, 
Lieutenant  Wise,  a  lively,  pleasant,  and  amusing 
little  sailor,  well-known  in  the  States  as  the  au- 
thor of  "  Los  Gringos,"  who  is  now  employed  in 
the  Navy  Department,  and  a  few  of  the  gentle- 
len  connected  with  the  Foreign  Legations,  came 
in,  and  we  had  a  great  international  reunion  and 
discussion  till  a  late  hour.  There  is  a  good  deal 
of  agreeable  banter  reserved  for  myself,  as  to  the 
exact  form  of  death  which  I  am  most  likely  to 
meet.  I  was  seriously  advised  by  a  friend  not 
to  stir  out  unarmed.  The  great  nsc  of  a  re- 
volver is  that  it  will  prevent  the  indignity  of 
tarring  and  feathering,  now  piotty  rife,  by  pro- 
voking greater  violence.  I  al«o  received  a  letter 
from  London,  advising  me  to  apply  to  Lord  Ly- 
ons for  protection,  but  that  could  only  be  extend- 
ed to  me  witliin  the  walls  of  the  Legation. 

August  2iith. — I  visited  thr  Navy  Department, 
which  is  a  small  red-brick  b.'Iding  two  stories 
high,  very  plain  and  even  humble.  The  subor- 
dinate departments  are  conducted  in  rooms  be- 
low stairs.  Tlie  executive  are  lodged  in  the 
rooms  which  line  both  sides  of  the  corridor  above. 
The  walls  of  the  passage  are  lined  w,ith  i)aint- 
ings  in  oil  and  water  colours,  engravings  and 
paintings  in  the  worst  style  of  art.  To  the  lat- 
ter considerable  interest  attaches,  as  they  arc 
authentic  likenesses  of  naval  officers  who  gained 
celebrity  in  tlio  wars  with  Great  Britain — men 
like  Perry,  M'Donough,  Decatur,  and  Hull,  who, 
as  the  Americans  boast,  was  "  the  first  man  who 
compelled  a  British  frigate  of  greater  force  than 
his  own  to  strike  her  colours  in  fair  fight."  Paul 
Jones  was  not  to  be  seen,  but  a  drawing  is  proud- 
ly pointed  to  of  the  attack  of  the  American  fleet 
on  Algiers  as  a  proof  of  hatred  to  jnracy,  and  of 
the  prominent  part  taken  by  the  young  States  in 
putting  an  end  to  it  in  Europe.  In  one  room 
are  several  swords,  surrendered  by  English  offi- 
cers in  the  single  frigate  engagements,  and  the 
duplicates  of  medals,  in  gold  and  silver,  voted  by 
Congress  to  the  victors.  In  Lieutei  nnt  Wise's 
room  there  are  models  of  the  proji.v-viles,  and  a 


series  of  shot  and  shell  used  in  the  navy,  or  de- 
posited by  inventors.  Among  other  relics  was 
the  flag  of  Captain  Ward's  boat,  just  brought  in, 
which  was  completely  riddled  by  the  bullet-marks 
received  in  the  ambuscade  in  which  that  officer 
was  killed,  with  nearly  all  of  his  boat's  crew,  as 
they  incautiously  approached  the  shore  of  the 
Potomac,  to  take  off  a  small  craft  placed  there 
to  decoy  them  by  the  Confederates.  My  busi- 
ness was  to  pave  the  way  for  a  passage  on  board 
a  steamer,  in  case  of  any  naval  exjjedition  start- 
ing before  the  army  was  ready  to  move,  but  all 
difficulties  were  at  once  removed  by  the  prompt- 
itude and  courtesy  of  Mr.  Fox,  the  Assistant- 
Secretaiy,  who  promised  to  give  mc  an  order  for 
a  passage  whenever  I  required  it.  The  extreme 
civility  and  readiness  to  oblige  of  all  American 
officials,  high  and  low,  from  the  gate-keepers 
and  door-porters  up  to  the  heads  of  departments, 
cannot  be  too  highly  praised,  and  it  is  ungener- 
ous to  accept  the  explanation  offered  by  an  En- 
glish officer  to  whom  I  remarked  the  circum- 
stance, that  it  is  due  to  the  fact  that  each  man 
is  liable  to  be  tumed  out  at  the  end  of  four  years, 
and  therefore  makes  ail  the  friends  he  can. 

In  the  afternoon  I  rode  out  with  Caj)tain  John- 
son, through  some  charming  woodland  scenery 
on  the  outskirts  of  Washington,  by  a  brawling 
stream,  in  a  shady  little  ravine,  that  put  me  in 
mind  of  the  Dargle.  Our  ride  led  us  into  the 
camps,  formed  on  the  west  of  Georgetown,  to 
cover  the  city  from  the  attacks  of  an  enemy  ad- 
vDincing  along  the  left  bank  of  the  Potomac,  and 
in  support  of  several  strong  forts  and  earthworks 
placed  on  the  heights.  One  regiment  consists 
altogether  of  Frenchmen — another  is  of  Ger- 
mans— in  a  third  I  saw  an  officer  with  a  Crimean 
and  Indian  medal  on  his  breast,  and  several  pri- 
vates with  similar  decorations.  Some  of  the  reg- 
iments were  on  parade,  and  crowds  of  civilians 
from  Washington  were  enjoying  the  novel  scene, 
and  partaking  of  the  hospitality  of  their  friends. 
One  old  lady,  whom  I  have  always  seen  about 
the  camps,  and  who  is  a  sort  of  ancient  heroine 
of  Saragossa,  had  an  opportunity  of  being  useful. 
The  15th  Massachusetts,  a  fine-looking  body  of 
men,  had  broken  up  camp,  and  were  marching 
off  to  the  sound  of  their  own  voices  chanting 
"Old  John  Brown,"  when  one  of  the  enormous 
trains  of  baggage  waggons  attached  to  them  was 
carried  off'  by  the  frightened  mules,  which  prob- 
ably had  lK>longed  to  Virginian  farmers,  and  one 
of  the  soldiers,  in  trying  to  stop  it,  was  dashed 
to  the  ground  and  severely  injured.  The  old 
lady  was  by  his  side  in  a  moment,  and  out  came 
her  flask  of  strong  waters,  bandages,  and  medi- 
cal comforts  and  apparatus.  "  It's  well  I'm 
here  for  this  poor  Union  soldier ;  I'm  sure  I  al- 
ways have  something  to  do  in  these  camps."  On 
my  return  late,  there  was  a  letter  on  my  table 
requesting  me  to  visit  General  M'Clellan,  but  it 
was  then  too  far  advanced  to  avail  myself  of  the 
invitation,  which  was  only  delivered  after  I  left 
my  lodgings. 


-1^: 


CHAPTER  LFV. 

A  tour  of  fnppection  round  the  ciinip  —  A  tronbleBome 
horse — M'lJoweU  and  the  President — My  dcsoilptionof 
HuU'b  K"in  endorsed  by  American  offloers — Influence  of 
the  Press — \ewspaper  correspondents — Dr.  Uray — My 
letters  —  Captain  Meagher  —  Military  adventurers  — 


188 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOI  III. 


II  \ 


U    i 


M 


¥  4 


I'robabln  duration  of  the  war — LonI  A.  Vuno  Ttunpcst — 
The  Ameilcan  juurnaliHt— Threat  i  of  nflijaH»iuatiun. 

Atu/unt  2C/A. — General  Vnn  Vliet  called  from 
GeneVul  M'Clellan  to  say  that  the  Commander- 
in-Chief  would  he  happy  to  po  round  the  camps 
with  me  when  he  next  made  an  inspection,  and 
would  send  round  an  orderly  and  charger  in  time 
to  (Jet  ready  before  he  started.  These  little  ex- 
cursions are  not  the  most  agreeable  aifairs  in  the 
world  ;  for  M'Clellan  delights  in  working  down 
staff  and  escort,  da.shing  from  the  Chain  Bridge 
to  Alexandria,  and  visiting  all  the  posts,  riding 
as  hard  as  he  can,  and  not  returning  till  past 
midnight,  so  that  if  one  has  a  regard  for  his  cu- 
ticle, or  his  mail-days,  he  will  not  rjishly  venture 
on  such  excursions.  To-day  he  is  to  inspect 
M'Dowell's  division. 

I  set  out  accordingly  with  Captain  Johnson 
over  the  Long  Bridge,  which  is  now  very  strictly 
guarded.  On  exhibiting  my  pass  to  the  sentry 
at  the  entrance,  he  called  across  to  the  sergeant 
and  spoke  to  him  aside,  showing  him  the  pass  at 
the  siimc  time.  "Are  you  '^usscll,  of  the  Lon- 
don Times?''  said  the  sergeant.  I  replied,  "If 
you  look  at  the  pass,  you  will  see  who  I  am." 
He  turned  it  over,  examined  it  most  narrowly, 
and  at  last,  with  an  exjjression  of  infinite  dissat- 
isfaction and  anger  upon  his  face,  handed  it  back, 
saying  to  the  sentry,  "I  suppose  you  must  let 
him  go." 

Meantime  Captain  Johnson  was  witching  the 
world  with  feats  of  noble  horsemanshij),  for  1  had 
lent  him'  my  celebrated  horse  Walker,  so  called 
because  no  earthly  equestrian  can  induce  him  to 
do  anything  but  trot  violently,  gallop  at  full 
speed,  or  stand  on  his  hind  logs.  Ca])tain  John- 
son laid  the  whole  fault  of  the  animal's  conduct 
to  my  mismanagement,  affirming  that  all  it  re- 
quired was  a  light  hand  and  gentleness,  and  so, 
as  he  could  disjday  both,  I  promised  to  let  him 
have  a  trial  to-day.  Walker,  on  starting,  how- 
ever, insisted  on  having  a  dance  to  himself,  which 
my  friend  attributed  to  the  excitement  jiroduced 
by  the  presence  of  the  other  horse,  and  I  rode 
quietly  along  whilst  the  captain  proceeded  to  es- 
tablish an  acquaintance  with  his  steed  in  some 
quiet  bye -street.  As  I  was  crossing  the  Long 
Bridge,  the  forbidden  clatter  of  a  horse's  hoofs 
on  the  planks  caused  me  to  look  round,  and  on, 
in  a  cloud  of  dust,  through  the  midst  of  shout- 
ing sentries,  came  my  friend  of  the  gentle  hand 
and  unruffled  tcmiier,  with  his  hat  thum]>ed 
down  on  the  back  of  his  head,  his  eyes  gleaming, 
his  teeth  clenched,  his  fine  features  slightly  flush- 
ed, to  say  the  least  of  it,  sawing  violently  at 
Walker's  head,  and  exclaiming,  "You  brute !  I'll 
teach  you  to  walk!"  till  he  brought  up  by  the 
barrier  midway  on  the  bridge.  The  guard,  en 
7iiasse,  called  the  captain's  attention  to  the  order, 
"All  horses  to  walk  over  the  bridge."  "Why, 
that's  what  I  want  him  to  do.  I'll  give  any  man 
among  you  one  hundred  dollars  who  can  make 
him  walk  along  this  bridge  or  anywhere  else." 
The  redoubtable  steed,  being  permitted  to  pro- 
ceed upon  its  way,  dashed  swiftly  through  the 
lete  de  pont,  or  stood  on  his  hind  legs  when  im- 
])eratively  arrested  by  a  banner  or  abattis ;  and 
on  these  occasions  my  excellent  friend,  as  he  dis- 
played his  pass  in  one  hand  and  restrained  Bu- 
cephalus with  the  other,  reminded  me  of  nothing 
so  much  as  the  statue  of  Peter  the  Great,  in  the 
square  on  the  banks  of  the  Neva,  or  the  noble 


equestrian  monument  of  General  Jackson  which 
decorates  the  city  of  Wa.shington.  The  troojiH 
of  M'Dowell's  division  were  already  drawn  up 
on  a  rugged  plain,  close  to  the  river's  margin, 
in  happier  days  the  scene  of  the  city  races.  A 
pestilential  odour  rose  from  the  slaughtor-hotises 
close  at  hand,  but,  regardless  of  odour  or  marsh. 
Walker  continued  his  violent  exercise,  evidently 
under  the  idea  that  he  was  assisting  at  a  retreat 
of  the  grand  army  as  before. 

Presently  General  M'Dowell  and  one  of  his 
aides  cantered  over,  and  whilst  waiting  for  Gen- 
eral M'Clellan.  he  talked  of  the  fierce  outburst 
directed  against  mc  in  the  jtress.  "I  miist  con- 
fess," he  said,  laughingly,  "  I  am  much  rejoiced 
to  find  you  arc  as  much  abused  as  I  liavc  been. 
I  hope  you  mind  it  as  little  as  I  did.  Bull's  Run 
was  an  unfortunate  affair  for  both  of  us,  for  had 
I  won  it,  you  would  have  had  to  describe  the  pur- 
suit of  the  flying  enemy,  and  then  you  would 
have  been  the  moi^t  popular  writer  in  America, 
and  I  would  have  been  lauded  as  the  greatest  of 
generals.  See  what  measure  has  been  meted 
to  us  now.  I'm  accused  of  drunkenness  and 
gambling ;  and  you,  Mr.  Russell — well !  I  really 
do  hojie  you  are  not  so  black  as  you  are  paint- 
ed.'' Presently  a  cloud  of  dust  on  the  road  an- 
nounced the  arrival  of  the  President,  who  came 
vipon  the  ground  in  an  open  carriage,  with  Mr. 
Seward  by  his  side,  accompanied  by  General 
M'Clellan  and  his  stall'  in  undress  uniform,  and 
an  escort  of  the  very  dirtiest  and  most  unsoldier- 
ly  dragoons,  with  fil  liy  accoutrements  and  un- 
groomed  horses,  I  ever  saw.  .  The  troo])s  dress- 
ed into  line  and  presented  arms,  whilst  the  band 
struck  up  the  "  Star-spangled  Banner,"  as  the 
Americans  have  got  no  tune  which  corresponds 
with  our  National  Anthem,  or  is  in  any  way 
com|)limontary  to  the  quadrennial  despot  who 
fills  the  President's  chair. 

General  M'Dowell  seems  on  most  excellent 
terms  with  the  present  Commander-in-Chief,  as 
he  is  with  the  President.  Immediately  after 
Bull's  Run,  when  the  President  first  saw  M'Dow- 
ell, he  said  to  him,  "I  have  not  lost  a  ])article  of 
confidence  in  you,"  to  which  the  General  re- 
plied, "I  don't  see  why  you  should,  Mr.  Presi- 
dent." But  there  was  a  curious  commentary, 
either  on  the  sincerity  of  Mr.  Lincoln,  or  in  his 
utter  subserviency  to  -mob  opinion,  in  the  fact 
that  he  who  can  overrule  Congress  and  act  pret- 
ty much  as  he  pleases  in  time  of  war,  had,  with- 
out opportunity  for  explanation  or  demand  for 
it,  at  on  :e  displaced  the  man  in  whom  he  still 
retained  t/ie  fullest  confidence,  degraded  him  to 
command  of  a  division  of  the  army  of  which  he 
had  been  General-in-Chief,  and  placed  a  junior 
officer  over  his  head. 

After  some  ordinary  movements,  the  march 
past  took  place,  which  satisfied  me  that  the  new 
levies  were  very  superior  to  the  three  months' 
men,  though  far,  indeed,  from  being  soldiers. 
Finer  material  conld  not  bo'  found  in  jihysiciue. 
With  the  exception  of  an  assemblage  of  misera- 
ble scarecrows  in  rags  and  tatters,  swept  up  in 
New  York  and  commanded  by  a  Mr.  Kerrigan, 
no  division  of  the  ordinary  line,  in  any  army, 
conld  show  a  greater  number  of  tall,  robust  men 
in  the  prime  of  life.  A  soldier  standing  near 
me,  pointing  out  Kerrigan's  corps,  said,  "The 
boy  who  commands  that  pretty  lot  recruited  them 
first  for  the  Seccshes  in  New  York,  but,  finding 


ha\ 
get 


,'  .I'-i 


MY  DIARY  NOUTII  AND  SOUTH. 


189 


ho  could  not  get  tlicm  awny,  ho  handed  them 
over  to  Uncle  Sam."  The  uu-ii  witc  silent  us 
they  marclied  past,  and  did  not  cheer  for  Presi- 
dent or  Union. 

I  retiirneil  from  tho  field  to  Arlington  House, 
having  bei-n  invited  with  my  friend  to  share  the 
general's  camp  dinner.  On  our  way  along  the 
road,  I  asked  Xiajor  Brown  why  he  rode  over  to 
us  before  tiie  review  conmienced.  "  Well,"  said 
he,  "my  attention  was  called  to  you  by  one  of  lur 
staff  saying  'there  are  two  Englishmen,'  and  the 
general  sent  mo  over  to  invito  them,  and  follow- 
ed when  ho  saw  who  it  was."  "But  how  could 
you  tell  we  were  English?"  "I  don't  know," 
said  ho  ;  "  there  were  other  civilians  about,  but 
there  was  something  about  the  look  of  you  two 
which  marked  you  immediately  as  John  Bull." 

At  the  general's  tent  we  found  General  Sher- 
man, General  Kcyes,  Wadsworth,  and  some  oth- 
ers. Dinner  was  spread  on  a  table  covered  by 
the  flap  of  tiio  tent,  and  consisted  of  good  plain 
fare,  and  a  dessert,  of  prodigious  watermehms. 
I  was  exceedingly  gratified  to  hear  every  officer 
present  declare  in  the  presence  of  the  general 
who  had  commanded  the  army,  and  w^lo  him- 
self said  no  words  could  exaggerate  the  disorder 
of  ^'.le  r  .ute,  that  my  narrative  of  Bull's  Kun  was 
not  o«ly  true,  but  moderate. 

General  Sherman,  whom  I  met  for  the  first 
time,  said,  "  Mr.  Kussell,  1  can  endoisc  every 
word  that  you  wrote  ;  your  statements  about  tho 
battle,  which  you  say  you  did  not  witness,  are 
equally  correct.  All  the  stories  about  charging 
batteries  and  attacks  with  the  bayonet  are  sim- 
])ly  falsehoods,  so  far  as  my  command  is  concern 
ed,  though  some  of  the  troops  did  fight  well.  As 
to  cavalry  charges,  I  wish  we  had  bad  a  few  cav- 
alry to  have  tried  one ;  those  Black  Horse  fel- 
lows seemed  as  if  their  horses  ran  away  with 
them."  General  Keyes  said,  "  I  don't  think  you 
made  it  half  bad  enough.  I  could  not  get  tho 
men  to  stand  after  they  had  received  the  first  se- 
vere check.  The  enemy  swept  the  open  with  a 
tremendous  musketry  fire.  Some  of  our  men 
and  portions  of  regiments  behaved  admirably : 
we  drove  them  easily  at  first ;  the  cavalry  did 
very  little  indqgd ;  but  when  they  did  come  on  I 
could  not  get  the  infantry  to  stand,  and  after  a 
harmless  volley  they  broke."  These  officers  were 
brigadiers  of  Tyler's  division. 

The  conversation  turned  upon  the  influence 
of  the  press  in  America,  and  I  observed  that  ev- 
ery soldier  at  tai)lc  spoke  with  the  utmost  dislike 
and  antipathy  of  the  New  York  journals,  to  which 
they  gave  a  metropolitan  position,  although  each 
man  had  some  favourite  paper  of  his  own  which 
he  excepted  from  the  charge  made  against  tho 
whole  body.  Tho  principal  accusations  made 
against  the  press  were  that  the  conductors  are 
not  gentlemen,  that  they  are  calumnious  and  cor- 
rupt, regardless  of  truth,  honour,  anything  but 
circulation  and  advertisements.  "It  is  tho  first 
time  WG  have  had  a  chance  of  dealing  with  these 
fellows,  and  we  shall  not  lose  it." 

I  returned  to  Washington  at  dusk  over  the 
aqueduct  bridge.  A  gentleman  who  introduced 
himself  to  mo  as  correspondent  of  one  of  tho 
cheap  Lonilon  papers,  sent  out  si)ecially  on  ac- 
count of  his  great  experience  to  write  from  the 
States,  under  the  auspices  of  the  leaders  of  the 
advanced  liberal  party,  came  to  ask  if  I  had  seen 
an  article  in  the  Chicago  Trilmne,  purporting  to 


bo  writt6n  by  a  gentleman  whr  mys  ho  was  in 
my  company  during  tiie  retreat,  contradicting 
what  I  report.  I  was  advised  by  several  offi- 
cers— whoso  opinion  I  took — that  it  would  be 
derogatory  to  me  if  I  noticed  the  writer.  I  read 
it  over  carefully,  and  must  say  I  am  surprised — 
if  anything  could  surprise  me  in  American  jour- 
nalism— at  the  impudence  and  mendacity  of  tho 
man.  Having  first  stated  that  he  rode  along 
with  me  from  point  to  point  at  a  certain  portion 
of  the  road,  he  states  that  he  did  not  hear  or  see 
certain  things  which  I  say  that  I  saw  and  heard, 
or  deliberately  falsifies  what  passed,  for  the  sake 
of  a  little  ephemeral  applause,  quotations  in  tho 
papers,  increased  importance  to  himself,  and 
some  more  abuse  of  tho  English  correspondent. 

This  statement  made  mo  recall  the  circum- 
stance alluded  to  more  particularly.  I  remem- 
bered well  the  flurried,  plethoric,  elderly  man, 
mounted  on  a  broken-down  horse,  who  rode  up 
to  mo  in  great  trepidation,  with  sweat  streaming 
over  his  face,  and  asked  me  if  I  was  going  into 
Washington.  "  You  may  not  recollect  me,  sir  ; 
I  was  introduced  to  you  at  Cay-roe,  in  the  hall 
of  the  hotel.  I'm  Dr.  Bray,  of  the  Chicago  Tri- 
hune.^'  I  certainly  did  not  remember  him,  but  I 
did  recollect  that  a  dis|Mitch  from  Cairo  appear- 
ed in  tho  ))aper,  aimouncing  my  arrival  from  the 
South,  and  statiyg  I  complained  on  landing  that 
my  letters  had  been  opened  in  the  States,  which 
was  quite  untrue  and  which  1  felt  called  on  to 
deny,  and  supposing  Dr.  Bray  to  be  the  author,  I 
was  not  at  all  inclined  to  cement  our  acquaint- 
ance, and  continued  my  course  witii  a  bow. 

But  the  Doctor  whipped  his  steed  uj)  alongside 
mine,  and  went  on  to  tell  mo  that  ho  was  in  the 
most  terrible  bodily  pain  and  mental  anxiety. 
The  first  on  account  of  desuetude  of  equestrian 
excrcirc ;  the  other  on  account  of  the  defeat  of 
the  Federals  and  the  probable  pursuit  of  the 
Confederates.  "Oh!  it's  dreadful  to  think  of! 
They  know  me  well,  and  would  show  mo  no 
mercy.  Every  step  tho  horse  takes  I'm  in  ag- 
ony. I'll  never  get  to  Washington.  Could  you 
stay  with  me,  sir  ?  as  you  know  tho  road."  I 
was  moved  to  internal  chuckling,  at  any  rate,  by 
the  very  prostrate  condition  —  for  he  bent  well 
over  the  saddle — of  poor  Dr.  Bray,  and  so  I  said 
to  him,  "  Don't  bo  uneasy,  sir.  There  is  no  fear 
of  your  being  taken.  The  army  is  not  defeated, 
in  spite  of  what  you  see ;  for  there  will  be  always 
runaways  and  skulkers  when  a  retreat  is  order- 
ed. I  have  not  the  least  doubt  M'Dowell  will 
stand  fast  at  Centrevillc,  and  rally  his  troops  to- 
night on  the  reserve,  so  as  to  be  in  a  good  posi- 
tion to  resist  the  enemy  to-morrow,  I'll  have  to 
push  on  to  Washington,  as  I  must  write  my  let- 
ters, and  I  fear  they  will  stop  mo  on  the  bridge 
without  tho  countersign,  particularly  if  these 
runaways  should  outstrip  us.  As  to  your  skin, 
pour  a  iittio  whiskey  on  some  melted  tallow  atul 
rub  it  well  in,  and  you'll  be  all  right  to-morrow 
or  next  day,  as  far  as  that  is  concerned." 

I  actually,  out  of  compassion  to  his  sufferings 
— for  he  nttered  cries  now  and  then  as  thougli 
Lucina  were  in  request — reined  up,  and  walked 
my  horse,  though  most  anxious  to  get  out  of  the 
dust  and  confusion  of  the  runaways,  and  com- 
forted him  about  a  friend  whom  ho  missed,  and 
for  whose  fate  he  was  as  uneasy  as  the  concern 
he  felt  for  his  own  woes  permitted  him  to  be ; 
suggested  various  modes  to  him  of  casing  the 


190 


MY  DIAltY  NOKTII  AND  SOUTH. 


1 


til  x'yf 


jolt  and  of  quickening  the  pace  of  liis  steed,  and 
at  last,  really  bored  excestsiw^ly  by  an  uninterest- 
ing and  self-absorbed  coni])anion,  wiio  was  besides 
detaining  ine  needlessly  on  the  road,  I  turned  on 
some  |)retence  into  a  wood  by  tlic  side,  and  con- 
tinued my  way  as  well  as  I  could,  till  I  g(<t  off 
tlic  track,  and,  being  guided  to  tiic  road  liy  tlio 
dust  and  shouting,  I  came  out  on  it  somewhere 
near  Fairfax  Court,  and  there,  to  my  surjjrise, 
dropped  on  the  Doctor,  who,  animated  by  some 
agency  more  powerful  than  the  pangs  of  an 
abraded  cuticle,  and  taking  advantage  of  the 
road,  had  got  thus  far  ahead.  Wc  entered  the 
place  togetiicr,  halted  at  the  same  inn  to  water 
our  horses,  and  then  seeing  that  it  was  getting  on 
towards  dusk,  and  that  the  wave  of  tlie  retreat 
was  rolling  onward  in  increased  volume,  I  ])U8h- 
cd  on  and  saw  no  more  of  him.  Ungrateful 
Bray!  Perfidious  Bray!  Some  day,  when  I 
have  time,  I  must  tell  the  people  of  Ciiicago  how 
Bray  got  into  Washington,  and  how  lie  left  his 
horse,  and  what  he  did  with  it,  and  how  Bray 
behaved  on  the  road.  I  dare  say  they  who  know 
bim  can  guess. 

The  most  significant  article  I  have  seen  for 
some  time  as  a  test  of  the  taste,  tone,  and  temper 
of  the  New  York  public,  judging  by  their  most 
widely- read  journal,  is  contained  in  it  to-night. 
It  appears  that  a  gentleman  named  Muir,  who  is 
described  as  a  relative  of  Mr.  Ilure,  the  consul 
at  New  Orleans,  was  seized  on  the  point  of  start- 
ing for  Europe,  and  that  among  his  jjapers,  many 
of  which  were  of  a  "disloyal  character,"  which 
is  not  astonishing,  seeing  tliat  he  came  from 
Charlcsto  N  was  a  letter  written  by  a  foreign  res- 
ident  in  ,  avr  ufy,  in  which  he  stated  he  had  seen 
a  Ictte  .  me  to  Mr.  Bunch  describing  the 

(light  a  . '.  yiVs  Run,  and  adding  that  Lord  Lyons 
remarked,  when  he  heard  of  it,  he  would  ask 
Mr.  Seward  whether  he  would  not  now  admit 
the  Confederates  were  a  belligerent  power,  where- 
upon Maudit  calls  on  Mr.  Seward  to  demand 
explanations  from  Lord  Lyons,  and  to  turn  me 
out  of  the  country,  becanse  in  my  letter  to  the 
•'Times"  I  made  the  remark  that  tlie  United 
States  would  probably  now  admit  the  South  were 
a  belligerent  power. 

Sucli  an  original  observation  could  never  have 
occurred  to  two  people — genius  concerting  with 
genius  could  alone  have  hammered  it  out.  But 
Maudit  is  not  satisfied  with  the  humiliation  of 
Lord  Lyons  and  the  expulsion  of  myself — he  ab- 
solutely insists  upon  a  miracle,  and  his  moral  vis- 
ion being  as.  perverted  as  his  physical,  he  declares 
that  I  must  have  sent  to  the  British  Consul  at 
Chaileston  a  duplicate  copy  of  the  letter  which 
I  furnished  with  so  much  labour  and  difficulty 
just  in  time  to  catch  the  mail  by  sfjecial  messen- 
ger from  Boston.  "These  be  thy  Gods,  O  Is- 
rael !" 

My  attention  was  also  directed  to  a  letter  from 
certain  officers  of  the  disbanded  69th  Regiment, 
who  had  permitted  their  Coloriel  to  be  dragged 
away  a  prisoner  from  the  field  of  Bull's  Run. 
Without  having  read  my  letter,  these  gentlemen 
assumed  that  I  had  stigmatised  Captain  T.  F. 
Meagher  as  one  who  had  misconducted  himself 
during  the  battle,  whereas  all  I  had  said  on  the 
evidence  of  eye-witnesses  was  "that  in  the  rnit 
he  appeared  at Centrevillc,  running  across  coui- 
try,  and  uttering  exclam.ations  in  the  hearing  if 
my  informant,  which  indicated  that  he,  at  least, 


was  perfectly  satisfied  that  the  Confederntos  had 
established  their  claims  to  )>e  cinisidcrcd  a  bel- 
ligerent |)ower."  Tbi'se  officers  state  that  Caj)- 
♦ttin  Meagher  behaved  extremely  well  up  to  a 
certain  point  in  the  engagement,  when  they  lost 
sight  of  him,  and  from  which  period  they  could 
say  nothing  about  him.  It  was  subsequent  to 
that  very  time  he  appeared  at  Centrevillc;  and 
long  before  my  letter  returned  to  America  giv- 
ing credit  to  Captain  Meagher  for  natural  gal- 
lantry in  the  field,  I  rcnuirkcd  that  he  would  no 
doubt  feel  as  much  pained  as  any  of  his  friends 
at  the  ridicule  cast  upon  him  by  the  statement 
that  he,  the  Captain  of  a  company,  "  went  into 
action  mounted  on  a  magnificent  charger,  and 
waving  a  green  siHi  flag,  embroidered  with  a 
golden  harj),  in  the  face  of  the  enemy." 

A  young  man,  wearing  the  Indian  war  medal 
with  two  clas])s,  who  said  his  name  was  Mac  Ivor 
Ililstock,  came  in  to  inquire  after  some  unknown 
friend  of  his.  He  told  me  he  hud  been  in 
Tomb's  troop  of  Artillery  during  the  Indian 
mutiny,  and  had  afterwards  served  with  the 
French  volunteers  during  the  siege  of  Caprera. 
The  news  of  the  Civil  War  has  i)roduced  such 
an  immigration  of  military  adventurers  from 
Eurojie  that  the  streets  of  Washington  are  quite 
filled  with  medals  and  ribands.  The  rcgukir  of- 
ficers of  the  American  Army  regard  them  with 
considerable  dislike,  the  greater  inasmnch  as  Mr. 
Seward  and  tlie  politicians  encourage  them.  In 
alluding  to  the  circumstan:"e  to  General  M'Dow- 
cll,  who  came  in  to  see  nic  at  a  late  dinner,  I 
said,  "A  great  many  Garibaldians  arc  in  Wash- 
ington just  now."  "Oh,"  said  he,  in  his  quiet 
way,  "  it  will  be  quite  enough  for  a  man  to  prove 
that  he  once  saw  Garibaldi  to  satisfy  us  in  Wash- 
ington that  he  is  quite  fit  for  the  command  of  a 
regiment.  I  have  recommended  a  man  because 
he  sailed  in  the  ship  which  Garibaldi  came  in 
over  here,  and  I'm  suro  it  will  be  attended  to." 

Av^/ust  27th. — Fever  and  ague,  which  General 
M'Dowell  .ittributes  to  watermelons,  of  which 
he,  however,  had  eaten  three  times  as  much  as 
I  had.  Swallowed  many  grains  of  quinine,  and 
lay  panting  in  the  heat  indoors.  Two  English 
visitors,  Mr.  Lamy  and  a  Captayji  of  the  17th, 
called  on  me;  nud,  afterwards,  I  had  a  con- 
versation with  M.  .Mercier  and  M.  Stoeckl  on 
the  aspect  of  afl^iirs.  They  are  inclined  to  look 
forward  to  a  more  so.!edy  solution  than  I  think 
the  North  is  weak  enough  to  accept.  I  believe 
that  peace  is  possible  in  two  years  or  so.  but  only 
by  the  concession  to  the  South  of  a  qualified  in- 
dependence. The  naval  operations  of  the  Fed- 
erals will  test  the  Southern  mettle  to  the  utmost. 
Having  a  sincere  regard  and  liking  for  many  of 
the  Southerners  whom  I  have  met,  I  cannot  say 
their  cause,  or  its  origin,  or  its  aim,  recommends 
itself  to  my  sympathies ;  and  yet  I  am  accused 
of  aiding  it  by  every  means  in  my  i)Ower,  because 
I  do  not  re-echo  the  arrogant  and  empty  boast- 
ing and  insolent  outbursts  of  the  people  in  the 
North,  who  threaten,  as  the  first-fruits  of  their 
success,  to  invade  the  territories  subject  to  the 
British  crown,  and  to  outrage  and  humiliate  our 

flag. 

It  is  melancholy  enough  to  see  this  great  re- 
public tumbling  to  pieces ;  one  would  regret  it 
all  the  more  but  for  the  fact  that  it  re-echoed  the 
voices  of  the  obscene  and  filthy  creatures  which 
have  been  driven  before  the  lash  of  the  lictor  from 


all 

wo 
wa 
ert 
coi 
shi 
tio 
foi 
str 


\' 


MY  DIAllY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


lot 


\' 


all  the  cities  of  Europe.  Assuredly  it  wns  a  great 
work,  but  III!  its  greatness  and  the  idea  of  its  life 
was  of  man,  not  of  God.  Tlie  principle  of  ven- 
eration, (  ibcdience,  of  subordination,  and  self- 
control  d.  lot  exist  within.  Washington-wor- 
ship  could  not  save  it.  The  elements  of  destruc- 
tion  lay  equally  sized,  smooth,  and  black  at  its 
foundations,  and  n  spark  suffices  to  blow  the 
structure  into  the  air. 

August  28M. — Raining.  Sundry  officers  turn- 
ed in  to  iniiuiro  of  me,  who  was  <(uietly  in  bed 
at  Washington,  concerning  certain  skirmisiies 
reported  to  have  taken  place  last  night.  Sold 
one  horse  an<l  bought  another ;  that  is,  I  paid 
ready  money  in  the  latter  transaction,  anil  in  the 
form.cr  received  an  order  irom  an  officer  on  the 
paymaster  of  his  regiment,  on  a  certain  day  not 
yet  arrived. 

To-day  Lord  A.  V.  Tempest  is  added  to  the 
number  of  English  arrivals ;  he  amused  mo  by 
narrating  his  re  option  at  Willards  on  the  night 
of  his  arrival.  When  he  came  in  with  the  usual 
ruck  of  passengers,  he  took  his  turn  at  the  book, 
and  wrote  down  Lord  Adolphus  Vane  Tempest, 
with  possibly  M.P.  after  it.  The  clerk,  who  was 
busily  engaged  in  showin<;  that  he  was  perfectly 
indifi'erent  to  the  claims  of  the  crowd  who  were 
waiting  at  the  counter  for  their  rooms,  when  the 
book  was  finished,  commenced  looking  over  the 
names  of  the  various  persons,  such  as  Lconidas 
Buggs,  Rome,  N.Y. ;  Doctor  Onesiphorous  Low- 
ells, D.D.,  Syracuse;  Olynthus  Craggs,  Palmy- 
ra, Mo. ;  Washington  Whilkes,  Indianapolis, 
writing  down  the  numbers  of  the  rooms,  and 
handing  over  the  keys  to  the  waiters  at  the  same 
time.  When  he  came  to  the  name  of  the  En- 
glish nobleman,  ho  said,  "  Vane  Tempesr,  No. 
125."  "But  stop,"  cried  Lord  Adolphus.  "Lv- 
curgus  Sicclcs,"  continued  the  clerk,  "No.  2.3." 
"  I  insist  upon  it,  sir,"  broke  in  Loixl  Adolphus 
— "you  really  must  hear  me.  I  protest  against 
being  pnt  in  125.  I  can't  go  up  so  high." 
"Why,"  said  the  clerk,  with  infinite  contempt, 
"I  can  put  you  at  twice  as  high — I'll  give  you 
No.  250  if  I  like."  This  was  rather  too  much, 
and  Lord  Adolphus  put  his  things  into  a  cab, 
and  drove  about  Washington  until  he  got  to  earth 
in  the  two-pair  back  of  a  dentist's,  for  which,  no 
doubt,  tout  vu,  he  paid  as  much  as  for  an  apart- 
ment at  the  Hotel  Bristol. 

A  gathering  of  American  officers  and  others, 
amongst  whom  was  Mr.  Olmsted,  enabled  him 
to  form  some  idea  of  the  young  men's  society  of 
Washington,  which  is  a  strange  mixture  of  poli- 
tics and  fighting,  gossip,  gaiety,  and  a  certain 
apprehension  of  a  wrath  to  come  for  their  dear 
republic.  Here  is  Olmsted  ])repare(l  to  lay  down 
his  life  for  free  speech  over  a  united  republic,  in 
one  part  of  which  his  freedom  of  speech  would 
lead  to  irretrievable  confusion  and  ruin  ;  whilst 
Wise,  on  the  other 'band,  seeks  only  to  establish 
a  union  which  shall  have  a  large  fleet,  be  power- 
ful at  sea,  and  be  able  to  smash  up  abolition- 
ists, newspaper  people,  and  political  agitators  at 
home. 

August  29M. — It  is  hard  to  bear  such  a  fate  as 
befalls  an  unpopular  man  in  the  United  States, 
because  in  no  other  country,  as  De  Tocqueville* 
remarks,  is  the  press  so  powerful  when  it  is  unani- 
mous. And  ye^he  says,  too,  "  The  journalist  of 
the  United  States  is  usually  placed  in  a  very 
*  I*.  ^00,  Spencer*B  Americau  edition,  New  Vork,  1S&8. 


humble  position,  with  a  scanty  cducaiion  and  a 
vulgar  turn  of  mind.  His  eliaracteristics  consist 
of  an  open  and  coarse  appeal  to  the  ])a.ssi()ns  of 
the  populace,  and  he  habitually  abandons  tho 
principles  of  political  science  to  assail  the  char- 
acters of  individuals,  to  track  t  hem  into  private 
life,  and  disclose  all  their  weaknesses  and  errors. 
The  individuals  who  arc  already  in  |)o8.ses«ion 
of  a  high  station  in  the  esteem  of  their  fellow- 
citizens  are  afraid  to  write  in  the  newspapers, 
and  they  are  thus  deprived  of  the  most  ))owerful 
instrument  which  they  can  use  to  excite  the  pas- 
sions of  the  multitude  to  their  advantage.  Tl  o 
personal  opinions  of  the  editors  have  tio  kind  of 
weight  in  the  eyes  of  the  public.  The  only  use 
of  a  journal  is,  that  it,  imparts  the  knowledge  of 
certain  facts ;  and  it  is  only  by  altering  and  dis- 
torting  thoso  facts  that  a  jourimlist  can  contrib- 
ute to  the  support  of  his  own  views."  When  the 
whole  of  the  jiress,  without  any  exception  in  so 
far  as  I  am  aware,  sets  deliberately  to  work,  in 
order  to  calumniate,  vilify,  insult,  and  abuse  a 
man  who  is  at  once  a  stranger,  a  rival,  and  an 
Englishman,  he  may  expect  but  one  result,  ac- 
cording to  l)e  Tocqucville. 

Tho  teeming  anonymous  letters  I  receive  are 
filled  with  threats  of  assassination,  tarring,  feath- 
ering, and  the  like ;  and  one  of  the.  most  con- 
spicuous of  literary  sbirri  is  in  ])crfect  rajiture  at 
the  notion  of  a' new  "sensation"  heading,  for 
which  he  is  working  as  hard  as  he  can.  1  liavo 
no  intention  to  add  to  the  number  of  his  castiga- 
tions. 

In  the  afternoon  I  drove  to  tho  waste  grounds 
beyond  the  Capitol,  in  company  with  Mr.  Olm- 
sted and  Captain  Haworth,  to  see  the  18th  Mas- 
sachusetts Regiment,  who  had  just  marched  in, 
and  wore  ])itehing  their  tents  very  jaobably  for 
the  first  time.  They  arrived  from  their  state 
with  camp  equipments,  waggons,  horses,  harness, 
commissariat  stores  complete,  and  were  clad  in 
the  blue  uniform  of  the  United  States ;  for  the 
volunteer  fancies  in  greys  and  greens  are  dying 
out.  The  men  were  uncommonly  stout  young 
fellows,  with  an  odd,  slouching,  lounging  air 
about  some  of  them,  however,  which  I  could  not 
quite  understand  till  I  heard  one  sing  out,  "Hallo, 
sergeant,  where  am  I  to  sling  my  hammock  in 
this  tent  ?"  Many  of  them,  in  fact,  are  fisher- 
men and  sailors  from  Cajjc  Cod,  New  Haven, 
and  similar  maritime  places. 


CHAPTER  LV. 

Personal  unpopularity— Amoiipan  iinvnl  officers — A  gnn 
levulleil  at  mo  in  fun — Increase  of  odium  a^iiin<t  me — 
Succci'B  of  tlie  Ilatter.'is  expeditioi) — (;(>ii('i!il  Scott  and 
MHJlellan — M'Olellan  on  liin  camp-bed — G(!Deral  Seott's 
.pass  refused— Proppect  of  an  attai  k  on  Wat>liinKton — 
Skirmislilng— Anonymous  letter,->— fJeneral  Halleck— 
General  M'CloUan  and  the  Sabbatli — Humoured  death 
of  Jcffercon  Davis — Spread  c '  my  unpopularity— An  of- 
fer for  my  horse — Dinner  ni  ne  Lcf^ation— DiscusBion 
on  Slaveiy. 

August  SI.'/. — A  month,  during  Avhieh  I  hafe 
been  exposed  to  more  calumny,  falsehc^,  not  to 
speak  of  danger,  than  1  ever  passed  through, 
has  been  brought  to  a  close.  I  have  all  the 
pains  and  penalties  attached  to  the  digito  mon- 
strari  et  dicier  hie  est,  in  the  most  hostile  sense. 
On  going  into  Willard's  the  other  day.  I  said  to 
the  clerk  behind  the  bar,  "Why  I  heard,  Mr. 
So-and-so,  you  were  gone?"     "Well,  sir,  I'm 


^u 


193 


MY  DIAKY  NOKTII  AN!)  SOUTH. 


I 


not.  If  I  was,  yon  would  have  lost  the  iHsf  man 
who  is  ready  to  say  ii  Wdrd  for  you  in  tliis  lioiisc, 
I  Clin  tell  you."  Scowling  faces  on  evory  side — 
WQinen  tuniiiig  u]»  their  jactty  littlo  noses — |ico- 
|)lo  turning  round  in  the  streets,  or  stopjting  to 
stare  in  fr(*nt  of  ine — the  proprietors  of  the  sliops 
where  I  am  known  pointing  nic  out  to  uti^crs; 
the  words  uttered,  in  various  tones,  ".So,  that's 
liiill-Kun  Uusscll  I" — for,  oddly  enough,  the 
Americans  seem  to  think  that  n  disgrace  to  their 
arms  l>ecomcs  diminished  by  fixing  the  name  of 
the  scene  as  u  sohiquct  on  one  who  described  it 
— these,  with  caiicatures,  endless  falsehoods,  ru- 
mours of  duels,  and  the  like,  form  some  of  the 
little  dcsiuprmrns  of  one  who  was  so  unfortunate 
as  to  assist  at  the  retreat,  the  first  he  had  ever 
seen,  of  an  army  which  it  would  in  all  res[)eets 
have  suited  him  much  better  to  have  seen  vic- 
torious. 

I  dined  with  Lieutenant  Wise,  and  met  Cap- 
tain Dahlgien,  Captain  Davis,  U.8.N.,  Captain 
Foote,  U.S.N.,  and  Colonel  Fletcher  Webstor,* 
son  of  the  great  American  statesman,  now  com- 
nmnding  a  regiment  of  volunteers.  The  latter 
lias  a  (inc  head  and  face ;  a  full,  deep  eye ;  is 
quaint  and  dry  in  his  conversation,  and  a  poet, 
1  should  think,  in  heart  and  soul,  if  outward  and 
visible  signs  n)ay  be  relied  on.  The  naval  caj)- 
tains  were  excellent  specimens  of  the  accon)- 
plishcd  and  able  men  who  belong  to  the  United 
States  Navy.  Foote,  who  is  designated  to  the 
command  of  the  flotilla  which  is  to  clear  the 
Mississii)]ii  downwards,  will,  I  am  certain,  do 
good  service — a  calm,  energetic,  skilful  ofiieer, 
Dahlgrcn,  who,  like  all  men  with  a  system,  very 
properly  watches  everything  which  boars  upon  it, 
too'-  occasion  to  call  for  Captain  Foote's  testi- 
mc  ly  to  the  fact  that  he  battered  down  a  six- 
foot  granite  wall  in  China  with  Dalilgrcn  shells. 
It  will  run  hard  against  the  Confederates  when 
they  get  such  men  at  work  on  the  rivers  and 
coasts,  for  they  seem  to  understand  their  busi- 
ness thoroughly,  and  all  they  are  not  qnitc  sure 
of  is  the  readiness  of  the  land  forces  to  co-operate 
with  their  expeditionary  movements.  Incident- 
ally I  learned  from  the  conversation — and  it  is  a 
curious  illustration  of  thd  power  of  the  Presi- 
dent— that  it  w  as  he  who  ordered  the  attack  on 
Charleston  harbonr,  or,  to  speak  witli  more  ac- 
curacy, the  movement  of  the  armed  squadron  to 
relieve  Sumter  by  force,  if  necessary ;  and  that 
he  came  to  the  conclusion  it  was  feasible  princi- 
p.-illy  from  reading  the  account  of  the  attack  on 
Kinburn  by  the  allied  fleets.  There  was  cer- 
tainly an  immense  disjn-oportion  between  the 
•relative  means  of  attack  and  defence  in  the  two 
cases ;  but,  at  all  events,  the  action  of  the  Con- 
federates prevented  the  attempt. 

Sepfeviher  \st.. — Took  a  ride  early  this  morn- 
ing over  the  Long  Bridge.  As  I  was  j)assing 
out  of  the  eartiiwork  called  a  fort  on  the  hill,  a 
dirty  German  soldier  called  out  from  the  para- 
pet, "Pull-Run  Russell!  yon  shall  never  write 
lull's  Runs  again,"  and  at  the  same  time  rocked 
his  piec^ind  levelled  it  at  me.  I  immediately 
rode  round  into  the  fort,  the  fellow  still  present- 
ing his  firelock,  and  asked  him  what  he  meant, 
at  the  same  time  calling  for  the  sergeant  of  the 
guard,  who  came  at  once,  and,  at  my  request, 
arrested  the  man,  who  recoveretl  arms,  and  said, 
"  It  was  a  clioake — I  vant  to  freeken  Pull-Run 
*  time  killed  in  uctioul 


Russell."  However,  as  his  rifle  was  capped  and 
loaded,  and  on  full  cock,  with  his  finger  on  the 
trigger,  1  tiid  not  ipiile  see  the  fun  of  it,  and  I 
accordingly  had  the  man  marched  to  the  tent  of 
the  officer,  who  promised  to  invcsligato  the  case, 
and  make  a  fornnil  re|)ort  of  it  to  the  brigadier, 
on  my  return  to  lay  the  circumstances  Iteforo 
him.  On  refiection  I  resolved  that  it  was  best 
to  let  the  matter  droj);  the  joke  might  spread, 
and  It  was  (piito  un])leasant  enough  as  h  was  to 
l)cartho  insolent  looks  and  scowling  faces  of  the 
guards  at  the  |)08t.s,  to  whom  I  was  obliged  to 
exhibit  my  pass  whenever  I  went  out  to  ride. 

On  my  return  I  heard  of  the  complete  success 
of  the  Hatteras  expedition,  which  shelled  out  and 
destroyed  sonic  sand  batteries  guardiag  the  en- 
trance to  the  great  inland  sea  and  navigation 
called  Pamlico  Sound,  in  North  Carolina,  fur- 
nishing  access  to  coasters  for  many  miles  into 
the  Confederate  States,  and  most  useful  to  them 
in  forwarding  supjdies  and  keeping  up  commu- 
nications throughout.  The  force  was  command- 
ed by  General  Butler,  who  has  come  to  Wash- 
ington with  the  news,  and  has  already  made  his 
speech  to  the  mob  outside  Willard's".  I  called 
down  to  see  him,  but  he  had  gone  over  to  call 
on  the  President.  The  people  were  jubilant, 
and  one  might  have  supposed  Hatteras  was  the 
key  to  Riciimond  or  Charleston,  from  the  way 
they  spoke  of  this  unparalleled  exploit. 

There  is  a  little  French  gentleman  here  against 
whom  the  fates  bear  heavily.  I  have  given  him 
employment  as  an  amanuensis  and  secretary  for 
some  time  back,  and  he  tells  me  many  things 
concerning  the  talk  in  the  city  which  I  do  not 
hear  myself,  from  which  it  would  seem  that  there 
is  an  increase  of  ill  feeling  towards  me  every 
day,  and  that  I  am  a  convenient  channel  for  con- 
centrating all  the  abuse  and  hatred  so  long  cher- 
islicd  against  England.  I  was  a  little  tickled  by 
an  account  he  gave  me  of  a  distinguished  lady, 
who  sent  for  him  to  gire  French  lessons,  in  or- 
der that  she  might  become  equal  to  her  high  po- 
sition in  nuKstering  the  difficulties  of  the  courtly 
tongue.  I  may  mention  the  fact,  as  it  was  radi- 
ated by  the  i)ress  through  all  the  land,  that  Mrs. 
M.  N.,  having  once  on  a  time  "been  proficient 
in  the  language,  has  forgotten  it  in  the  lapse  of 
years,  but  has  resolved  to  renew  her  studies,  that 
she  may  better  discharge  the  duties  of  her  ele- 
vated station."  The  master  went  to  the  house 
and  stated  his  terms  to  a  lady  whom  he  saw 
there  ;  but  as  she  marchande'd  a  good  deal  over 
small  matters  of  cents,  he  never  supposed  he  was 
dealing  with  the  great  lady,  and  therefore  made 
a  small  reduction  in  his  terms,  which  encouraged 
the  enemy  to  renew  the  assault  till  he  stood  firm- 
ly on  three  shillings  a  lesson,  at  which  point  the 
lady  left  him,  with  the  intimation  that  she  would 
consider  tlie  matter  and  let  him  know.  And 
now,  the  licentiate  tells  me,  ifh^s  become  known 
he  is  my  ])rivate  secretary,  h&  is  not  considered 
eligible  to  do  avoir  and  etre  for  the  satisfaction 
of  the  good  lady,  who  really  is  far  better  than 
her  friends  describe  her  to  be. 

September  2nd.  —  It  would  seem  as  if  the 
North  were  perfectly  destitute  of  common  sense. 
Here  they  are  as  rampant  because  they  have 
succeeded  with  an  overwhelming  fleet  in  shelling 
out  the  defenders  of  some  poor  \^afinished  earth- 
works, on  a  spit  of  sand  on  th|  coabt  of  North 
Carolina,  as  if  they  had  alreaUy  crushed  the 


K 


\ 


MY  DIAUY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


108 


V 


\ 


Ronthorn  rcbcllinn.  They  aflVct  to  consider  this 
acliicvciiKMiL  a  coiiiituriioisu  to  liiill  Itiiii. 

Huifly  till-  j)r(.'s.s  cannot  repre«eiit  tlio  foclinRs 
of  tliu  Htuid  and  tliiiikiuK  musscH  of  the  Northern 
States  !  Tho  suceess  is  uncjiies  nulily  useful  to 
the  l*Y>(leralist8,  but  it  no  more  adiin  to  tiirir 
clinnccs  of  eruuhin);  the  Confederacy,  than  shoot- 
int;  oil'  the  end  of  an  eht|ihant'H  tail  euntribuies 
tu  the  huntcr'tt  capturu  of  the  animal. 

An  ofticious  little  |icrsiin,  who  was  buzzing 
nbout  here  as  correspondent  of  a  London  news- 
paper, made  himself  agreeable  by  coming  with  a 
caricature  of  my  humble  self  at  the  battle  of 
Bull  Uiin,  in  n  laborious  and  most  unsuccessful 
imitation  of  J'unr/i,  in  which  I  am  represented 
with  rather  a  Hattering  face  and  figure,  seated 
before  a  huge  telescope,  surrounded  by  bottles 
of  London  stout,  and  looking  at  the  iigbt.  This 
is  supposed  to  bo  very  humorous  and  amusing, 
nnd  my  good-natured  friend  was  rather  uston- 
isiicd  when  I  cut  it  out  and  inserted  it  carefully  in 
a  scrap-book,  opposite  a  sketch  from  fancy  of  I  ho 
N.  Y.  Jb'iro  Zouaves  charging  a  battery  and  rout- 
ing a  regiment  of  cavalry,  which  ap|)car(!d  last 
week  in  a  much  more  imaginative  and  amusing 
periodical,  which  aspires  to  describe  with  pea 
and  pencil  tho  actual  current  events  of  tiic  war. 

Going  out  for  my  usual  ride  to-day,  I  saw 
General  Scott,  between  two  aides-do-camp,  slow- 
ly pacing  homewards  from  the  War  Office.  Ho 
is  still  Commander-in-Chief  of  the  army,  and  af- 
fects to  direct  movements  and  to  control  the  dis- 
|)osition  of  tho  troops,  but  a  power  greater  than 
his  increases  steadily  at  General  M'Clellan's 
head-quarters.  For  my  own  part,  I  confess  that 
G-nicral  M'CleUan  does  not  appear  to  me  a  man 
of  action,  or,  at  least,  a  man  who  intends  to  act 
as  speedily  as  tho  crisis  demands.  lie  should 
be  out  with  bis  army  across  tho  Potomac,  living 
among  ids  generals,  studying  the  com])osition 
of  his  army,  investigating  its  defects,  and,  above 
all,  showing  himself  to  the  men  as  soon  after- 
wards as  possible,  if  he  cannot  bo  with  them  at 
tho  time,  in  the  small  affairs  which  constantly 
occur  along  tho  front,  and  never  permitting  them 
to  receive  a  blow  without  taking  care  that  they 
give  at  least  two  in  return.  General  Scott,  ja«i 
fracta  membra  labore,  would  do  all  the  work 
of  departments  and  superintendence  admirably 
well;  but,  as  Montesquieu  taught  long  ago,  fac- 
tion and  intrigue  are  the  cancers  which  j)eculiar- 
ly  eat  into  the  body  politic  of  rei)ublic8,  and 
M'Clellan  fears,  no  doubt,  that  his  absence  from 
the  capital,  even  though  he  went  but  across  the 
river,  would  animate  his  enemies  to  undermine 
and  supplant  him. 

I  hftvc  heard  several  people  say  lately,  "I 
wish  old  Scott  would  go  away,"  by  which  they 
mean  that  they  would  be  happy  to  strike  him 
down  when  his  back  was  turned,  but  feared  his 
personal  influence  with  the  President  and  his 
Cabinet.  Two  months  ago,  and  his  was  the  most 
honoured  name  in  the  States  ;  one  was  sickened 
by  tho  constant  repetition  of  elaborate  plans,  in 
which  the  General  was  represented  playing  the 
part  of  an  Indian  juggler,  and  holding  an  enor- 
mous boa  constrictor  of  a  Federal  army  in  his 
hands,  which  he  was  preparing  to  let  go  as  soon 
as  he  had  coiled  it  completely  round  the  fright- 
ened Sec»ssi(mist  rabbit ;  "now  none  so  poor  to 
do  him  reverence."  Hard  is  the  fate  of  those 
who  serve  republics.  The  officers  who  met  the 
N 


old  man  in  tlus  street  to-day  paiweil  him  by  with- 
out a  sidiite  or  nuirk  «)f  recognition,  altliough  he 
wore  his  uniform  coat,  with  yellow  lapels  and 
yellow  sash;  and  one  of  a  group  which  ciime 
out  of  a  rvHiauidnt  close  to  the  (icueral'.s  bouse, 
exclaimed,  almost  in  his  i  'tiring,  "Old  fuss  and 
feathers  don't  h)ok  lirst-rute  to-day." 

Ill  the  evening  I  went  with  a  Scotch  gentle- 
man, who  was  foruu'riy  acqiuiintcd  with  General 
M'Clellan  when  he  was  suj)ermtciident  of  the 
Central  Illinois  Uailway,  to  his  head-ipiarters, 
whicii  are  in  the  house  of  Captain  Wilkes,  at  llie 
corner  of  President  Scjuare,  near  Mr.  St'«  aril's, 
and  not  far  from  the  s|iot  where  General  Mcklea 
shot  down  the  unhappy  man  who  had  tempora- 
rily disturbed  the  jxmce  of  his  domestic  relations. 
The  parlours  were  full  of  officers  smoking,  read- 
ing  tho  ]Mi|icrs,  and  writing,  and  after  a  short 
conversation  with  General  .Marcy,  Chief  of  tho 
Stafi",  Van  Vliet,  aide-do-camp  of  the  Comniuiid- 
er-in-Chief,  led  the  way  uji-stairs  to  the  top  of 
the  house,  where  wc  found  General  M'Clellan, 
just  returned  from  a  long  ride,  and  seated  in  his 
shirt  sleeves  on  the  side  of  his  camp-bed.  He 
looked  better  than  I  have  yet  seen  him,  for  his 
dress  showed  to  advantage  the  powerful,  com- 
pact formation  of  Ids  figure,  massive  throat,- well- 
.set  head,  and  muscular  energy  of  his  frame. 
Nothing  could  be  more  agreeable  or  easy  than 
his  nuuincr.  In  his  clear,  dark-bhie  eye  was  no 
trace  of  uneasiness  or  hidden  purpose  ;  but  his 
mouth,  covered  by  a  short,  thick  moustache, 
rarely  joins  in  the  smile  that  overspn^ads  his 
face  when  he  is  animated  by  telling  or  bearing 
some  matter  of  interest.  Telegraph  wires  ran  all 
about  the  house,  and  as  we  sat  round  the  Gen- 
eral's table,  desj)atches  were  n-peatedly  brought 
in  from  the  Generals  in  the  front.  Sometimes 
M'Clellan  laid  down  his  cigar  and  went  off  to 
study  a  large  ma])  of  the  [)Osition,  which  was 
fixed  to  the  wall  close  to  tho  head  of  his  bed  ; 
but  more  frequently  the  contents  of  the  despatch- 
es caused  him  to  smile  or  to  utter  some  exclama- 
tion, which  gave  one  an  idea  that  he  did  not  at- 
tach much  importance  to  the  news,  and  had  not 
great  faith  in  tho  reports  received  from  his  sub- 
ordinate officers,  who  are  always  under  the  im- 
pression that  the  enemy  are  coming  on  in  force. 

It  is  plain  the  General  has  got  no  high  opin- 
ion of  volunteer  officers  and  soldiers.  In  addi- 
tion to  unsteadiness  in  action,  which  arises  from 
want  of  confidence  in  the  officers  as  much  as 
from  any  other  cause,  the  men  labour  under  the 
great  defect  of  exceeding  rashness,  a  contempt 
for  the  most  ordinary  precautions,  and  a  liabili- 
ty to  unaccountable  alarms  and  credulousncss 
of  false  report ;  but,  admitting  all  these  circum- 
stances, M'Clellan  has  a  soldier's  faith  in  gros 
batail/ons,  and  sees  no  doubt  of  ultimate  success 
in  a  military  point  of  view,  provided  the  politi- 
cians keep  quiet,  and,  charming  men  as  they  are, 
cease  to  meddle  with  things  they  don't  under- 
stand. Although  some  very  good  officers  have 
deserted  the  United  States  army  and  are  now 
with  the  Confederates,  a  very  considerable  ma- 
jority of  West  Point  officers  have  adhered  to  the 
Federals.  I  am  satisfied,  by  an  actual  inspec- 
tion of  the  lists,  that  the  Northerners  retain  the 
same  preponderance  in  officers  who  have  received 
a  militaiT  education,  as  they  possess  in  wealth 
and  other  means,  and  resources  for  carrying  on 
the  war. 


^ 


194 


MY  DIAUY  NORTH  AND  SOl'TII. 


i- 


Tho  Ooncrftl  conmimcs  tnharro  InrRcly,  nn<l 
not  only  smokes  cigJUH,  Ixtt  indtilKi'ii  in  thu  nioro 
n«*,ked  lK>aiiti«M  of  n  i|ui(l.  From  tt)hiitM;()  wo 
wiind  rod  to  the  I'rinicii,  iind  tlioncc  wem  hnlf 
round  the  wotld,  till  wc  hiiiu-d  before  the  Vir- 
ginian wntcli-fireH,  which  thews  good  v(»lunte«ni 
will  insisi  on  lightinK  under  the  very  noses  of 
the  enoniy'H  piekotH ;  nor  whh  it  till  Into  wo  re- 
tired, leaving  the  Uencral  to  his  wcl\-caincd  re- 
poxe. 

Cienornl  MClcllan  took  the  situation  of  nfTairs 
in  a  very  ensy  nnd  philoNophicnl  spirit.  Accord- 
inK  to  his  own  nmp  iind  showing,  the  enemy  not 
<»nly  overlapped  hiH  lines  from  the  batteries  by 
which  they  blockaded  the  Potomac  on  the  right, 
to  their  extreme  left  on  the  river  ulwve  Wash- 
ington, but  have  estoblishcd  themselves  in  a  kind 
of  salient  angle  on  his  front,  at  a  place  called 
MunsonV.  Ilill,  where  their  flag  waved  from  eti- 
trcnchnients  within  siglit  of  the  Capitol.  How- 
ever, from  an  observation  ho  made,  I  imagined 
that  flic  General  would  make  an  eftbrt  to  recover 
his  lost  ground  ;  at  any  rate,  Iwat  up  the  enemy's 
quarters,  in  order  to  see  what  they  were  doing ; 
and  he  promised  to  send  an  orderly  round  and 
let  me  know;  so,  before  I  retired,  1  gave  orders 
to  my  groom  to  have  "Walker*'  in  readiness. 

Seplemlter  3rd, — Notwithstanding  the  extreme 
lieat,  I  went  out  onrly  this  morning  to  the  Chain 
Bridge,  from  which  the  reconnoissance  hinted 
at  last  night  would  necessarily  start.  This  bridge 
is  about  four  and  a  half  or  five  miles  obove  Wash- 
ington, and  crosses  the  river  at  a  picturesque 
spot  almost  deserving  the  name  of  a  gorge,  with 
high  banks  on  both  sides.  It  is  a  light  aerial 
structure,  and  spans  the  river  by  broad  arches, 
from  which  tho  view  reminds  one  of  Highland 
or  Tyrolean  scenery.  The  road  from  the  city 
passes  through  a  squalid  settlement  of  European 
squatters,  who  in  habitation,  dress,  ap])earance, 
and  possibly  civilisation,  are  quite  as  bad  as  any 
negrotis  on  any  Southern  plantation  I  have  vis- 
ited. The  camps  of  a  division  lie  just  beyond, 
and  a  gawky  sentry  from  New  England,  with 
whom  I  had  some  conversation,  amnsed  me  by 
saying  that  tue  Colonel  "was  a  darned  deal 
more  affeerd  of  the  Irish  squatters  taking  oft'  his 
poultry  at  night  than  he  was  of  tho  Secessioners ; 
anyways,  he  puts  out  more  sentries  to  guard  them 
than  he  has  to  look  after  the  others." 

From  the  Chain  Bridge  I  went  some  distance 
towards  Falls  Church,  until  I  was  stopped  by  a 
picket,  the  officer  of  which  refused  to  recognise 
General  Scott's  pass.  "  I  guess  the  General's 
a  dead  man,  sir."  "  Is  he  not  Commander-in- 
Chief  of  the  United  States  army?"  "Well,  I 
believe  that's  a  fact,  sir ;  but  you  had  better 
argue  that  point  with  M'Clellan.  He  is  our 
boy,  and  I  do  believe  he'd  like  to  let  the  London 
Times  know  how  we  Green  Mountain  boys  can 
fight,  if  they  don't  know  already.  But  all  passes 
are  stopped  anyhow,  and  I  had  to  turn  back  a 
Congress-man  this  very  morning,  and  lucky  for 
him  it  was,  because  the  Seceshers  are  just  half 
a  mile  in  front  of  us."  On  my  way  back  by  the 
upper  road  I  passed  a  farmer's  house,  which  was 
occupied  by  some  Federal  officers,  and  there, 
seated  in  the  verandah,  with  his  legs  cocked  ove^ 
the  railings,  was  Mr.  Lincoln,  in  a  felt  hat,  and 
a  loose  grey  shooting  coat  and  long  vest,  "let- 
ting off',"  as  the  papers  Fay,  one  of  his  jokes,  to 
judge  by  his  attitude  and  the  laughter  of  the 


offlrcrs  around  hitn,  ntterty  Indifferent  fo  the 
Cunfederutu  tlii)'  lloating  t'vom  Mnnson's  Ilill. 

iluHt  before  n.idnight  a  considerable  movement 
of  troops  took  place  through  the  streets,  and  1 
was  al)<)ut  starting  oil'  to  ascertain  the  cause, 
when  I  received  the  information  that  (icncral 
M'Clellan  wan  only  sending  otf  two  brigades  and 
four  batteries  to  tho  Chain  Bridge  to  strengthen 
his  right,  which  was  menaced  b'  me  cnen)y.  I 
retired  to  bed,  in  order  to  lie  ready  for  any  bat- 
tle which  might  take  place  to-morrow,  but  was 
roused  up  by  voices  l)cncath  my  window,  and 
going  out  on  the  verandah,  could  not  help  chuck- 
ling at  tho  appearance  of  three  foreign  ministoni 
and  a  banker,  in  the  street  below,  who  hnd  come 
round  to  inquire,  in  some  pcTturbation,  the  cause 
of  the  nocturnal  movement  of  men  and  guns,  and 
seemed  little  inclined  to  credit  my  assurances 
that  nothing  more  serious  than  a  reconnaissance 
was  contemplated.  The  ministers  were  in  high 
spirits  at  the  prospect  of  an  attack  on  Washing- 
ton. Such  agreeable  peojile  aro  the  governing 
party  of  the  United  States  at  present,  that  there 
is  only  one  representative  of  a  foreign  power 
here  who  would  not  like  to  see  them  fiying  l)c- 
foro  Southern  bayonets.  The  banker,  jicrhnps, 
would  have  liked  a  little  time  to  set  his  affairs 
in  order.  "  When  will  the  sacking  begin  ?"  cried 
the  ministers.  "Wo  must  hoist  our  flags." 
"The  Confederates  respect  private  property,  I 
suppose  ?"  As  to  flags,  be  it  remorked  that  Lord 
Lyons  has  none  to  display,  having  lent  his  to 
Mr.  Seward,  who  required  it  for  some  festive 
demonstration. 

Sejttemher  ith,  —  I  rode  over  to  the  Chain 
Bridge  again  with  Captain  Haworth  this  morn- 
ing at  seven  o'clock,  on  the  chnnce  of  there  be- 
ing a  big  fight,  as  tho  Americans  say  ;  but  there 
was  only  some  slight  skirmishing  going  on ; 
dropping  shots  npw  nnd  then.  Walker,  excited 
by  the  reminiscences  of  Bull  Run  noises,  per- 
formed most  remarkable  feats,  one  of  the  most 
frequent  of  which  was  turning  right  round  when 
at  ftill  trot  or  conter,  and  then  kicking  violently. 
He  also  gallopped  in  a  most  lively  way  down  a 
road  which  in  winter  is  the  bed  of  a  torrent,  and 
jumped  along  among  the  boulders  and  stones 
in  an  agile,  cat-like  manner,  to  the  great  delec- 
tation of  my  companion. 

The  morning  was  intensely  hot,  so  I  was  by  no 
means  indisjjosed  to  get  back  to  cover  again. 
Nothing  would  persuade  people  there  was  not 
serious  fighting  somewhere  or  other.  I  went 
down  to  the  Long  Bridge,  and  was  stopped  by 
the  sentry,  so  I  produced  General  Scott's  pass, 
which  I  kept  always  as  a  dernier  ressort,  but  the 
officer  on  duty  here  also  refused  it,  as  passes 
were  suspended.  I  returned  and  referred  tho 
matter  to  Colonel  Cullum,  who  consulted  Gen- 
errl  Scott,  and  informed  me  that  the  pass  must 
be  considered  as  perfectly  valid,  not  having  been 
revoked  by  the  General,  who,  as  Lieutenant-Gen- 
eral  commanding  the  United  States  army,  was 
senior  to  every  other  officer,  nnd  could  only  have 
his  pass  revoked  by  the  President  himself.  Now 
it  was  quite  plain  that  it  would  do  me  no  good 
to  have  an  altercation  with  the  sentries  at  every 
post  in  order  to  have  the  satisfaction  of  report- 
ing the  matter  to  General  Scott.  I  therefore 
procured  a  letter  from  Colonel  Cullum,  stating, 
in  writing,  what  he  said  in  words,  and  with  that 
and  the  pass  went  to  General  M'ClclIan's  head- 


nt  to  the 
n'H  Hill, 
niovrnn-nt 
'C'tH,  nnd  1 

tlui    CUIIHO, 

It  (icncrnl 
igMdcR  nnd 
strcn^itlien 
unrniy.  I 
ir  uny  bat- 
w,  but  was 
ndow,  nnd 
u'lp  chiu-k- 
fi  niiniRtnni 
>  hnd  rome 
,  tbo  cnuHO 
I  (runs,  nnd 
assurances 
nnai-sNance 
•re  in  hiph 
Washing- 
governing 
til  at  there 
(ign  ]  lower 
I  flying  l)c- 
r,  jicrhnps, 
his  afl'nirs 
jin  ?"  cried 
lur  flags. " 
property,  I 
i  that  Lord 
lent  his  to 
me  festive 

the  Chain 
this  morn- 
f  there  be- 
;  but  there 
going  on; 
:er,  excited 
loises,  per- 
f  the  most 
3und  when 
5  violently, 
ay  down  a 
)rrent,  and 
md  stones 
rent  delec- 

was  by  no 
;^er  again, 
e  was  not 
I  went 
stopped  by 
ott's  jiass, 
T<,  but  the 

as  passes 
ferred  the 
ilted  Gen- 
pass  must 
aving  been 
inant-Gen- 
nrmy,  was 

only  have 
self.  Now 
e  no  good 
•s  at  every 

of  report- 

therefoie 
n,  stating, 

with  that 
an's  head- 


MY  DIAUY  NOUTH  AND  SOUTH. 


105 


\ 


quartPfs,  where  I  was  toM  by  his  n'des  the  Gcn- 
critl  vviis  engaged  in  n  kind  of  cmincil  of  war.  I 
sent  ii]i  my  |iH|)ors,  and  Mtijor  llud(*r>n,  of  his 
Btati',  canie  down  after  a  Hliori  time,  and  Kaid  that 
"General  M'Clellan  thought  it  would  bo  much 
bi'tter  if  (irencral  Scott  had  giv(;n  me  a  new  H]m- 
ciiil  pass;  but  as  (icneral  Scott  had  thought  fit  to 
tako  the  pruHcnt  couriiu  on  his  own  respcmsiiiiii- 
ty,  General  M'Clellan  could  not  interfere  in  tlic 
mutter;"  whence  it  may  be  inferri'd  there  is  no 
very  pleasant  f«!cling  lH3twecn  Iicad-(|iiartcr8  of 
the  army  of  the  I'otomac  and  hcad-<{uartcrs  of 
the  army  of  the  United  States. 

I  went  on  to  the  Navy  yard,  where  a  look-out 
man,  who  can  command  the  whole  of  the  coun- 
try to  Munson's  Hill,  is  stationed,  and  I  hc/.rd 
from  Captain  Dahlgren  that  there  was  no  flght- 
ing  whatever.  Thero  were  columns  of  smoke 
visible  from  Capitol  Hill,  which  tlio  excited 
spectators  declared  were  caused  by  artillery  and 
musketry,  but  my  glass  resolved  them  into  ema- 
nations from  a  vast  extent  of  hanging  wood  and 
brush  which  the  Federals  were  burning  in  order 
to  clear  their  front.  However,  people  were  so 
positive  as  to  hearing  cannonades  and  volleys  of 
musketry,  that  wo  went  out  to  the  reservoir  hill 
at  Georgetown,  and,  gazing  over  the  debateablo 
land  of  Virginia — which,  by  the  way,  is  very 
beautiful  these  summer  sunsets — became  thor- 
oughly satisfied  of  the  delusion.  Met  Van  Vliet 
08  I  was  returning,  who  had  just  seen  the  reports 
at  head-quarters,  and  averred  there  was  no  fight- 
ing whatever.  My  landlord  hiul  a  very  differ- 
ent story.  His  friend,  an  hospital  steward, ' '  had 
seen  ninety  wounded  men  carried  into  one  ward 
from  over  the  river,  and  believed  the  Federals 
had  lost  1000  killed  and  wounded  and  twenty- 
five  guns." 

Sept.Rth. — Raining  all  day.  M'Clellan  aban- 
doned his  intention  of  inspecting  the  lines,  and 
I  remained  in,  writing.  The  anonymous  letters 
still  continue.  Received  one  from  an  unmistnke- 
able  Thug  to-day,  with  the  death's-head,  cross- 
bones,  and  coffin,  in  the  most  orthodox  style  of 
national-school  drawing. 

The  event  of  the  doy  was  the  appearance  of 
the  President  in  the  Avenue  in  a  suit  of  black, 
and  a  parcel  in  his  hand,  walking  nmbrcUa-less 
in  the  rain.  Mrs.  Lincoln  has  returned,  and  the 
worthy  "Executive"  will  no  longer  be  obliged 
to  go  "browsing  round,"  as  he  says,  among  his 
friends  at  dinner-time.  He  is  working  awny  at 
money  matters  with  energy,  but  has  been  much 
disturbed  in  his  course  of  studies  by  General  Fre- 
mont's sudden  outburst  in  the  West,  which  pro- 
claims emancipation,  and  draws  out  the  arrow 
which  the  President  intended  to  discharge  from 
his  own  bow. 

Sept.  6th.  —  At  B.SO  p.m.  General  M'Clellan 
sent  over  an  orderly  to  say  he  was  going  across 
the  river,  and  would  be  glad  of  my  company ; 
but  I  was  just  finishing  my  letters  for  England, 
and  had  to  excuse  myself  for  the  moment ;  and 
when  I  was  ready,  the'  General  and  staff  hnd  gone 
ventre  a  terre  into  Virginia.  After  post,  paid  my 
resi)ects  to  General  Scott,  who  is  about  to  retire 
from  the  command  on  his  full-pay  of  about  £3500 
per  annum,  which  is  ftwarded  to  him  on  account 
of  his  long  services. 

A  new  Major-General  —  Halleck  —  has  been 
picked  up  in  California,  and  is  highly  praised  by 
General  Scott  and  by  Col  mel  Cullum,  with  whom 


I  had  a  long  talk  about  the  nfflrem  on  both  sides. 
Halleck  is  a  Weiit  Point  ollicur,  ami  bii.s  puli- 
lished  some  works  on  military  Hcicnco  which  are 
highly  esteemed  in  the  States.  Jieforo  Califor- 
nia became  a  State,  he  was  secretary  to  the  gov. 
crnor  or  officer  commanding  the  territory,  and 
event- 'ally  left  the  service  and  iH-cume  a  lawyer 
in  the  distrii^t,  where  he  has  amassed  a  largo 
fortune.  He  is  u  man  of  great  aliilify,  very 
calm,  practical,  earnest,  and  cold,  devoted  to  thu 
Union — a  soldier,  and  something  more.  Lee  is 
considered  the  ablest  man  on  the  Federal  side, 
but  he  is  slow  and  timid.  "Joe"  Johnson  is 
their  Ixist  strategist.  Beauregard  is  nobody  and 
nothing — so  think  they  at  head  quarters.  All 
of  them  together  are  not  equal  to  Halleck,  who 
is  to  be  employed  in  the  West. 

'  I  dined  at  the  Legation,  where  were  the  Rus- 
sian Minister,  the  Secretary  of  the  French  L-ga- 
tion,  the  representative  of  New  Granada,  and  ot  li- 
en.. As  I  was  anxious  to  explain  to  General 
M'Clellan  the  reason  of  my  inability  to  go  out 
with  him,  I  called  at  his  quarters  about  eleven 
o'clock,  and  found  he  had  just  returned  from  his 
ride.  He  received  me  in  his  shirt,  in  his  t>ed- 
room  at  the  top  of  the  house;  introduced  me  to 
General  Burnside — a  soldierly,  intelligent-look- 
ing man,  with  a  very  lofty  forehead,  and  uncom- 
monly bright  dark  eyes ;  and  wo  had  some  con- 
vorsAtion  about  matters  of  ordinary  interest  for 
some  time,  till  General  M'Clellan  called  me  into 
an  ante-chamber,  where  an  officer  was  writing  a 
despatch,  which  he  handed  to  the  (ieneral.  "  1 
wish  to  ask  your  opinion  as  to  the  wording  of 
this  order.  It  is  a  matter  of  imjiortancc.  I  see 
that  the  men  of  tiiis  army,  Mr.  Russell,  disregard 
the  Sabbath,  nnd  neglect  the  worship  of  God  ; 
and  I  am  resolved  to  put  an  end  to  such  neglect, 
as  far  as  I  can.  I  have,  therefore,  directed  the 
following  order  to  be  drawn  up,  which  will  bo 
promulgated  to-morrow."  The  General  spoke 
with  much  earnestness,  and  with  an  air  which 
satisfied  me  of  his  sincerity.  The  officer  jn  wait- 
ing road  the  order,  in  which,  at  the  General's  re- 
quest, I  suggested  a  few  alterations.  The  Gen- 
eral told  mo  he  had  received  "sure  information 
that  Beauregard  has  packed  up  all  his  baggage, 
struck  his  tents,  and  is  evidently  preparing  for  a 
movement,  so  you  may  be  wanted  at  a  moment's 
notice."  General  Burnside  returned  to  my  rooms, 
in  company  with  Mr.  Lamy,  and  we  sat  uj),  dis- 
coursing of  Bull's  Run,  in  which  his  brigade  was 
the  first  engaged  in  front.  He  spoke  like  a  man 
of  sense  and  a  soldier  of  the  action,  and  stood 
up  for  the  conduct  of  some  regiments,  though  he 
could  not  palliate  the  final  disorder.  The  pa- 
pers circulate  rumours  of  "  JcfF.  Davis's  death ;" 
nay,  accounts  of  his  burial.  The  public  does  not 
believe,  but  buvs  all  the  same. 

Sept.  7th.— Yes ;  "Jeff.  Davis  must  l)e  dead." 
There  are  some  touching  lamentations  in  the 
obituary  notices  over  his  fate  in  the  other  world. 
Meanwhile,  however,  his  spirit  seems  quite  alive ; 
for  there  is  an  absolute  certainty  that  the  Con- 
federates are  coming  to  attack  the  Capitol. 
Lieut.  A.  Wise  and  Lord  A.  Vane  Tempest  ar- 
gued the  question  whether  the  assault  would  bo 
made  by  a  flank  movement  above  or  direct  in 
front ;  and  Wise  maintained  the  latter  thesis  with 
vigour  not  disproportioned  to  the  energy  with 
which  his  opponent  demonstrated  that  the  Con- 
federates could  not  be  such  madmen  as  to  march 


IW 


W 


I 


If> 


196 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


m 


up  to  the  Federal  batteries.  There  is  nctunlly 
"a  battle"  ragiiif*  (in  the  front  of  the  rhih'.delpbia 
news])a|jor  offices)  this  instant — Populus  vult  de- 
cipi — decipiatur. 

Sept.  ^t/i. — Rode  over  to  Arlington  House. 
Wont  round  by  Aqueduct  Uridge,  Georgetown, 
and  out  across  Chain  Bridge  to  Brigadier  Smitli's 
head-quarters,  which  are  established  in  a  com- 
fortable house  belonging  to  a  iSccessiouist  farm- 
er. The  General  belongs  to  ihe  regular  army, 
and,  if  one  can  jtidge  from  externals,  is  a  good 
officer.  A  libation  of  Bourbon  and  water  was 
jjoured  out  to  friendship,  and  wo  rode  out  with 
Captain  Poe,  of  the  Topographical  Engineers,  a 
hard-working,  eager  fellow,  to  examine  the  trench 
wiiich  the  men  were  engaged  in  throwing  up  to 
defend  the  position  they  have  just  occupied  on 
some  high  knolls,  now  cleared  of  wood,  and  over- 
looking  ravines  which  stretch  towards  Falls 
Church  and  Vienna.  Everything  about  the 
camp  looked  like  lighting :  Na])olcon  guns  plant- 
ed on  the  road ;  Griffin's  battery  in  a  field  near 
athan<l;  mountain  howitzers  unlimbered;  strong 
pickets  and  main  guards;  the  five  thousand  men 
all  kept  close  to  their  camps,  and  two  regiments, 
in  spite  of  MiClellan's  order,  engaged  on  the 
tR'nehes,  which  were  already  mounted  with  ficld- 
(.".-.ns/  General  Smith,  like  most  officers,  is  a 
Democrat  and  strong  anti-Abolitionist,  and  it  is 
not  too  much  to  suppose  he  would  fight  any 
rather  than  Virginians.  As  we  were  riding 
about,  it  got  out  among  the  men  that  I  was  pres- 
ent, and  I  was  regarded  with  no  small  curiosity, 
staring,  and  some  angry  looks.  The  men  do 
not  know  what  to  make  of  it  when  they  see  tlieir 
officers  in  the  company  of  one  whom  they  are 
roadinct  about  in  the  papers  as  the  most  &c.  &c. 
tiie  world  ever  saw.  And,  indeed,  I  know  well 
enough,  so  great  is  their  passion  and  so  easily 
are  they  misled,  that  without  such  safeguard  the 
men  would  in  all  probability  carry  out  the  sug- 
gestions of  one  of  their  particular  guides,  who 
has  undergone  so  many  cuffings  that  he  rather 
likes  them.  Am  I  not  the  cause  of  the  disaster 
at  Bull's  Run  ? 

Going  home,  I  met  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Lincoln  in 
their  new  open  carriage.  The  President  was 
not  so  good-humoured,  nor  Mrs.  Lincoln  so  affa- 
ble, in  their  return  to  my  salutation  as  usual.  My 
unpopularity  is  certainly  spreading  upwards  and 
downwards  at  the  same  time,  and  all  because  I 
Coll  I J  not  turn  the  battle  of  Bull's  Ruh  into  a 
Federal  victory,  because  I  would  not  ])ander  to 
*  •?  vanity  of  the  people,  and,  least  of  all,  because 
]  .  lii  not  bow  my  knee  to  the  degraded  creatures 
wlio  have  mside  ihe  very  name  of  a  free  ])ress 
odious  to  honourable  men.  Many  of  the  most 
foul-mouthed  and  rabid  of  the  men  who  revile 
me  because  I  have  said  the  Union  as  it  was  nev- 
er can  be  restored,  are  as  fully  satisfied  of  the 
truth  of  that  statement  as  I  am.  They  have 
written  far  severer  things  of  tlieir  army  than  I 
have  ever  done.  They  have  slandered  their  sol- 
diers and  their  officers  as  I  have  never  done. 
They  have  fed  the  worst  passions  of  a  morbid 
democracy  till  it  can  neither  see  nor  hear ;  but 
thoy  shall  never  have  the  satisfaction  of  either 
driving  me  from  my  post,  or  inducing  me  to  de- 
viate a  hair's-breadth  from  the  course  I  have  r'- 
Bolved  to  pursue,  as  I  have  done  before  in  oi 
cases  —  greater  and  graver,  as  far  as  I  was  con- 
cerned, than  this. 


Sept.  9th. — This  morning,  as  I  was  making 
the  most  of  my  toilet  after  a  ride,  a  gentleman 
in  the  uniform  of  a  United  States  officer  came 
up-stairs  and  marched  into  my  sitting-room,  say- 
ing he  wished  to  see  n)e  on  business.  I  thought 
it  was  one  of  i^iy  numerous  friends  coming  with 
a  message  from  some  one  who  was  going  to 
avenge  Bull's  Run  on  me.  So,  going  out  as 
speedily  as  I  could,  I  bowed  to  the  officer,  and 
asked  Ins  business.  "Pve  come  here  because 
I'd  like  to  trade  with  you  about  that  chestnit 
horse  of  yours."  I  replied  that  I  could  only 
state  what  price  i  had  given  for  him,  and  say 
that  I  would  take  the  same,  and  no  less.  *'V,'hat 
may  you  have  given  for  him?"  I  discovered 
that  my  friend  had  been  already  to  the  stable 
and  ascertained  the  price  from  the  groom,  who 
considered  himself  bound  in  duty  to  name  a  few 
dollars  beyond  the  actual  sum  I  had  given,  for 
when  I  mentioned  the  jiriee  the  countenance 
of  the  man  of  war  relaxed  intj  a  griq|i  smile. 
"Well,  I  reckon  that  help  of  yours  is  a  jiretty 
smart  chap,  though  he  does  come  from  your  side 
of  the  world."  When  the  preliminaries  had 
been  arranged,  the  officer  announced  that  he  had 
come  on  behalf  of  another  officer  to  offijr  me  an 
order  on  his  paymaster,  payable  at  some  future 
datt ,  for  the  animal,  which  he  desired,  howevner, 
to  take  away  upon  the  spot.  The  transaction  was 
rather  amusing,  but  I  consented  to  let  the  ani- 
mal go,  much  to  the  indignatica  and  uneasiness 
of  the  Scotch  servant,  who  regarded  it  as  con- 
trary to  all  the  principles  of  morality  in  horse- 
flesh. 

Lord  A.  V.  Tempest  and  another  British  sub- 
ject who  applied  to  Mr.  Seward  to-day  for  leave 
to  go  South,  were  curtly  refused.  The  Foreign 
Secretary  is  not  very  well  ])lcased  with  us  just 
now,  and  there  has  been  some  little  uneasiness 
between  him  and  Lord  Lyons,  in  consequence 
of  representations  respecting  an  improper  excess 
in  the  United  States  marine  on  the  lakes,  con- 
trary to  treaty.  The  real  cause,  )jerhaps,  of  Mr. 
Seward's  annoyance  is  to  be  found  in  the  ex- 
aggerated statements  of  the  American  p  -ners 
respecting  British  reinforcements  for  Cai.„da, 
which,  in  truth,  are  the  ordinary  reliefs.  These 
small  questions  in  the  present  condition  of  af- 
fairs cause  irritation  ;  but  if  the  United  States 
were  not  distracted  by  civil  war,  they  would  be 
seized  eagerly  as  pretexts  to  excite  the  popular 
mind  against  Great  Britain. 

The  great  difficulty  of  all,  which  must  be  set- 
tled some  day,  relates  to  San  Juan ;  and  every 
American  I  have  met  is  persuaded  Great  Britain 
is  in  the  wrong,  and  must  consent  to  a  compro- 
mise or  incur  the  risk  of  war.  The  few  English 
in  Washington,  I  think,  were  all  present  at  din- 
ner at  the  Legation  to-day. 

September  IQth. — A  party  of  American  officers 
passed  the  evening  where  I  dined — all,  of  course, 
Federals,  but  holding  very  difierent  views.  A 
Massachusetts  Colonel,  named  Gordon,  asserted 
that  slavery  was  at  the  root  of  every  evil  which 
afflicted  the  Republic  ;  ihat  it  was  not  necessary 
in  the  So*  'i  or  anywhere  else,  and  that  the  South 
maintained  the  institution  for  political  as  well  as 
private  ends.  A  Virginian  ^aptain,  on  the  con- 
trary, declared  that  slavery  was  in  itself  good ; 
that  it  eonld  not  be  dangerous,  as  it  was  essen- 
tially conservative,  and  desired  nothing  better 
than  to  be  left  alone;  but  that  the  Northern 


MY  DTARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


197 


s  mnking 
;cntlciiian 
it'er  tamo 
•ooni,  siiy- 
I  tliuuglit 
miiiR  with 

going  to 
ig  out  ns 
[ficcr,  niid 
e  because; 
t  chcstnri 
ould  only 
I,  and  SUV 
.  "AVha't 
liscovered 
the  stable 
•oom,  who 
ame  a  few 

given,  for 
untenance 
i^  smile. 
s  a  jnetty 
I  your  side 
ai'ies  had 
hat  he  had 
ffer  me  an 
ime  future 
,  liowever, 
action  was 
;t  the  ani- 
uneasiness 
it  as  con- 
'  in  horse- 

• 

iritish  sub- 
y  for  leave 
le  Foreign 
ith  us  just 
uneasiness 
n  sequence 
per  excess 
kes,  cou- 
ps, of  Mr. 
n  the  ex- 
n  p -ners 
Cai.„Ja, 
.     These 
ion  of  af- 
ted  States 
wotdd  be 
e  popular 

ist  be  sot- 
nnd  every 
at  Britain 
compro- 
w  English 
nt  at  din- 
in  oflRcers 
of  course, 
lews.     A 
asserted 
vil  which 
necessary 
the  South 
as  well  as 
the  con- 
;lf  good ; 
as  esscn- 
ng  better 
Northern 


fanatics,  jealous  of  the  superior  ]Y)litical  influ- 
ence and  ability  of  Southern  statesmen,  and  sor- 
did Protectionists  who  wished  to  bind  the  South 
to  take  their  goods  exclusively,  perpetrated  all 
the  mischief.  An  officer  of  the  District  of  Co- 
lumbia assigned  all  the  misfortunes  of  the  coun- 
try to  universal  suffrage,  to  foreign  immigration, 
and  to  these  alone.  Mob-law  revolts  well-edu- 
cated men,  and  people  who  pride  themselves  be- 
cause their  fathers  lived  in  the  country  before 
them  will  not  be  content  to  see  a  foreigner  who 
has  been  but  a  short  time  on  the  soil  exercising 
as  great  influence  over  the  fate  of  the  country  as 
himself.  A  contest  will,  therefore,  always  be  go- 
ing on  between  those  representing  the  oligarch- 
I  ical  principle  and  the  poUarchy ;  and  the  result 

>      I       '  must  be  disruption,  sooner  or  later,  because  there 

is  no  power  in  a  republic  to  restrain  the  strug- 
gling factions  which  the  weight  of  the  crown  com- 
presses in  monarchical  countries. 

I  dined  with  a  namesake — a  major  in  the 
iJnited  States  Marines — with  whotn  I  had  be- 
conje  accidentally  acquainted,  in  consequence 
of  our  letters  frequently  changing  hands,  .and 
spent  an  agreeable  evening  in  company  with 
naval  and  military  officers ;  not  the  less  so  be- 
cause our  host  had  some  marvellous  Madeira, 
dating  hack  from  the  Conquest — I  mean  of 
Washiiigum.  Several  of  the  officers  spoke  in 
the  highest  terms  of  General  Banks,  whom  they 
call  r.  most  remarkable  man  ;  but  so  jealous  are 
the  politicians  that  he  will  never  be  permitted, 
they  tliink,  to  get  a  fair  chance  of  distinguishing 
himself. 


CHAPTER  LVr. 

A  Crimean  acquaintance— Porsonal  abuse  of  mysfllf— 
Close  flritig— A  reconnaissance — Major-General  Bell— 
Tiio  Prince  de  Joinviile  and  liis  nephews — Aiuorlcan 
cslitnate  of  Louis  Napoleon— AiTest  of  members  of  the 
Maryland  Legislature— Life  at  Washinjrton— War  cries 
— News  from  tlie  Far  West— Journey  to  the  Western 
States — Along  the  Susquehaunah  and  Juniata^'hicago 
— Sport  in  the  prairie — Arrested  for  shooting  on  Sun- 
day—The town  of  Dwight— Keturn  to  Washington- 
Mr.  Seward  and  myself. 

Septemher  Wtli. — A  soft-voiced,  round-faced, 
rather  good-looking  young  man,  with  downy 
moustache,  came  to  my  room,  and  introduced 
himself  this  morning  as  Mr.  II.  11.  Scott,  formerly 
of  Her  Majesty's  67lh  Regiment.  "Don't  you 
remember  me?  I  often  met  you  at  Cathcart's 
Hill.  I  had  a  big  dog,  if  you  remember,  which 
used  to.be  about  the  store  belonging  to  our  camp." 
And  so  he  rattled  on,  talking  of  old  Street  and 
young  Jones  with  immense  volubility,  and  telling 
me  how  ho  had  gone  out  to  India  with  his  regi- 
ment, had  married,  lost  his  wife,  and  was  now 
travelling  for  the  benefit  of  his  health  and  to  see 
the  country.  All  the  time  I  was  trying  to  re- 
member his  face,  but;  in  vain.  At  last  came  the 
purport  of  his  visit.  He  had  been  taken  ill  at 
Baltimore,  and  was  obliged  to  stop  at  an  hotel, 
which  had  cost  him  more  than  he  had  anticipated ; 
he  had  just  received  a  letter  from  hia  fatiier,  which 
required  his  immediate  return,  and  he^had  tele- 
graphed to  New  York  to  secure  his  place  in  the 
next  steamer.  Meantime,  ho  was  out  of  money, 
and  required  a  small  loan  to  enable  him  to  go 
back  and  prepare  for  his  journey,  and  of  course 
he  would  send  me  the  money  the  moment  he  ar- 
rived in  New  York.    I  wrote  a  cheque  for  the 


amount  he  named,  with  which  Lieutenant  or  Cap- 
tain Scott  departed ;  and  my  suspicions  were  ra- 
ther aroused  by  seeing  him  beckon  a  remarkably 
ill-favoured  person  at  the  other  side  of  the  way, 
who  crossed  over  and  inspected  the  little  slip  of 
paper  held  out  for  his  approbation,  and  tlien,  tnk- 
ing  his  friend  under  the  arm,  walked  off  rapidly 
towards  the  bank. 

The  papers  still  continue  to  abuse  mo  faute  d<: 
t)  f, ;  there  are  essays  written  about  me ;  I  am 
t  oatened  with  several  farces;  I  have  been  lec- 
tured upon  at  Willard's  by  a  professor  of  rheto- 
ric ;  and  I  am  a  stock  subject  with  the  leaden 
penny  funny  journals,  for  articles  and  caricatures. 
Yesterday  I  waS  abused  on  the  ground  that  I 
spoke  badly  of  those  who  treated  me  hospitably. 
The  mrn  who  wrote  the  words  knew  they  were 
false,  because  I  have  been  most  careful  in  my  cor- 
respondence to  avoid  anything  of  the  kind.  A 
favourite  acou9<ation,  indeed,  which  Americans 
make  against  foreigners  is,  "  that  they  have  abused 
our  hospitality,"  which  ofientimes  consists  iu  per- 
mitting them  to  live  in  the  country  at  all  at  tiieir 
own  expense,  paying  their  way  at  hotels  and  else- 
where, without  the  smallest  suspicion  that  they 
were  receiving  any  hospitality  wliatever. 

To-day,  for  instance,  there  comes  a  lively  cor- 
poral of  artillery,  John  Robinson,  who  quotes  Si.s- 
raondi,  Gfuizot,  and  others,  to  prove  that  I  am  the 
worst  man  in  the  world ;  but  hia  fiercest  invec- 
tives are  directed  against  me  on  the  gnjund  tliat 
I  speak  well  of  those  people  who  give  mo  dinners ; 
the  fact  being,  since  I  came  to  America,  that  I 
have  given  at  least  as  many  dinners  to  Ameri- 
cans as  I  have  received  from  them. 

Just  as  I  was  sitting  down  to  my  desk  for  the 
remainder  of  the  day,  a  sound  caught  my  ear 
which,  repeated  again  and  again,  could  not  bo 
mistaken  by  accustomed  organs,  and  placing  my 
face  close  to  the  windows,  I  perceived  the  glass 
vibrate  to  the  distant  discharge  of  cannon,  which, 
evidently,  did  not  proceed  from  a  review  or  a  sa- 
lute. Unhappy  man  that  I  am  I  here  is  Walker 
lame,  and  my  other  horse  carried  oft"  by  the  West- 
country  captain.  However,  the  sounds  vere  so 
close  that  in  a  few  nuiments  I  was  driving  oflf 
towards  the  Chain  Bridge,  taking  the  upper  road, 
as  that  by  the  canal  has  become  a  sea  of  mud  fill- 
ed with  deep  holes. 

In  the  windows,  on  the  house-tops,  even  to  tlie 
ridges  partially  overlooking  Virginia,  people  were 
standing  in  high  excitement  watching  the  faint 
puffs  of  smoke  which  rose  at  intervals  above  the 
tree-tops,  and  at  every  report  a  murmur — excla- 
mations of  "There,  do  you  hear  that?" — ran 
through  the  crowd.  The  driver,  as  excited  as 
any  one  else,  urged  his  horses  at  full  speed,  and 
we  arrived  at  the  Chain  Bridge  just  as  General 
M'Call — a  white  haired,  rather  military-looking 
old  man — appeared  at  the  head  of  his  column, 
hurrying  down  to  the  Chain  Bridge  from  the  Ma- 
ryland side,  to  reinforce  Smith,  who  was  said  to 
be  heavily  engaged  with  the  enemy.  But  by  this 
time  the  firing  had  ceased,  and  just  as  the  artil- 
lery of  the  General's  column  couunencod  defiling 
through  the  mud,  into  which  the  guns  sunk  to  the 
naves  of  the  wheels,  the  head  of  another  column 
appeared,  entering  the  bridge  from  the  Virginia 
side  with  loud  cheers,  which  were  taken  up  again 
and  again.  The  carriage  was  halted  to  allow  the 
2nd  Wisconsin  to  pass;  and  a  more  brokeu- 
down,  white-faced,  sick,  ajid  weakly  set  of  poor 


I.'  ; 


198 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


i 


mm 


)\ 


■  pi. 


15;:  1 1  \ 


',!» 


wretches  I  never  beheld.  The  heavy  rains  bad 
washed  the  very  life  out  of  them ;  their  clothing 
was  in  rags,  their  shoes  were  broken,  and  multi- 
tudes were  foot-sore.  Tliey  cheered,  neverthe- 
less, or  whooped,  and  ther^  was  a  tremendous 
clatter  of  tongues  in  the  ranks  concerning  their 
victory ;  but,  as  the  men's  faces  and  handi  were 
not  blackened  by  powder,  they  could  have  seen 
little  of  the  engagement.  Captain  Poe  came 
along  with  dispatches  for  General  M'Clellan,  and 
gave  me  a  correct  account  of  the  affair. 

All  this  noise  and  Uring  and  excitement,  I 
found,  simply  arose  out  of  a  reconnaissance  made 
towards  Lewinsviile,  by  Smith  and  a  part  of  his 
brigade,  to  boat  up  the  enemy's  position,  and  en- 
able the  topographical  engineers  to  procure  some 
information  respecting  the  country.  The  Con- 
federates worked  down  upon  their  left  flank  with 
artillery,  which  they  got  into  position  at  an  easy 
range  without  being  observed,  intending,  no 
doubt,  to  cut  ofif  theur  retreat  and  capture  or  de- 
stroy the  whole  force;  but,  fortunately  for  the 
reconnoitring  party,  the  impatience  of  their  ene- 
mies led  them  to  open  fire  too  soon.  The  Fede- 
rals got  their  guns  into  position  also,  and  covered 
their  retreat,  whilst  reinforcements  poured  out  of 
camp  to  their  assistance,  "and  I  doubt  not,"  said 
Poo,  "  but  that  they  will  have  an  account  of  a 
tremendous  scalping  match  in  all  the  papers  to- 
morrow, although  we  have  only  six  or  seven  men 
killed,  and  twelve  wounded."  As  we  approached 
Washington  the  citizens,  as  they  are  called,  were 
waving  Federal  banners  out  of  the  windows  and 
rejoicing  in  a  great  victory ;  at  least,  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  inferior  sort  of  houses.  Respectability 
in  Washington  means  S  ^cession. 

Mr.  Monson  told  me  1  hat  my  distressed  young 
British  subject,  Captain  Scott,  had  called  on  him 
at  the  Legation  early  this  morning  for  the  little 
pecuniary  help  which  had  been,  I  fear,  wisely 
refused  there,  and  which  was  granted  by  me. 
The  States  have  become,  indeed,  more  than  ever 
the  cloacina  gentium,  and  Great  Britain  contri- 
butes its  full  quota  to  the  stream. 

Thus  time  passes  away  in  expectation  of  some 
onward  movement,  or  desperate  attack,  or  impor- 
tant strategical  movements ;  and  night  comes  to 
assemble  a  few  friends,  Americans  and  English, 
at  my  rooms  or  elsewhere,  to  talk  over  the  disap- 
pointed hopes  of  the  day,  to  speculate  on  the 
future,  to  chide  each  dull  delay,  and  to  part  with 
a  hope  that  to-morrow  would  be  more  lively  than 
to-day.  Major-General  Bell,  who  commanded 
the  Royals  in  the  Crimea,  and  who  has  passed 
some  half  century  in  active  service,  turned  up  in 
Washington,  and  haa  been  courteously  received 
by  the  American  authorities.  He  joined  to-night 
one  of  our  small  reunions,  and  was  infinitely 
puzzled  to  detect  the  lines  which  separated  one 
man's  country  and  opinions  from  those  of  the  other. 

September  Wth. —  Captain  Johnson,  Queen's 
messenger,  started  with  despatches  for  England 
from  the  Legation  to-day,  to  the  regret  of  our 
little  pa*,  ty.  I  observe  by  the  papers  certain 
wiseacn^s  in  Philadelphia  have  got  up  a  petition 
against  loe  to  Mr.  Seward,  on  the  ground  that  I 
have  been  guilty  of  treasonable  practices  and 
misrepresentations  in  my  letter  dated  August 
10th.  There  is  also  to  be  a  lecture  on  the  nth 
at  Willard's,  by  the  Professor  of  Rhetoric,  to  a 
volunteer  regiment,  which  the  President  is  invit- 
ed to  attend — the  subject  being  myself. 


There  is  an  absolute  nullity  of  events,  out  of 
which  the  New  York  papers  endeavour,  in  vain, 
to  extract  a  caput  mortuum  of  sensation  headings. 
The  Prince  of  Joinville  and  his  two  nephews,  the 
Count  of  Paris  and  the  Duke  of  Chartres,  have 
been  here  for  some  days,  and  have  been  received 
with  marked  attention  by  the  President,  Cabinet, 
politicians,  and  military.  The  Prince  haa  coma 
v/ith  the  intention  of  placing  his  son  at  the  Unit- 
ed States  Naval  Academy,  and  his  nephews  with 
the  head-quarters  of  the  Federal  army.  The 
impressement  exhibited  at  the  White  House 
towards  the  French  princes  is  attributed  by  ill- 
natured  rumours  and  persons  to  a  little  pique  on 
the  part  of  Mrs.  Lincoln,  because  the  Princess 
Clothilde  did  not  receive  her  at  New  York,  but 
considerable  doubts  are  entertained  of  the  Em- 
peror's "  loyalty"  towards  the  Union.  Under 
the  wild  extravagance  of  professions  of  attach- 
ment to  France  are  hidden  suspicious  that  Louis 
Napoleon  may  be  capable  of  treasonable  prac- 
tices and  misrepresentations,  which,  in  time,  may 
lead  the  Philadelphians  to  get  up  a  petition 
against  M.  Mercier. 

The  news  that  twenty-two  members  of  the 
Maryland  Legislature  have  been  seized  by  the 
Federal  authoritfes  has  not  produced  the  smallest 
efiect  here :  so  easily  do  men  in  the  mid  t  of 
political  troubles  bend  to  arbitrary  power,  and  so 
rapidly  do  all  guarantees  disappear  in  a  revolu- 
tion. I  was  speaking  to  one  of  General  M'Clel- 
lan's  aides  de  camp  this  evening  respecting  these 
things,  when  he  said — "  If  I  thought  he  would 
use  his  power  a  day  longer  than  was  necessary, 
I  would  resign  this  moment.  I  believe  him  inca- 
pable of  any  selfish  or  unconstitutional  views,  or 
unlawful  ambition,  and  you  will  see  that  he  will 
not  disappoint  our  expectations." 

It  is  now  quite  plain  M'Clellan  has  no  intention 
of  making  a  general  offensive  movement  against 
Richmond.  He  is  aware  his  army  is  not  equal 
to  the  task  —  commissariat  deficient,  artillery 
wanting,  no  cavalry;  above  all,  ill-ofiBcered, 
incoherent  battalions.  He  hopes,  no  doubt,  by 
constant  reviewing  and  inspection,  and  by  weed- 
ing out  the  preposterous  fellows  who  render 
epaulettes  ridiculous,  to  create  an  infantry  which 
shall  be  able  for  a  short  campaign  in  the  fine 
autumn  weather ;  but  I  am  quite  satisfied  he  does 
not  intend  to  move  now,  and  possibly  will  mt  do 
so  till  next  year.  I  have  arranged  therefore  to 
pay  a  short  visit  to  the  West,  penetrating  as  fai- 
as  I  can,  without  leaving  telegraphs  and  rail- 
ways behind,  so  that  if  an  advance  takes  place, 
I  sliall  be  back  in  time  at  Washington  lo  assist 
at  the  earliest  battle.  These  Federal  armies  do 
not  move  hke  the  ■  orps  of  the  French  republic, 
or  Crawford's  Light  i'i vision. 

In  truth,  Washington  life  is  becoming  exceed- 
ingly monotonous  and  uninteresting.  The  plea- 
sant little  evening  parties  or  tertulias  which  once 
relieved  the  dulness  of  this  dullest  of  capitals, 
take  place  no  longer.  Very  wrong  indeed  woulil 
it  be  that  rejoicings  and  festivities  sliould  occur  in 
the  capital  of  a  country  menaced  witii  destruction, 
where  naany  anxioud  hearts  are  grieving  over  the 
i  .st,  or  tortured  witii  fears  for  the  living. 

But  for  the  hospitality  of  Lord  Lyons  to  the 
English  residents,  the  place  would  be  nearly 
insuflerable,  for  at  his  house  one  met  other  friend- 
ly ministers  who  extended  the  circle  of  invita- 
tions, and  two  or  three  Amcican  iamiliea  com- 


t 


its,  out  of 
r,  in  vaiu, 
1  headings, 
pliews,  the 
rlres,  have 
sn  received 
it,  Cabinet, 

has  como 
t  the  Unit- 
)hew8  with 
my.  The 
lite  House 
ited  by  111- 
ie  pique  on 
e  Princess 

York,  but 
)f  the  Em- 
n.  Under 
of  attach- 
that  Louis 
aable  prac- 
1  time,  may 
a    petition 

bera  of  the 
ied  by  tlie 
the  smallest 
le  mid  t  of 
wer,  aud  so 
n  a  revolu- 
iral  M'Clel- 
5cting  these 
it  he  would 
1  necessary, 
re  him  inca- 
al  views,  or 
that  he  will 

10  intention 
lent  against 
IS  not  equal 
artillery 
ill-officered, 

doubt,  by 
id  by  weed- 
svho  render 
ntry  which 
in  the  fine 
>fied  he  does 

will  not  do 
therefore  to 
ting  as  fai- 
ls and  rail- 
akes  place, 
>n  lo  assist 

armies  do 
ch  repubhc, 

ing  exceed- 
The  plea- 
which  once 
of  capitals, 
deed  would 
uld  occur  in 
destruction, 
ing  over  the 
ing. 

yrons  to  the 
be  nearly 
)ther  friend- 
i  of  invita- 
milies  com- 


t 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


19» 


pleted  the  list  which  one  could  reckon  on  his 
lingers.  Then  at  night,  there  were  assemblages 
of  the  same  men,  who  uttered  the  same  opinions, 
told  the  same  stories,  sang  the  same  songs,  varied 
seldom  by  strange  faces  or  novel  accomplishments, 
but  always  friendly  and  social  enough — not  con- 
ducive perhaps  to  very  early  rising,  but  Innocent 
of  gambling,  or  other  excess.  A  flask  of  Bor- 
deaux, a  wicker-covered  demijohn  of  Bourbon, 
a  jug  of  iced-water,  and  a  bundle  of  cigars,  with 
the  latest  arrival  of  newspapers,  furnished  the 
materiel  of  these  small  symposiums,  in  which 
Americana  and  Englishmen  and  a  few  of  the 
members  of  foreign  Legations,  mingled  in  a 
friendly  cosmopolitan  manner.  Now  and  then 
a  star  of  greater  magnitude  came  down  upon  us; 
a  senator  or  an  "  earnest  man,"  or  a  "  live  man," 
or  a  constitutional  lawyer,  or  a  remarkable  states- 
man, coruscated,  and  rushing  off  into  the  outer 
world  left  us  befogged,  with  our  glimmering 
lights  half  extmguished  with  tobacco  smoke. 

Out  of  doors  excessive  heat  alternating  with 
thunder-storms  and  tropical  showers — dust  beaten 
into  mud,  or  mud  sublimated  into  dust — eternal 
reviews,  each  like  the  other — visits  to  camp, 
where  we  saw  the  same  men  and  heard  the  same 
stories  of  perpetual  abortive  'skirmishes — rides 
confined  to  the  same  roads  and  paths  by  lines  of 
sentries,  offered  no  greater  attraction  than  the 
city,  whore  one's  bones  were  racked  with  fever 
and  ague,  and  where  every  evening  the  pestilen- 
tial vapours  of  the  Potomac  rose  higher  and 
spread  further.  No  wonder  that  I  was  glad  to 
get  away  to  the  Far  "West,  particularly  as  I  en- 
tertained hopes  of  witnessing  some  of  the  opera- 
tions down  the  Mississippi,  before  I  was  summon- 
ed back  to  Washington,  by  the  news  that  the 
grand  army  had  actually  broken  up  camp,  and 
was  about  once  more  to  march  against  Rich- 
mond. 

September  \2th. — The  day  passed  quietly,  in 
spite  of  rumours  of  another  battle;  the  band 
played  in  the  President's  garden,  and  citizens 
and  citizenesses  strolled  about  the  grounds  as  if 
Secession  had  been  annihilated.  The  President 
made  a  fitful  appearance,  in  a  grey  shooting  suit, 
with  a  number  of  despatches  in  his  hand,  and 
walked  oil  towards  the  State  Department  quite 
unnoticed  by  the  crowd.  I  am  sure  not  half  a 
dozen  persona  saluted  him — not  one  of  the  men  I 
saw  even  touched  his  hat.  General  Bell  went 
round  the  works  with  M'Clellan,  and  expressed 
his  opinion  that  it  would  be  impossible  to  fight  a 
great  battle  in  the  country  which  lay  between 
the  two  armies — in  fact,  as  he  said,  "a  general 
could  no  more  handle  his  troops  among  the  woods, 
than  he  could  regulate  the  movements  of  rabbits 
in  a  cover.  You  ought  just  to  make  a  proposition 
to  Beauregard  to  come  out  on  some  plain  and 
fight  the  battle  fairly  out  where  you  can  see  each 
other." 

September  \Uh. — It  is  most  agreeable  to  be  re- 
moved from  all  the  circumstance  without  any  of 
the  pomp  and  glory  of  war.  Although  there  is  a 
tendency  in  the  North,  and,  for  aught  I  know,  in 
the  South,  to  consider  the  contest  in  the  same 
light  as  one  with  a  foreign  enemy,  the  very  bat- 
tle-cries on  both  sides  indicate  a  civil  war.  •'  The 
Union  for  ever"— " States  rights"— and  "Down 
with  the  Abolitionists,"  cannot  bo  considered  na- 
tional. M'Clellan  takes  no  note  of  time  even  by 
its  loss,  which  is  all  the  more  strange  because  he 


sets  great  store  upon  it  in  his  report  on  the  con- 
duct of  the  war  in  the  Crimea.  However,  he 
knows  an  army  cannot  be  made  in  two  months, 
and  that  the  larger  it  is,  the  more  time  there  is 
required  to  harmonize  its  components.  The  news 
from  the  Far  West  indicated  a  probability  of  some 
important  operations  taking  place,  although  my 
first  love — the  army  of  the  Potomac — must  be 
returned  to.  Any  way  there  was  the  great  West- 
ern Prairie  to  be  seen,  and  the  people  who  have 
been  pouring  from  their  plains  so  many  thousands 
upon  the  Southern  States  to  assert  the  liberties 
of  those  coloured  races  whom  they  will  not  per- 
mit to  cross  their  borders  as  freemen.  Mr.  Lin- 
coln, Mr.  Blair,  aud  other  Abolitionists,  are 
actuated  by  similar  sentiments,  and  seek  to  eman- 
cipate the  slave,  and  remove  from  him  the  pro- 
tection of  his  master,  in  order  that  they  may 
drive  him  from  the  continent  altogether,  or  force 
him  to  seek  refuge  in  emigration. 

On  the  18th  of  September,  I  left  Baltimore  in 
company  with  Major-General  Bell,  C.B.,  and  Mr. 
Lamy,  who  was  well  acquainted  with  the  West- 
ern States :  stopping  one  night  at  Altoona,  in 
order  that  we  might  cross  by  daylight  the  fine 
passes  of  the  Alleganies,  which  are  traversed  by 
bold  gradients,  and  remarkable  cuttings,  second 
only  in  difficulty  and  extent  to  those  of  the  rail- 
road across  the  Sommering. 

So  far  as  my  observation  extends,  no  route  in 
the  United  States  can  give  a  stranger  a  better 
notion  of  the  variety  of  scenerj'  and  of  resources, 
the  vast  extent  of  territory,  the  difference  in 
races,  the  prosperity  of  the  present,  and  the  pro- 
bable greatness  of  the  future,  than  the  lino  from 
Baltimore  by  Harrisburg  and  Pittsburg  to  Chica- 
go, traversing  the  great  States  of  Pennsylvania, 
Ohio,  and  Indiana.  Plain  and  mountain,  hill  and 
valley,  river  and  meadow,  forest  and  rock,  wild 
tracts  through  which  the  Indian  roamed  but  a 
few  years  ago,  lauds  covered  with  the  richest 
crops;  rugged  passes,  which  Salvator  would  have 
peopled  with  shadowy  groups  of  bandits ;  gentle 
sylvan  glades,  such  as  Gainsborough  would  have 
covered  with  waving  corn ;  the  hum  of  mills,  the 
silence  of  the  desert  and  waste,  sea-like  lakes 
whitened  by  innumerable  sails,  mighty  rivers 
carving  their  way  through  continents,  sparkling 
rivulets  that  lose  their  lives  amongst  giant  wheels : 
seams  and  lodes  of  codl,  iron,  and  mineral  wealth, 
cropping  out  of  desolate  mountain  sides ;  busy, 
restless  manufacturers  and  traders  alternating  with 
stolid  rustics,  hedges  clustering  with  grapes, 
mountains  whitening  with  snow;  and  beyond, 
the  great  Prairie  stretching  away  to  the  backbone 
of  inhospitable  rock,  which,  .ising  from  the  foun- 
dations of  the  world,  bars  the  access  of  the  white 
man  and  civilization  to  the  bleak  inhospitable 
regions  beyond,  which  both  are  fain  as  yet  to 
leave  to  the  savage  and  wild  beast. 

Travelling  along  the  banks  of  the  Susquehan- 
nah,  the  visitor,  however,  is  neither  permitted  to 
admire  the  works  of  nature  in  silence,  nor  to  ox- 
press  his  admiration  of  the  energy  of  man  in  his  ' 
own  way.  The  tyranny  of  public  opinion  is  upon 
him.  lie  must  admit  that  he  never  saw  anything 
so  wonderful  in  his  life;  that  there  is  nothing  so 
beautiful  anywhere  else;  no  fields  so  green,  no 
rivers  so  wide  aud  deep,  no  bridges  so  lofty  and 
long;  and  at  last  he  is  inclined  to  shut  himself  up, 
either  in  absolute  grumpy  negation,  or  to  indulge 
in  hopeless  controversy.    An  American  gentle- 


200 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


man  is  as  little  likely  as  any  other  well-bred  man 
to  force  the  opinions  or  interrupt  the  reveries  of  a 
stranger ;  but  if  third-class  Esquimaux  are  allowed 
to  travel  in  first-class  carriages,  the  hospitable 
creatures  will  be  quite  likely  to  insist  on  your 
swallowing  train  oil,  eating  blubber,  or  admiring 
snow-drifts,  as  the  finest  things  in  the  world.  It 
is  infinitely  to  the  credit  of  the  American  people 
that  actual  offence  is  so  seldom  given  and  is  still 
more  rarely  intended — ahvays  save  and  except 
in  the  one  particular,  of  chewing  tobacco.  Hav- 
ing seen  most  things  that  can  irritate  one's  sto- 
mach, and  being  in  company  with  an  old  soldier, 
I  little  expected  that  any  excess  of  the  sort  could 
produce  disagreeable  effects;  but  on  returning 
from  tiiis  excursion,  Mr.  Lamy  and  myself  were 
fairly  driven  out  of  a  carriage,  on  the  Pittsburg 
line,  in  utter  loathing  and  disgust,  by  the  condi- 
tion of  the  floor.  The  conductor,  passing  through, 
said,  "  You  must  not  stand  out  there,  it  is  against 
the  rules ;  you  can  go  in  and  smoke,"  pointing  to 
the  carriage.  "In  there!"  exclaimed  n)y  friend, 
"  why,  it  is  too  filthy  to  put  a  wild  beast  into." 
The  conductor  looked  in  for  a  moment,  nodded 
his  head,  and  said,  "  Well,  I  concede  it  is  right 
bad ;  the  citizens  are  going  it  pretty  strong,"  and 
so  left  us. 

The  scenery  along  the  Juniata  is  still  more 
picturesque  than  that  of  the  valley  of  the  Susque- 
hannah.  Tlie  borders  of  the  route  across  the 
AUeganies  have  been  described  by  many  a  writer ; 
but  notwithstanding  the  good  fortune  which 
favoured  us,  and  swept  away  the  dense  veil  of 
vapours  on  the  lower  ranges  of  the  iiills,  the  land- 
scape scarcely  produced  the  effect  of  scenery  on  a 
less  extended  scale,  just  as  the  scenery  of  the 
Himalayas  is  not  so  striking  as  that  of  the  Alps, 
because  it  is  on  too  vast  a  scde  to  be  readily 
grasped. 

Pittsburg,  where  we  halted  next  night,  on  the 
Ohio,  is  certainly,  with  the  exception  of  Birming- 
ham, the  most  intensely  sooty,  busy,  squalid,  foul- 
housed,  and  vile-suburbed  city  I  have  ever  seen. 
Under  its  perpetual  canopy  of  smoke,  pierced  by  a 
forest  of  blackened  chimneys,  the  ill  paved  streets, 
swarm  with  a  streaky  population  whose  white 
faces  are  smutched  with  soot-streaks — the  noise 
of  vans  and  drays  which  shake  the  houses  as  they 
pass,  the  turbulent  life  in  the  thoroughfares,  the 
wretched  brick  tenements,  = — built  in  waste  places 
on  squalid  mounds,  surrounded  by  heaps  of  slag 
and  broken  brick — all  these  give  tiie  stranger  the 
idea  of  some  vast  manufacturing  city  of  the  Infer- 
no ;  and  yet  a  few  miles  beyond,  ihe  country  is 
studded  with  beautiful  villas,  and  the  great  river, 
bearing  innumerable  barges  and  steamers  on  its 
broad  bosom,  rolls  its  turbid  waters  between 
banks  rich  with  cultivated  crops. 

The  policeman  at  Pittsburg  station — a  burly 
Englishman — told  me  that  the  war  had  been  of 
the  greatest  service  to  the  city.  He  spoke  not 
only  from  a  policeman's  point  of  view,  wlun  he 
said  that  all  the  rowdies,  Irish,  Germans,  and 
otliers  had  gone  off  to  the  war,  but  from  the  ma- 
nufacturing stand-point,  as  he  added  that  wages 
were  high,  and  that  the  orders  from  contractors 
were  keeping  all  the  manufacturers  going.  "  It 
is  wonderful,"  said  he,  "  what  a  number  of  citi- 
zens come  back  from  the  South  by  rail,  in  these 
new  metallic  coffins." 

A  long,  long  day,  traversing  the  State  of  Indi- 
ana by  the  Fort  Wayne  route,   followed  by  a 


longer  night,  just  sufficed  to  carry  us  to  Chicago. 
The  railway  pa.S8es  through  a  most  uninteresting 
country,  which  in  part  is  scarcely  rescued  from  a 
state  of  nature  by  the  hand  of  man ;  but  it  is 
wonderful  to  see  so  much  done,  when  one  licars 
that  the  Miami  Indians  and  other  tribes  were 
driven  out,  or,  as  the  phrase  is,  "removed,"  only 
twenty  years  ago — "  conveyed,  the  wise  call  it '' 
— to  the  reserves. 

From  Chicago,  where  we  descended  at  a  hotel 
which  fairly  deserves  to  be  styled  magnificent,  for 
comfort  and  completeness,  Mr.  Lamy  and  myself 
proceeded  to  Racine,  on  the  shores  of  Luke  Mi- 
chigan, and  thence  took  the  rail  for  Freeport, 
where  I  remained  for  some  days,  going  out  in  the 
surrounding  prairie  to  shoot  in  the  morning,  and 
returning  at  nightfall.  The  prairie  chickens  were 
rather  wild.  The  delight  of  these  days,  notwith- 
standing bad  sport,  cannot  be  described,  nor  was 
it  the  least  ingredient  in  it  to  mix  with  the  fresh 
and  vigorous  race  who  are  raising  up  cities  on 
these  fertile  wastes.  Fortunately  for  the  patience 
of  my  readers,  perhaps,  I  did  not  fill  my  diary 
with  the  records  of  each  day's  events,  or  of  the 
contents  of  our  bags;  and  the  note-book  in  which 
I  jotted  down  some  little  matters  whicli  struck 
me  to  be  of  interest  has  been  mislaid  ;  but  in  my 
letters  to  England  I  gave  a  description  of  the  ge- 
neral aspect  of  the  country,  and  of  the  feehngs  of 
the  peopi  ■,  and  arrived  at  the  conclusion  tliat  the 
tax-gatherer  will  have  little  chance  of  returning 
with  full  note-books  from  his  tour  in  these  dis- 
tricts. The  dogs  which  were  lent  to  us  were 
generally  abominable :  but  every  evening  we  re- 
turned in  company  with  great  leather-greaved 
and  jerkined  men,  hung  round  with  belts  and 
hooks,  from  which  were  suspended  strings  of 
defunct  prairie  chickens.  Tne  farmers  were  hos- 
pitable, but  were  suffering  from  a  morbid  longing 
for  a  failure  of  crops  in  Europe,  in  order  to  give 
some  value  to  their  corn  and  wheat,  which  lite- 
rally cumbered  the  earth. 

Freeport  1  Who  ever  heard  of  it  ?  And  yet 
it  has  its  newspaptwi,  more  than  I  dare  mention, 
and  its  big  hotel  lighted  with  gas,  its  billiard- 
rooms  and  saloons,  magazines,  railwaj'  stations, 
and  all  the  proper  paraphernalia  of  local  self- 
government,  with  all  their  fierce  intrigues  and 
giddy  factions. 

From  Freeport  our  party  returned  to  Chicago, 
taking  leave  of  our  excellent  friend  and  compa- 
nion Mr.  George  Thompson  of  Racine.  The  au- 
thorities of  the  Central  Illinois  Railwa3^  to  whose 
courtesy  and  consideration  I  was  infinitely  in- 
debted, placed  at  our  disposal  a  magnificent 
sleeping  carriage ;  and  on  the  morning  after  our 
arrival,  having  laid  in  a  good  stock  of  supplies, 
and  engaged  an  excellent  sporting  guide  and 
dogs,  we  started, ,  attached  to  the  regular  train 
from  Chicago,  until  the  train  stopped  at  a  shunt- 
ing place  near  the  station  of  Dwight,  in  tlie  very 
centre  of  the  prairie.  We  reached  our  halting- 
place,  were  detached,  and  were  shot  up  a  siding 
in  the  solitude,  with  no  habitation  in  view,  ex- 
cept the  wood  shanty,  in  which  lived  the  family 
of  the  Irish  overseer  of  this  portion  of  the  road — 
a  man  liappy  in  the  possession  of  a  piece  of  gold 
which  he  received  from  the  Prince  of  Wales,  and 
for  which  he  declared,  he  would  not  take  the 
amount  of  the  National  Debt. 

The  sleeping  carriage  proved  most  comfortable 
qutTters.    After  breakfast  in  the  morning,  Mr. 


I, 


'ii 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


0  Chicago, 
interesting 
aod  from  a 
;  but  it  is 

one  licara 
ribea  were 
ved,"  only 
se  call  it '' 

at  a  hotel 
aiflcent,  for 
»nd  myself 
Lake  Mi- 
Freeport, 
',  out  in  the 
irnipg,  and 
3ken8  were 
8,  notwith- 
d,  nor  was 
ti  the  fresh 
;p  cities  on 
le  patience 

1  my  diary 
i,  or  of  the 
)k  in  which 
lich  struck 

but  in  my 
1  of  the  ge- 

feelings  of 
on  tliat  the 
f  returning 

these  dia- 

0  US  were 
ling  we  re- 
ler-greaved 

1  belts  and 
strings  of 

s  were  hos- 
oid  longing 
ier  to  give 
which  lite- 

And  yet 
0  mention, 
ts  billiard- 
y  stations, 
local  self- 
rigues  and 

,0  Chicago, 
nd  compa- 
The  au- 
to whose 
Snitely  in- 
agnificent 
after  our 
f  supplies, 
guide  and 
ular  train 
a  shunt- 
n  the  very 
halting- 
a  siding 
view,  ex- 
the  family 
he  road — 
ce  of  gold 
Vales,  and 
I  take  the 

jmfortable 
'Ding,  Mr. 


ir 


201 


k 


Lamy,  Col.  Foster,  Mr. ,  of  the  Central  Illi- 
nois rail,  the  keeper,  and  myself,  descending  the 
steps  of  our  movable  house,  walked  in  a  few 
strides  to  the  shooting  grounds,  which  abounded 
with  quail,  but  were  not  so  well  peopled  by  the 
chickens.  The  quail  were  weak  on  the  wing, 
owing  to  the  lateness  of  the  season,  and  my  com- 
panions grumbled  at  their  hard  luck,  though.  I 
was  well  content  with  fresh  air,  my  small  share 
of  biids,  and  a  few  American  hares.  Night  and 
morning  the  tr^in  rushed  by,  and  when  darkness 
settled  down  upon  the  prairie,  our  lamps  were 
lighted,  dinner  was  served  in  the  carriage,  set 
forth  with  inimitable  potatoes  cooked  by  the  old 
Irishwoman.  From  the  dinner-table  it  was  but 
a  step  to  go  to  bed.  When  storm  or  rain  rugjied 
over  tho  sea-like  plain,  I  remained  in  the  carriage 
writing,  and  after  a  long  spell  of  work,  it  was  in- 
expressibly pleasant  to  take  a  ramble  through 
the  flowering  grass  and  the  sweet-scented  broom, 
and  to  go  beating  through  the  stunted  under-covcr, 
careless  of  rattle-snakes,  whose  tiny  prattling 
music  I  heard  often  enough  without  a  sight  of 
the  tails  that  made  14. 

One  rainy  morning,  tho  39th  September,  I 
think,  as  the  sun  began  to  break  through  drift- 
ing rain  clouds,  I  saw  my  companions  preparing 
their  guns,  the  sporting  chaperon  "Walker  fillhig 
the  shot  flasks,  and  making  all  the  usual  arrange- 
ments for  a  day's  shooting.  "  You  don't  mean 
to  say  you  are  going  out  shooting  on  a  Sunday  I" 
I  said.  "  What,  on  the  prairies !"  exclaimed  Co- 
lonel Foster.  "Why,  of  course  we  are;  there's 
nothing  wrong  in  it  here.  What  nobler  temple 
can  we  find  to  worship  in  than  lies  around  us  ? 
It  is  the  custom  of  the  people  hereabout  to  shoot 
on  Sundays,  and  it  is  a  work  of  necessity  with 
us,  for  our  larder  is  very  low." 

And  so,  after  breakfast,  we  set  out,  but  the 
rain  came  down  so  densely  that  we  were  driven 
to  the  house  of  a  farmer,  and  finally  wo  returned 
to  our  sleeping  carriage  tor  the  day.  I  never 
fired  a  shot  nor  put  a  gun  to  my  shoulder,  nor 
am  I  sure  that  any  of  my  companions  killed  a  bird. 

The  rain  fell  with  violence  all  day,  and  at  night 
the  gusts  of  wind  shook  tlie  carriage  like  a  ship 
at  sea.  We  were  sitting  at  table  afler  dinner, 
when  the  door  at  the  end  of  the  carriage  opened, 
and  a  man,  in  a  mackintosh  dripping  wet,  ad- 
vanced with  unsteady  steps  along  the  centre  of 
the  carriage,  between  the  beds,  and  taking  off  his 
hat,  in  the  top  of  which  ho  searched  diligently, 
stood  staring  with  lack-lustre  eyes  from  one  to 
the  other  of  the  party,  till  Colonel  Foster  ex- 
claimed, "  Well,  sir,  what  do  you  want?" 

"What  do  I  want?"  he  replied,  with  a  slight 
thickness  of  speech,  "which  of  you  is  the 
Honourable  Lord  William  Russell,  correspondent 
of  the  London  Times  f    That's  what  I  want." 

I  certified  to  my  identity;  whereupon,  draw- 
ing a  piece  of  paper  out  of  his  hat,  he  continued, 
"Then  I  arrest  you,  Honourable  Lord  William 
Russell,  in  the  name  of  the  people  of  the  Com- 
monwealth of  Illinois,"  and  thereupon  handed 
me  a  document  declaring  that  one  Morgan,  of 
Dwight,  having  come  before  him  that  day  and 
sworn  that  I,  with  a  company  of  Trnn  and  dogs, 
had  unlawfully  assembled,  and  by  firing  shots, 
and  by  barking  and  noise,  had  disturbed  the 
peace  of  the  State  of  Illinois,  he,  the  subscriber 
or  justice  of  the  peace,  as  named  and  described, 
commanded  the  constable  Podgers,  or  whatever 


his  name  was,  to  bring  my  body  before  him  to 
answer  to  the  charge. 

Now  this  town  of  Dwight  was  a  good  many 
miles  away,  the  road  was  declared  by  those  who 
knew  it  to  be  very  bad,  tho  night  was  pitch  dark, 
the  rain  falling  in  torrents,  and  as  tlio  constable, 
drawing  out  of  his  hat  paper  after  i)apor  with 
tho  names  of  impossible  persons  ui)on  tiiem, 
served  subpoanas  on  all  the  rest  of  the  party  to 
appear  next  morning,  the  anger  of  Colonel  Foster 
could  scarcely  bo  restrained,  by  kicks  uiidor  liio 
table  and  nods  and  becks  and  wrcaliied  sinilos 
from  the  rest  of  the  party.  "  This  is  infamous ! 
It  is  a  political  persecution!"  he  exclaimed, 
whilst  tho  keeper  joined  in  chorus,  declaring  he 
never  heard  of  such  a  proceeding  before  in  all  hi's 
long  experience  of  the  prairie,  and  never  knew 
there  was  such  an  act  in  existence.  Tho  Irish- 
men in  the  hut  added  that  tho  iiii'ormer  hii  iself 
generally  went  out  shooting  every  Siiiday. 
However,  I  could  not  but  regret  I  had  given  the 
fellow  an  opportunity  of  striking  at  mo,  and 
though  I  was  the  only  one  of  tlie  party  who 
raised  an  objection  to  our  going  out  at  all,'  I  waa 
deservedly  suflbring  for  the  impropriety — to  call 
it  here  by  no  harsher  name. 

Tho  constable,  a  man  of  a  liqiiid  eye  and  a 
cheerful  countenance,  paid  particular  attention 
meantime  to  a  large  bottle  upon  the  table,  and 
,'■3  I  professed  my  readiness  to  go  the  moment  he 
had  some  refreshment  that  very  wet  night,  the 
stern  seventy  becoming  a  minister  of  justioe, 
which  markc'l.  his  first  utteranee.s,  was  sensibly 

mollified ;  and  when  Mr. proposed  that  he 

should  drive  ba.'k  with  him  and  see  the  prose- 
cutor, he  was  goc  I  enough  to  accept  my  written 
acknowledgment  of  the  service  of  the  writ,  and 
promise  to  appear  the  following  morning,  as  an 
adequate  discharge  of  his  duty — coinbiued  with 
tho  absorption  of  some  Bourbon  whisky — and  so 
retired. 

Mr.   returned  late  at  night,  and  very 

angry.  It  appears  that  the  prosecutor — who  is 
not  a  man  of  very  good  reputatio.i,  and  whom  his 
neighbours  were  as  much  astonished  to  find  the 
champion  of  religious  observances  as  they  would 
have  been  if  he  was  to  come  forward  to  insist  on 
tho  respect  duo  to  tho  seventh  commandment — 
with  the  insatiable  passion  for  notoriety,  which  is 
one, of  the  worst  results  of  American  institutions, 
thought  he  would  gain  himself  some  little  reputa- 
tion by  causing  annoyance  to  a  man  so  unjjopular 
as  myself.  He  and  a  companion  having  come 
from  Dwight  for  the  purpose,  and  hiding  in  tiie 
neighbourhood,  had,  therefore,  devoted  their  day 
to  lying  in  wait  and  watching  our  party;  and 
they  were  aware  in  the  railway  carriage  I  \v  as 
with  Colonel  Foster,  they  had  no  difliculty  in 
finding  out  the  names  of  the  rest  of  the  party. 
The  magistrate  being  his  relative,  granted  the 
warrant  at  once  ;  and  the  prosecutor,  who  was  in 
waiting  for  tho  constable,  was  exceedingly  disap- 
pointed when  he  found  that  I  had  not  been 
dragged  through  the  rain. 

Next  morning,  a  special  engine  which  iiad 
been  ordered  up  by  telegraph  appeared  alongside 
the  car;  and  a  short  run  through  a  beautiful 
country  brought  us  to  the  prairie  town  of  Dwight. 
The  citizens  were  astir — it  was  a  great  day — and 
as  I  walked  with  Colonel  Foster,  all  the  good 
people  seemed  to  be  enjoying  an  unexampled 
treat  in  gazing  at  the  stupendous  crimuial.    The 


202 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


?!       Ill 


court-liouso,  or  magistrate's  office,  was  suitable 
to  the  republican  simplicity  of  the  people  of 
I>vvight ;  for  the  chamber'  of  justice  was  on  the 
first  floor  of  a  house  over  a  store,  and  access  was 
obtained  to  it  by  a  ladder  from  the  street  to  a 
pliUfbrm,  at  the  top  of  which  I  was  ushered  into 
the  presence  of  the  court — a  plain  whitewashed 
room.  I  am  not  sure  there  was  even  an  engrav- 
ing of  George  'Washington  on  the  walls.  The 
magistrate  in  a  full  suit  of  black,  with  his  hat  on, 
was  seated  at  a  small  table ,  behind  him  a  few 
books,  on  plain  deal  shelves,  provided  his  fund 
of  legal  learning.  The  constable,  with  a  severer 
visage  than  tiiat  of  last  night,  stood  upon  the 
right  hand;  throe  sides  of  the  room  wore  sur- 
rounded by  a  wall  of  stout  honest  Dwightians, 
among  whom  I  produced  a  profound  sensation, 
by  the  simple  ceremony  of"  taking  ofJ"  my  hat, 
which  they  no  doubt  considered  a  token  of  the 
degraded  nature  of  the  Britisher,  but  which 
moved  the  magistrate  to  take  off  his  head-cover- 
ing; whereupon  some  of  the  nearest  removed 
theirs,  some  putting  them  on  again,  and  some  re- 
maining uncovered;  and  then  the  informations 
were  read,  and  on  being  asked  what  I  had  to  say, 
I  merely  bowed,  and  said  I  had  no  remarks  to 
oiler.  But  my  friend.  Colonel  Foster,  who  had 
been  churning  up  his  wrath  and  forensic  lore  for 
some  time,  putting  one  hand  under  his  coat  tail, 
and  elevating  the  other  in  the  air,  with  modulat- 
ed cadences,  poured  out  a  fine  oratorical  flow 
which  completely  astonished  me,  and  whipped 
the  audience  morally  off  their  legs  completely. 
In  touching  terms  he  described  the  mission  of  an 
illustrious  stranger,  who  had  wandered  over 
thousands  of  miles  of  land  and  sea  to  gaze  upon 
the  beauties  of  those  prairies  which  the  Great 
Maker  of  the  Universe  had  expanded  as  the  ban- 
queting tables  for  the  famishing  millions  of  pau- 
perised and  despotic  Europe.  As  tho  representa- 
tive of  an  influence  which  the  people  of  the  great 
State  of  Illinois  should  wish  to  see  developed,  in- 
stead of  contracted,  honoured  instead  of  being  in- 
sulted, he  had  come  among  them  to  admire  the 
grandeur  of  nature,  and  to  behold  with  wonder 
the  magnificent  progress  of  human  happiness  and 
tree  institutions.  (Some  thumping  of  sticks,  and 
cries  of  "Bravo,  that's  so,"  which  warmed  the 
Colonel  into  still  higher  flights.)  I  began  to  feel 
if  he  was  as  great  in  invective  as  he  was  in  eulo- 
gy, it  was  well  he  had  not  lived  to  throw  a 
smooth  pebble  from  his  sling  at  Warren  Hastings. 
As  great  indeed !  Why,  when  the  Colonel  had 
drawn  a  beautiful  picture  of  me  examining  coal 
deposits — investigating  strata — breathing  autum- 
nal airs,  and  culling  flowers  in  unsuspecting  inno- 
cence, aud  then  suddenly  denounced  the  serpent 
who  had  dogged  my  steps,  in  order  to  strike  me 
down  with  a  justice's  warrant,  I  protest  it  is 
doubtful,  if  he  did  not  reach  to  the  most  elevated 
stage  of  vituperative  oratory,  the  progression  of 
which  was  marked  by  increasing  thumps  of  sticks, 
and  louder  murmurs  of  applause,  to  the  discomfi- 
ture of  the  wretched  prosecutor.  But  the  magis- 
trate was  not  a  man  of  imagination ;  he  felt  he 
was  but  elective  after  all ;  and  so,  with  his  eye 
fixed  upon  his  book,  he  pronounced  his  decision, 
which  was  that  I  be  amerced  in  something  more 
than  half  the  maximum  fine  fixed  by  the  statute, 
some  five-and-twenty  shillings  or  so,  the  greater 
part  to  be  spent  in  the  education  of  the  people,  by 
transfer  to  the  school  fund  of  the  State. 


As  I  was  handing  the  notes  to  the  magistrate, 
several  respectable  men  coming  forward,  ex- 
claimed, "  Pray  oblige  us,  Mr.  Russell,  by  letting 
us  pay  the  amount  for  you ;  this  is  a  shameful 
proceeding."  But  thanking  them  heartily  for 
their  proffered  kindness,  I  completed  the  little 
pecuniary  transaction  and  wished  the  magistrate 
good  morning,  with  the  remark  that  I  hoped  tho 
pepple  of  the  State  of  Illinois  would  always  find 
such  worthy  defenders  of  the  statutes  as  the  pro- 
secutor, and  never  have  offenders  against  their 
peace  and  morals  more  culpable  than  myself. 
Having  undergone  a  severe  scolding  from  an  old 
woman  at  the  top  of  the  ladder,  I  walked  to  the 
train,  followed  by  a  number  of  the  audience,  who 
repeatedly  expressed  their  extreme  regret  at  the 
little  persecution  to  which  I  had  been  subjected. 
The  prosecutor  had  already  made  arrangements 
to  send  the  news  over  the  whole  breadth  of  the 
Uni(>:i,  which  was  his  only  reward:  as  I-must  do 
the  American  papers  the  justice  to  say  that,  with 
a  few  natural  exceptions,  those  which  noticed 
tho  occurrence  unequivocally  condemned  his 
conduct.  « 

That  evening,  aa  we  were  planning  an  exten- 
sion of  our  sporting  tour,  the  mail  rattling  by  de- 
posited our  letters  and  papers,  and  we  saw  at  the 
top  of  many  columns  the  startling  words,  "  Grand 
Advance  of  the  Union  Army."  "  M'Clellan 
Marching  on  Riclnnond.'I  "C.ipture  of  Mun- 
son's  Hill."  "Retreat  of  the  Enemy— 30,000 
Men  Seize  Their  Fortifications."  Not  a  moment 
was  to  be  lost ;  if  I  was  too  late,  I  never  would 
forgive  myself.  Our  carriage  was  hooked  on  to 
the  return  train,  and  at  8  o'clock  p.m.  I  started 
on  my  return  to  Washington,  by  way  of  Cleveland. 

At  half-past  3  on  the  1st  October  the  train 
reached  Pittsburg,  just  too  late  to  catch  the  train 
for  Baltimore;  but  I  continued  my  journey  at 
night,  arriving  at  Baltimore  after  noon,  and  reach- 
ing Washington  at  6  p.m.  on  the  2nd  of  October. 

October  3rd. — In  Washington  once  more — all 
the  world  laughing  at  the  pump  aud  the  wooden 
guns  at  Munson's  Hill,  but  angry  withal  because 
M'Clellan  should  be  so  befooled  as  they  consi- 
dered it,  by  the  Confederates.  The  fact  is  M 'Chil- 
ian was  not  prepared  to  move,  and  therefore  r  ot 
disposed  to  hazard  a  general  engagement,  wlich 
he  might  have  brought  on  had  the  enemy  been 
in  force ;  perhaps  he  knew  they  were  not,  but 
found  it  convenient  nevertheless  to  act  as  though 
he  believed  they  had  established  themselves 
strongly  in  his  front,  as  half  the  world  will  give 
him  credit  for  knowing  more  than  the  civilian 
strategists  who  have  already  got  into  disgrace  for 
urging  M'Dowell  on  to  Richmond.  The  Federal 
armies  are  not  handled  easily.  They  are  luxu- 
n^-s  in  the  matter  of  baggage,  and-cauteens,  and 
private  stores;  and  this  is  just  the  sort  of  A.ar  in 
which  the  general  who  moves  lightly  and  rapidly, 
striking  blows  unexpectedly  and  deranging  com- 
munications, will  obtain  great  results. 

Although  Beauregard's  name  is  constantly 
mentioned,  I  fancy  that,  crafty  and  reticent  as  he 
is,  the  operations  in  front  of  us  have  been  directed 
by  an  officer  of  larger  capacity.  As  yet  M'Clellan 
has  certainly  done  nothing  in  the  field  to  show 
he  is  like  Napoleon.  The  value  of  his  labours  in 
camp  has  yet  to  be  tested.  I  dined  at  the  Lega- 
tion, and  afterwards  there  was  a  meeting  at  my 
rooms,  where  I  heard  of  all  that  had  passed  during 
my  absence. 


L 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


803 


magistrate, 
jrvvurd,  ox- 
11,  by  letting 

a  shatnotul 
beurtily  for 
)d  the  little 
e  raagiHtrato 
I  hoped  the 

always  find 
a  as  the  pro- 
tguiiist  their 
,han  myself. 

from  an  old 
alked  to  the 
adienco,  who 
regret  at  the 
3n  subjected, 
rrangements 
eadth  of  the 
as  I-must  do 
ly  that,  with 
hicii  noticed 
demned    his 

ig  an  cxten- 
ittling  by  de- 
I'e  saw  at  the 
trds,  •'  Grand 

"  M'Clellan 
ure  of  Mun- 
emy— 30,000 
lOt  a  moment 
never  would 
looked  on  to 
'.M.  I  started 
of  Cleveland, 
jer  the  train 
itch  the  train 
jT  journey  at 
n,  and  reach- 
i  of  October, 
ce  more — all 
I  the  wooden 
ithal  because 
a  they  consi- 
ict  is  M'Clf'l- 
therefore  rot 
iment,  wh'ch 
1  enemy  been 
?ere  not,  but 
ict  as  though 
themselves 
)rld  will  give 

the  civilian 
0  disgrace  for 

The  Federal 
ley  are  luxu- 
janteens,  and 
?ort  of  ^.  ar  in 
J  and  rapidly, 
ranging  com- 
s. 

s  constantly 
-eticent  as  he 
been  directed 
(ret  M'Clellan 
field  to  show 
his  labours  in 

at  the  Lega- 
eeting  at  my 

massed  during 


L 


October  Aih, — The  now  expedition,  of  which  I 
have  been  hearing  for  some  time  past,  is  about  to 
Bail  to  Port  Royal,  under  the  conunand  of  Gene- 
ral Burnside,  in  order  to  reduce  the  works  erected 
at  the  entrance  of  the  Sound,  to  secure  a  base  of 
operations  against  Charleston,  and  to  cut  in  upon 
the  communication  between  that  place  and  Sa- 
vannah. Alas,  for  poor  Trescot  I  his  plantations, 
his  secluded  homol  What  will  the  good  lady 
think  of  the  Yankee  invasion,  which  surely  must 
succeed,  as  the  naval  force  will  be  overwhelming? 
I  visited  the  division  of  General  Egbert  Vielo, 
encamped  near  the  Nuvy-yard,  which  is  bound 
to  Annapolis,  as  a  part  of  General  Burnsido's  ex- 
pedition. When  first  I  saw  him,  the  general  was 
an  emeritus  captain,  attached  to  the  7  th  New 
York  Militia ;  now  he  is  a  Bi  igadier-General,  if 
not  something  more,  commanding  a  corps  of 
nearly  5000  men,  with  pay  and  allowances  to 
match.  His  good  lady  wife,  who  accompanied 
him  in  the  Mexican  campaign, — whereof  came  a 
book,  lively  and  light,  as  a  lady's  should  bo, — 
was  about  to  accompany  her  husband  in  his 
assault  on  the  Carolinians,  and  prepared  for  action, 
by  opening  a  small  broadside  on  my  unhappy  self; 
whom  she  regarded  as  an  enemy  of  our  glorious 
Union ;  and  therefore  an  ally  of  the  Evil  Powers 
on  both  sides  of  the  grave.  The  women,  North 
and  South,  are  equally  pitiless  to  their  enemies ; 
and  it  was  but  the  other  day,  a  man  with  whom 
I  am  on  very  good  terms  in  Washington,  made 
an  apology  for  not  asking  me  to  his  house,  be- 
cause his  wife  was  a  strong  Union  woman. 

A  gentleman  who  had  been  dining  with  Mr. 
Seward  to-nig,it  told  me  the  Minister  had  com- 
plained that  I  had  nat  been  near  him  for  nearly 
two  months ;  the  fact  was,  however,  that  I  had 
called  twice  immediately  after  the  appearance  in 
America  of  my  letter  dated  July  22nd,  and  had 
met  Mr.  Seward  afterwards,  when  his  manner 
was,  or  appeared  to  me  to  be,  cold  and  distant, 
and  I  had  therefore  abstained  from  intruding  my- 
self upon  his  notice ;  nor  did  his  answer  to  the 
Philadelphia  petition — in  which  Mr.  Seward  ap- 
peared to  admit  the  allegations  made  against  me 
wore  true,  and  to  consider  I  had  violated  the 
hospitality  accorded  mo — induce  me  to  think  that 
he  did  not  entertain  the  opinion  which  these  jour- 
nals which  set  themselves  up  to  be  his  organs 
had  so  repeatedly  expressed. 


CHAPTER  LVII. 
Another  Crimean  acquaintance — Summary  dismissal  of 


—Soldiers  and  the  patrol— Public  men  in  America- 
Mr.  Seward  and  Lord  Lyons— A  Jud^o  placed  under 
arrest— Death  and  funeral  of  Senator  Baker— Dis- 
orderly troops  and  officers— Official  fibs— Duck-shoot- 
ing at  Baltimore. 

October  5ih. — A  day  of  heat  extreme.  Tumbled 
in  upon  me  an  old  familiar  face  and  voice,  once 
Forster  of  a  hospitable  Crimean  hut  behind 
Mother  Seacole's,  commanding  a  battalion  of 
Land  Transport  Corps,  to  which  he  had  descend- 
ed or  sublimated  from  his  position  as  ex-Austrian 
dragoon  and  beau  sabreur  under  old  Radetzaky 
in  Italian  vrars ;  now  a  colonel  of  distant  volun- 
teers, and  a  member  of  the  Parliament  of  British 
Columbia.    He  was  on  his  way  home  to  Europe, 


and  liad  travelled  tiuis  fur  out  of  his  way  to  see 
his  friend. 

After  him  came  in  a  gentleman,  heated,  wild- 
eyed,  and  excited,  wlio  had  been  in  the  South, 
where  he  was  acting  as  correspondent  to  a  Lon- 
don newspaper,  and  on  his  return  to  Washington 
had  obtained  a  pass  from  General  Scott.  Accord- 
ing to  hia  own  atory,  ho  had  been  indulging  in  a 
habit  which  free-born  Englishmen  may  occasion- 
ally find  to  bo  inconvonieut  in  foreign  countries 
in  times  of  high  excitement,  and  had  been  ex- 
pressing his  opinion  pretty  freely  in  favour  of  the 
Southern  cause  in  the  bar-rooms  of  Pennsylvania 
Avenue.  Imagine  a  Frenchman  going  about  the 
taverns  of  Dublin  during  an  Irisii  rebellion,  ex- 
pressing his  sympathy  with  the  rebels,  and  you 
may  suppose  he  would  meet  with  treatment  at 
least  as  peremptory  as  that  which  the  Federal 
authorities  gave  Mr.  D .  In  fine,  that  morn- 
ing early,  he  had  been  waited  upon  by  an  oflicer, 
who  requested  his  attendance  at  the  Provost 
Marshal's  ofBco;  arrived  there,  a  functionary, 
after  a  few  queries,  asked  him  to  give  up  Gene- 
ral Scott's  pass,  and  when  Mr.  D refused  to 

do  so,  proceeded  to  e.xecuto  a  terrible  sort  of 
process  verbal  on  a  large  sheet  of  foolscap,  the 
initiatory  flourishes  and  prolegomena  of  which 

so  intimidated  Mr.  D ,  that  ho  gave  up  his 

pass  and  was  permitted  to  depart,  in  order  that 
he  might  start  for  England  by  the  next  steamer. 

A  wonderful  Frenchman,  who  lives  up  a  back 
street,  prepared  a  curious  banquet,  at  wliich  Mr. 
Irvine,  Mr.  Warre,  Mr.  Anderson,  Mr.  Lamy,  and 
Colonel  Forster  assisted ;  and  in  tho  evening  Mr. 
Lincoln's  private  secretary,  a  witty,  shrewd,  and 
pleasant  young  fellow,  who  looks  a  little  more 
than  eighteen  years  of  age,  came  in  witli  a  friend, 
whoso  name  I  forget;  and  by  degrees  the  circle 
expanded,  till  the  walls  seemed  to  have  become 
elastic,  so  groat  was  the  concourse  of  guests. 

October  6th. — A  day  of  wandering  around,  and 
visiting,  and  listening  to  rumours  all  unfounded. 
I  have  applied  for  permission  to  accompany  the 
Burnside  expedition,  but  I  am  advised  not  to  leave 
Washington,  as  M'Clellan  will  certainly  advance 
aa  soon  as  the  diversion  has  been  made  down 
South. 

October  1th. — The  heat  to-day  was  literally 
intolerable,  and  wound  up  at  last  in  a  tremen- 
dous thunder-storm  with  violent  gusts  of  rain.  At 
the  Legation,  where  Lord  Lyons  entertained  the 
English  visitors  at  dinner,  the  rooms  were  shaken 
by  thunder  claps,  and  the  blinding  lightning 
seemed  at  times  to  turn  the  well-illuminated 
rooms  into  caves  of  darkness. 

October  8th. — A  review  of  tho  artillery  at  this 
side  of  the  river  took  place  to-day,  which  has 
been  described  in  very  inflated  language  by  tho 
American  papers,  the  writers  on  which — never 
having  seen  a  decently-equipped  force  of  the 
kind — pronounce  tlie  sight  to  have  been  of 
unequalled  splendour ;  whereas  the  appearance 
of  horses  and  men  was  very  far  from  respectable 
in  all  matters  relating  to  grooming,  cleanliness, 
and  neatness.  General  Barry  has  done  wonders 
in  simplifying  the  force  and  reducing  the  number 
of  calibres,  which  varied  according  to  the  fancy 
of  eacli  State,  or  men  of  each  officer  who  raised  a 
battery ;  but  there  are  still  field-guns  of  three 
inches  and  of  tliree  inches  and  a  half.  Napoleon 
guns,  rifled  10  lb.  Parrots,  ordinary  9-pounders, 
a  variety  of  howitzers,  20  lb.  Parrot  rifled  gun^ 


^ 


204 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


'I 


i;' 


and  a  variety  of  different  projectiles  in  the  cais- 
sons. As  tiie  men  rode  pnat,  tlio  eye  was  dis- 
tressed by  discrepancies  in  dress.  Many  wore 
red  or  wliito  worsted  comforters  round  their 
necks,  few  had  straps  to  their  trousers;  some 
had  new  coats,  others  old ;  some  wore  boots, 
otlicrs  slioes ;  not  one  had  clean  spurs,  bits, 
curb-chains,  or  buttons.  Tlie  officers  cannot  get 
tlio  tnon  to  do  what  the  latter  regard  as  works  of 
supororogation. 

There  wore  73  guns  in  all ;  and  if  the  horses 
wore  not  so  light,  there  would  bo  quite  enough 
to  do  for  the  Confederates  to  reduce  their  lire,  as 
tiio  pieces  are  easily  handled,  and  the  men  like 
artillery  and  take  to  it  naturally,  being  in  that 
respect  something  like  the  natives  of  India. 

While  I  was  standini,  in  the  crowd,  I  heard  a 
woman  say,  "  I  doubt  if  that  Russell  is  riding 
about  liero.  I  should  just  like  to  see  him  to  give 
him  a  piece  of  my  mind.  They  say  he's  honest, 
but  I  call  him  a  poor  pre-jewdiced  Britisher. 
Tliis  sight  '11  give  him  fits."  I  was  quite  delight- 
ed at  my  incognito.  If  the  caricatures  were  at 
all  like  me,  I  should  have  what  tho  Americans 
call  a  bad  time  of  it. 

On  the  return  of  tho  batteries  a  shell  exploded 
in  a  caisson  just  in  front  of  tlio  President's  house, 
and,  miraculous  to  state,  did  not  lire  tho  other 
projectiles.  Had  it  done  so,  tho  destruction  of 
life  in  the  crowded  street — blocked  up  with  artil- 
lery, men,  and  horses,  and  crowds  of  men,  womeu, 
and  children — would  have  been  truly  frightful. 
Such  accidents  are  not  uncommon — a  waggon 
blow  up  the  other  day  "  out  West,"  and  killed 
and  wounded  several  people;  and  though  the 
accidents  in  camp  from  firearms  are  not  so  nume- 
rous as  they  vore,  there  are  still  enough  to  pro- 
Bent  a  heavy  casualty  list. 

AVhilst  the  artillery  were  delighting  the  citi- 
zens, a  much  more  important  matter  was  taking 
place  in  an  obscure  little  court-house — much  more 
destructive  to  their  freedom,  happiness,  and 
greatness  than  all  the  Confederate  guns  which 
can  ever  be  ranged  against  them.  A  brave, 
upright,  and  honest  judge,  as  in  duty  bound, 
issued  a  writ  of  habeas  corpus,  sued  out  by  the 
frienr^s  of  a  minor,  who,  contrary  to  the  laws  of 
the  'united  States,  had  been  enlisted  by  an  Ame- 
rica 1  general,  and  was  detained  by  him  in  the 
ranks  of  his  regiment.  The  officer  refused  to 
obey  the  writ,  whereupon  the  judge  issued  an 
attachment  against  him,  and  the  Federal  briga- 
dier came  into  court  and  pleaded  that  he  took 
tliat  course  by  order  of  the  President.  The  court 
adjourned,  to  consider  the  steps  it  should  take. 

I  have  just  seen  a  paragraph  in  the  local  paper, 
copied  from  a  west  country  journal,  heaided 
"Good  for  Russell,"  which  may  explain  the 
unusually  favourable  impression  expressed  by 
the  women  this  morning.  It  is  an  account  of 
tho  interview  I  had  with  the  officer  who  came 
"  to  trade"  for  my  horse,  written  by  the  latter 
to  a  Green  Bay  newspaper,  in  which,  having 
duly  censured  my  "  John  Bullism"  in  not  receiv- 
ing with  the  utmost  courte.sy  a  stranger,  who 
walked  into  his  room  before  breakfast  on  busi- 
ness unknown,  he  relates  as  a  proof  of  honesty 
(in  such  a  rare  field  as  trading  in  horseflesh)  that, 
though  my  groom  had  sought  to  put  ten  dollars 
in  my  pocket  by  a  mild  exaggeration  of  the 
amount  paid  for  the  animal,  which  was  the  price 
I  said  I  would  take,  I  would  not  have  it. 


October  9th. — A  cold,  gloomy  day.  I  am  Inid 
up  with  the  fever  and  ague,  which  visit  tho  bank.« 
of  tho  Potomac  in  autumn.  It  annoyed  mo  the 
more  because  General  M'Clollan  is  making  n 
reconnaissance  to-day  towards  Lewinsvilie,  with 
1  (),000  i.ien.  A  gentleman  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment visited  mo  to-day,  and  gave  mo  scanty 
hopes  of  procuring  any  assistance  from  the  autlior- 
ities  in  taking  tho  field.  Civility  costs  nothing, 
and  certainly  if  it  did  United  States  officials 
would  require  high  salaries,  but  they  often  con- 
tent themselves  with  fair  words. 

There  are  some  things  about  our  neighbours 
which  wo  may  never  hope  to  understand.  To- 
day, for  instance,  a  respectable  persoji,  high  in 
office,  having  been  good  enough  to  invite  me  to 
his  house,  added,  "  You  shall  see  Mrs.  A.,  sir. 
She  is  a  very  pretty  and  agreeable  young  lady, 
and  will  prove  nice  society  for  you,"  meaning  his 
wife. 

Mr.  N.  P.  Willis  was  good  enough  to  call  on 
mo,  and  in  the  course  of  conversation  said,  "  I 
hear  M'Clellan  tells  you  everything.  When  you 
went  away  West  I  was  very  near  going  alter 
you,  as  I  suspected  you  heard  something."  Air. 
Willis  could  liave  had  no  grounds  for  this  remark, 
for  very  certainly  it  has  no  foundation  iu  fact. 
Truth  to  tell,  General  M'Clellan  seemed,  the  last 
time  I  saw  him,  a  little  alarmed  by  a  paragraph 
in  a  New  York  paper,  from  the  Washington 
correspondent,  in  which  it  was  invidiously 
stated,  "General  M'Clellan,  attended  by  Mr. 
Russell,  correspondent  of  tlie  London  Times, 
visited  the  camps  to-day.  All  passes  to  civilians 
and  others  were  revoked."  There  was  not  the 
smallest  ground  for  the  statement  on  the  day  in 
question,  but  I  am  resolved  not  to  contradict 
anything  which  is  said  about  me,  but  the  General 
could  not  well  do  so ;  and  one  of  the  favourite 
devices  of  the  Washington  correspondent  to  fill 
up  his  columns,  is  to  write  something  about  mo, 
to  state  I  have  been  refused  passeS;  or  have  got 
them,  or  whatever  else  he  likes  to  say. 

Calling  on  the  General  the  other  night  at  his 
usual  time  of  return,  I  was  told  by  the  orderly, 
who  was  closing  the  door,  "The  General's 
gone  to  bed  tired,  and  can  see  no  one.  He  sent 
the  same  message  to  tlie  President,  who  came 
inquiring  after  him  ten  minutes  ago." 

This  poor  President  1  He  is  to  be  pitied ;  sur- 
rounded by  such  scenes,  and  trying  with  all  his 
might  to  understand  strategy,  naval  warfare,  big 
guns,  the  movements  of  troops,  military  maps, 
reconnaissances,  occupations,  interior  ai}d  exterior 
lines,  and  all  the  technical  details  of  the  art  of 
slaying.  He  runs  from  one  house  to  another, 
armed  with  plans,  papers,  reports,  recommendar 
tions,  sometimes  good-humoured,  never  angry, 
occasionally  dejected,  and  always  a  little  fussy. 
The  other  night,  as  I  was  sitting  in  tlie  parlour 
at  headquarters,  with  an  English  friend  who  had 
come  to  see  Iris  old  acquaintance  the  General, 
walked  in  a  tall  man  with  a  navvy's  cap,  and  an 
ill-made  shooting  suit,  from  the  pockets  of  which 
protruded  paper  and  bundles.  "  Well,"  said  he 
to  Brigadier  Van  Vliet,  who  rose  to  receive  him, 
"is  George  in?" 

"  Yes,  sir.  He's  come  back,  but  is  lying  down, 
very  much  fatigued.  I'll  send  up,  sir,  and  inform 
him  you  wish  to  see  him." 

"  Oh,  no ;  I  can  wait.  I  think  I'll  take  supper 
with  him.    Well,  and  what  ara  you  now, — 1  for- 


.^ 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


I  am  Inid 
lit  tho  bank? 
lycd  mo  the 
8  making  n 
nsvillo,  witli 
War  Depart- 
i  mo  scanty 
n  the  author- 
>Ht8  notliing, 
itea  oHlfiala 
jy  often  con- 

r  neighbours 
rstand.  To- 
'son,  high  in 
invito  me  to 
Mra.  A.,  sir. 
young  htdy, 
meaning  his 

;h  to  call  on 

ion  said,  "  I 

When  you 

going  alter 
thuig."     ilr. 

this  remarlf, 
tion  ill  fact. 
Bed,  the  last 

a  paragraph 

Washington 
invidiously 
ded  by  Mr. 
ndon  Times, 
us  to  civilians 
was  not  the 
m  the  day  in 
;o  contradict 
;  the  General 
;he  favourite 
ndent  to  lill 
g  about  me, 

or  have  got 

night  at  his 
the  orderly, 
General's 
He  sent 
t,  who  came 

pitied;  sur- 
with  all  Ilia 
warfare,  big 
litary  maps, 
ar}d  exterior 
)f  the  art  of 

to  another, 
ecommenda- 
ever  angry, 

little  fussy. 

the  parlour 
nd  who  had 
he  General, 
cap,  and  an 

ts  of  which 
ell,"  said  he 

eceive  him, 

lying  down, 
,  and  inform 

take  supper 
low, — 1  for- 


a05 


got  your  name  —are  you  a  major,  or  a  colonel,  or 
a  general  ?" 

"  Wiiatever  you  like  to  make  me,  sir." 

Seeing  that  General  M'Ulolian  would  be  occu- 
pied, I  walked  out  witli  my  friend,  who  asked 
me  when  I  got  into  tiio  street  why  1  stood  up 
when  that  tall  follow  came  into  the  room.  "  Do- 
cause  it  was  tho  I'residont."  "  The  President  of 
wiiat  ?"  "  Of  the  United  States."  "  Oh !  come, 
now  you're  humbugging  mo.  Let  mo  havo 
another  look  at  him."  Jle  came  back  more  ii.ce- 
dulous  than  ever,  but  when  I  assured  him  I  was 
quite  serious,  ho  exclaimed,  "  I  give  up  tho 
United  States  after  this." 

But  for  all  that,  there  havo  been  ^many  more 
courtly  presidents  who,  in  a  similar  crisis,  would 
have  displayed  less  capacity,  honesty,  and  plain 
dealing  than  Abraham  Lincoln. 

October  loth. — I  got  hold  of  M'Clollan's  report 
on  the  Crimean  war,  and  made  a  few  candid  re- 
marks on  tho  performance,  which  docs  not  ev' .  t> 
any  capacity  beyond  tho  reports  of  our  itinerant 
artillery  office''8  who  are  sent  from  Woolwich 
abroad  for  their  country's  good.  I  like  tho  man, 
but  I  do  not  think  he  is  equal  to  his  occasion  or 
bis  place.  There  is  one  little  pjeco  of  policy 
which  shows  he  is  looking  ahead — either  to  gain 
the  good  will  of  the  army,  or  for  some  larger  ob- 
ject. All  his  present  purpose  is  to  make  himself 
known  to  the  men  personally,  to  familiarize  them 
with  his  appearance,  to  gain  the  acquaintance  of 
the  officers ;  and  with  this  object  he  spends  near- 
ly every  C.\y  in  the  camps,  riding  out  at  nine 
o'clock,  and  not  returning  till  long  after  nightfall, 
examining  the  various  regiments  as  he  goes  along, 
and  having  incessant  inspections  and  reviews. 
He  is  the  lirst  Republican  general  who  could  at- 
tempt to  do  all  this  without  incurring  censure  and 
suspicion.  Unfortunate  M'Dowell  could  not  in- 
spect his  small  army  without  receiving  a  hint 
that  he  must  not  assume  such  airs,  as  tliey  were 
more  becoming  a  military  despot  than  a  simple 
lieutenant  of  the  great  democracy. 

October  1 1th.— lir.  Mure,  who  has  arrived  here 
in  wretched  health  from  New  Orleans,  after  a  pro- 
tracted and  very  unpleasant  journey  through 
country  swarming  with  troops  mixed  with  gueril- 
las, tells  mo  that  I  am  more  detested  in  New 
Orleans  than  I  am  in  New  York.  This  is  ever 
the  fate  of  the  neutral,  if  the  belligerents  can  get 
him  between  them.  The  Giroudins  and  men  of 
the  juste  milieu  aro  ever  fated  to  be  ground  to 
powder.  The  charges  against  me  were  disposed 
of  by  Mr.  Mure,  who  says  that  what  I  wrote  of 
in  New  Orleans  was  true,  and  has  shown  it  to  bo 
so  in  his  correspondence  with  the  Governor,  but, 
over  and  beyond  that,  I  am  disliked,  because  I  do 
not  praise  the  peculiar  institution.  He  amused 
me  by  adding  that  tho  mayor  of  Jackson,  with 
whom  I  sojourned,  had  published"  a  card,"  deny- 
uig  point-blank  that  he  had  ever  breathed  a  word 
to  indicate  that  the  good  citizens  around  him  were 
not  famous  for  the  love  of  law,  order,  and  life, 
and  a  scrupulous  regard  to  personal  liberty.  I 
can  easily  fancy  Jackson  is  not  a  place  where  a 
mayor  suspected  by  the  citizens  would  be  exempt- 
ed from  difficulties  now  and  then ;  and  if  this  dis- 
claimer does  my  friend  any  good,  he  is  very  hearti- 
ly welcome  to  it  and  more.  I  have  received  seve- 
ral letters  lately  from  the  parents  of  minors,  ask- 
ing me  to  assist  them  in  getting  back  their  sons, 
who  havo  enlistod  illegally  in  the  Federal  army. 


My  writ  does  not  run  any  further  than  n  FediTnl 
judge's. 

October  I'Uh. — The  good  people  of  Now  York 
and  of  tiie  other  Northern  cities,  cxciteil  by  i-ou- 
stunt  reports  in  tlie  papers  of  niagnilleent  reviews 
and  unsurpassed  military  spectacles,  begin  to 
flock  towards  Wasliington  in  hundreds  where  for- 
merly they  came  in  tens.  Tho  woman-kind  aro 
particularly  anxious  to  feast  their  eyes  on  our 
glorious  Union  army.  It  is  natural  enougli  thnl 
Americans  should  feel  pride  and  take  j)leaaurc;  iu 
tho  spectacle ;  but  tho  love  of  economy,  tlio 
hatred  of  military  despotism,  and  the  frugal  vir- 
tues of  republican  government,  long  since  placed 
aside  by  tho  exigencies  of  tho  Administration, 
promise  to  vanish  for  over. 

The  feeling  is  well  expressed  in  the  remark  of 
a  gentleman  to  whom  I  was  lamenting  the  civil 
war:  "  Well,  for  my  part,  I  am  glad  of  it.  Wiiy 
should  you  in  Europe  have  all  the  lighting  to 
yourselves?  Why  should  we  not  have  our  bloody 
battles,  and  our  big  generals,  and  all  tho  rest  of  it  ? 
This  will  stir  up  the  spirits  of  our  people,  do  us 
all  a  power  of  good,  and  end  by  proving  to  all  of 
you  in  Europe,  that  we  are  just  as  good  and  first- 
rate  in  fighting  as  we  are  in  ships,  manufactures, 
and  commerce." 

But  the  wealthy  classes  are  beginning  to  feel 
rather  anxious  about  the  disposal  of  their  money : 
they  are  paying  a  large  insurance  on  tho  Union,and 
they  do  not  see  that  anything  has  been  done  to 
stop  the  leak  or  to  prevent  it  foundering.  Mr. 
Duncan  has  arrived ;  to-day  I  drove  with  him  to 
Alexandria,  and  I  think  he  has  been  made  happy 
by  what  he  saw,  and  has  no  doubt  "  the  Union  is 
all  right."  Nothing  looks  so  irresistible  as  your 
bayonet  till  another  is  seen  opposed  to  it. 

October  ISth. — Mr.  Duncan,  attended  by  my- 
self and  other  Britishers,  made  an  extensive  ex- 
cursion through  tho  camps  on  horseback,  and  I 
led  him  from  Arlington  to  Upton's  House,  up  by 
Munson's  Hill,  to  General  Wadsworth's  quarters, 
where  we  lunched  on  camp  fare,  and,  from  tho  ob- 
servatory erected  at  tho  rear  of  the  bouse  iu 
which  he  lives,  had  a  fine  view,  this  bright,  cold, 
clear  autumn  day,  of  the  wonderful  expanse  of 
undulating  forest  lands,  streaked  with  rows  of 
tents,  which  at  last  concentrated  into  vast  white 
patches  in  tho  distance,  towards  Alexandria. 
The  country  is  desolate,  but  the  camps  a^o  flour- 
ishing, and  that  is  enough  to  satisfy  moit  patriots 
bent  upon  the  subjugation  of  their  enemies. 

October  liih. — I  was  somewha'^  distraught, 
like  a  small  Hercules  twixt  Vice  ind  Virtue,  r  • 
Garrick  between  Comedy  and  Tiagedy,  by  my 
desire  to  tell  Duncan  the  truth,  anti  i;t  the  same 
time  respect  tho  feelings  of  a  friend.  There  was 
a  rabbledom  of  drunken  men  in  uniforms  under 
our  window,  who  resisted  tho  patrol  clearing  the 
streets,  and  one  fellow  drew  his  bayonet,  and, 
with  the  support  of  some  of  the  citizens,  said  tliat 
ho  would  not  allow  any  regular  to  put  a  finger  on 
him.  D —  said  he  had  witnessed  scenes  just  as 
bad,  and  talked  of  lanes  in  garrison  towns  in 
England,  and  street  rows  between  soldiers  and 
civilians ;  and  I  did  not  venture  to  tell  him  the 
scene  we  witnessed  was  the  sign  of  a  radical  vice 
in  the  system  of  the  American  army,  which  is,  I 
believe,  incurable  in  these  large  masses.  Few 
soldiers  would  venture  to  draw  their  bayonets  on 
a  patrol.  If  thoy  did,  their  punishment  would  bo 
tolerably  sure  and  swift,  but  for  all  I  knew  this 


206 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


!    ?, 


( . 


f 


ii' 


t 


man  would  be  pormittod  to  f?o  on  hi.s  way  rejoin- 
ing. Tiioro  JH  nowH  of  two  Fi'dcrul  rovnrfHH  to- 
day. A  dcHcont  was  iniulo  on  SantH  Rosn  itJiuid, 
and  Mr.  Hilly  Wilson's  Zouiivi'H  wcro  driven  under 
tho  ffuns  of  I'ieltons,  losing  in  tlio  scurry  of  tlio 
night  ftttiick — as  prisoner  only  I  nm  <j:lad  to  say 
— (X)or  Major  Vogdes,  of  inquiring  momory. 
Rosecrans,  who  utterly  ignores  tlio  advantages  of 
Shukspcrian  spelling,  has  boon  defeated  in  tho 
West ;  but  D — ^  quite  happy,  and  goes  off  to 
New  York  contented. 

October  l^th. — Sir  Jamos  Ferguson  and  Mr.  R. 
Bourko,  who  have  been  travelling  in  tho  South 
and  have  seen  something  of  tho  Confederate  go- 
vernment and  nrmios,  visited  us  this  evening  after 
diiuier.  They  do  not  seem  at  all  desirous  of  test- 
ing by  comparison  tho  relative  efficiency  of  tho 
two  armies,  which  Sir  James,  at  all  events,  is 
competent  to  do.  They  are  impressed  by  the 
energy  ^and  animosity  of  the  South,  which  no 
doubt  will  have  their  effect  on  England  al8<i ;  but 
it  will  bo  difficult  to  popularize  a  Slave  Republic 
as  a  now  allied  power  in  England.  Two  of  Gene- 
ral M'Clellan's  aides  dropped  in,  and  the  meeting 
abstained  from  general  politics. 

October  1 6th. — Day  follows  day  and  resembles 
its  predecessor.  M'Olellau  is  still  reviewing,  and 
tho  North  are  still  waiting  for  victories  and  pay- 
ing money,  and  the  orators  are  still  wrangling 
over  tho  best  way  of  cooking  the  hares  which 
they  have  not  yet  caught.  I  visited  General 
M'Dowell  to-day  in  his  tent  at  Arlington,  and 
found  him  in  a  state  of  divine  calm  with  his  wife  and 
parvus  lulus.  A  public  man  in  the  United  States 
is  very  much  like  a  great  firework — he  commences 
with  some  small  scintillations  which  attract  the 
eye  of  the  public,  and  then  he  blazes  up  and 
flares  oi'.l,  in  blue,  purple,  and  orange  fires,  to  the 
\  't^jse  admiration  of  tho  multitude,  and  dying 
out  suddenly  is  thought  of  no  more,  his  place 
being  taken  by  a  fresh  roman  candle  or  Catherine 
wheel  which  is  thought  to  be  far  finer  than  those 
which  have  just  dazzled  tho  eyes  of  the  fickle 
spectators.  Human  nature  is  thus  severely  taxed. 
Tho  Cabinet  of  State  is  like  the  museum  of  some 
cruel  naturalist,  who  seizes  his  specimens  whilst 
they  are  alive,  bottles  them  up,  forbids  them  to 
make  as  much  aa  a  contortion,  labelling  them 
"  My  last  President,  "  "  My  latest  Commander-in- 
chief,"  or  "  My  defeated  General,"  regarding  the 
smallest  signs  of  life  very  much  as  did  the  French 
petit  maitre  who  rebuked  the  contortions  and 
screams  of  the  poor  wretch  who  was  broken  on 
the  wheel,  as  contrary  to  biennicmce.  I  am  glad 
that  Sir  James  Ferguson  and  Mr.  Bourke  did  not 
leave  without  making  a  tour  of  inspection  through 
tho  Federal  camp,  which  they  did  to-day. 

October  11  ih. — Diesnon. 

October  \8th. — To-day  Lord  Lyons  drove  out 
with  Mr.  Seward  to  inspect  the  Federal  camps, 
which  are  now  in  such  order  as  to  be  worthy  of 
a  visit.  It  is  reported  in  all  the  papers  that  I  am 
going  to  England,  but  I  have  not  the  smallest  in- 
tention of  giving  my  enemies  here  such  a  treat  at 
present.  As  Monsieur  do  Beaumont  of  the 
French  Legation  said,  "  I  presume  you  are  going 
to  remain  in  Washington  for  the  rest  of  your  life, 
because  I  see  it  stated  in  the  New  York  journals 
that  you  are  leaving  us  in  a  day  or  two." 

October  I9th. — Lord  Ljrons  and  Mr.  Seward 
were  driving  and  dining  together  yesterday  en 
ami.    To-day  Mr.  Seward  is  engaged  demolishing 


Lord  Lyonn,  or  at  nil  events  tho  British  Oovorn- 
ment,  in  a  despatch,  wherein  he  vindicates  tlio 
proceedings  of  tho  United  States  Qovorumcnt  in 
certain  arrests  of  British  subjects  which  had  been 
complained  of,  and  repudiates  tho  doctrine  that 
tho  United  States  Government  can  bo  bound  by 
tho  opinion  of  tho  law  ofllcors  of  the  Crown 
respecting  »  spirit  and  letter  of  the  American 
coiistitutio.  'his  is  published  as  a  sot-otT  to  Mr. 
Seward's  cii  .'  on  tlio  soacoast  defences  which 
created  so  hiuSa  depression  and  alarm  in  tho 
Northern  Stitea,  whore  it  was  at  tho  time  con- 
sidered as  a  warning  that  a  foreign  war  was  im- 
minont,  and  which  lias  since  been  generally  con- 
demned as  fopble  and  injudicious. 

October  20Ui. — I  saw  General  M'Clellan  to-day, 
who  gave  mo  to  understand  that  some  small 
movement  might  take  place  on  tho  right.  I  rodo 
up  to  the  Chain  Bridge  and  across  it  for  some 
miles  into  Virginia,  but  all  waa  quiet.  The  ser- 
geant at  the  post  on  tho  south  side  of  the  bridge 
had  some  doubts  of  tho  genuineness  of  my  pass, 
or  rather  of  its  bearer. 

"I  heard  you  were  gone  back  to  London, 
where  I  am  coming  to  see  you  some  fine  day 
with  the  boys  here." 

"No,  sergeant,  I  am  not  gono  yet,  but  when 
will  your  visit  take  place  f " 

"Oh,  as  soon  as  we  have  finished  with  the 
gentlemen  across  there." 

"Have  you  any  notion  when  that  will  bo?" 

"  Just  as  soon  as  they  tell  us  to  go  on  and 
prevent  tlio  blackguard  Germans  running  away." 

"  But  thu  Germans  did  not  run  away  at  Bull 
Run?" 

"  Faith,  because  they  did  not  got  a  chance — 
sure  they  put  them  in  the  rear,  away  out  of  the 
fighting." 

"  And  why  do  you  not  go  on  now  ?" 

"  Well,  that's  the  question  wo  are  asking  every 
day." 

"  And  can  any -one  answer  it  ?" 

"Not  one  of  us  can  tell;  but  my  belief  is  if  we 
had  one  of  the  old  60th  among  us  at  the  head  of 
affairs  wo  would  soon  be  at  them.  I  belonged  to 
the  old  regiment  once,  but  I  got  off  and  took 
up  with  shoe-making  again,  and  faith  if  I  sted  in 
it  I  might  have  been  sergeant-major  by  this  time, 
only  they  hated  the  poor  Roman  Catholics." 

"  And  do  you  think,  sergeant,  you  would  get 
many  of  your  countrymen  who  had  served  in  tho 
old  army  to  fight  the  old  familiar  red  jackets  ?" 

"  Well,  sir,  I  tell  you  I  hope  my  arm  would  rot 
before  I  would  pull  a  trigger  against  the  old  50th ; 
but  we  would  wear  the  red  jacket  too — we  have 
ae  good  a  right  to  it  aa  the  others,  and  then  it 
would  be  man  against  man,  you  know ;  but  if  I 
saw  any  of  them  cursed  Germans  interfering  I'd 
soon  let  daylight  into  them."  The  hazy  dreams 
of  this  poor  man's  mind  would  form  an  excellent 
article  for  a  New  York  newspaper,  which  on 
matters  relating  to  England  are  rarely  so  lucid 
and  logical.  Next  day  was  devoted  to  writing 
and  heavy  rain,  through  both  of  which,  notwith- 
standing, I  waa  assailed  by  many  visitors  and 
some  scurrilous  letters,  and  in  the  evening  there 
was  a  Washington  gathering  of  Englishry,  Irishry, 
Scotchry,  Yankees,  and  Canadians. 

October  22nd. — Rain  falling  in  torrents.  As  I 
write,  in  come  reports  of  a  battle  last  night,  some 
forty  miles  up  the  river,  which  by  signs  and 
tokens  I  am  led  to  believe  wa»  unfavourable  to 


I, 


'■:iiam 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTIf. 


907 


?h  (lovern- 
dicuttia  tim 
orutnciit  ia 
ill  Lttd  been 
)ctriu(t  that 
»  bound  by 
tlie  Crown 
3  Americnii 
Bt-oft'  to  Mr. 
jnces  wliii'li 
irm  in  tlio 
a  time  coll- 
ar was  im- 
lorally  con- 

ellan  to-day, 
some  Bmall 
jlit.  I  rodo 
it  for  some 
t.  The  ser- 
f  the  bridge 
of  my  pivsa, 

to  London, 
)me  fine  day 

>t,  but  when 

ed  with   the 

will  be  ?" 
go  on  and 
ining  away." 
way  at  Bull 

a  chance— 
ly  out  of  the 

?" 

asking  every 


lelief  is  if  we 

the  head  of 

belonged  to 

)ff  and  took 

if  I  sted  in 
by  this  time, 
lolics." 

would  get 
erved  in  the 
jackets  ?" 
m  would  rot 
he  old  50th ; 
K) — we  have 

and  then  it 
»w ;  but  if  I 
terfering  I'd 
lazy  dreams 
an  excellent 
which  on 
oly  so  lucid 
',d  to  writing 
ch,  notwith- 
visitors  and 

ening  there 
ihry,  Irishry, 


ents.  As  I 
night,  some 
r  signs  and 
vourable  to 


the  PcdcralH.  Thoy  croiwcd  the  river  intending 
to  iiiovo  upon  LffHburg — woro  atliickcd  by  ovor- 
whulming  forccH  and  ropulscd.  but  maintained 
thoinsclvoH  on  tiie  riglit  bank  till  Clonoral  l)aiil<s 
reinforced  tiiom  and  oriablod  tlioni  to  iioid  thoir 
own.  M'Clollan  iiaH  gone  or  in  going  at  once  to 
the  scone  of  action.  It  vfM  tlireo  o'clock  before 
I  heard  tiie  news,  tlie  road  and  country  were  alike 
unknown,  nor  iiad  I  frioiid  or  acciuaintnnce  in 
tlio  army  of  the  Upper  Potomac.  My  horse  waa 
brought  round,  however,  and  in  company  witli 
Mr.  Anderson,  [  rodo  out  of  Wa-sliington  along 
the  river  till  the  iiilling  evening  warned  us  to 
retrace  our  stops,  and  we  returned  in  pelting  rain 
a.s  wo  sot  out,  and  in  Jiitchy  darkness,  witiiout 
meeting  any  me8.songcr  or  person  with  news  from 
the  battlo-ficld.  Late  at  night  the  White  House 
was  placed  in  deep  grief  by  tlio  intolligcnco  that 
in  addition  to  other  lo.sscs.  Brigadier  and  Senator 
Baker  of  California  was  killed.  The  President 
was  inconsolable,  and  walked  up  and  down  his 
room  for  hours  lamenting  the  loss  of  his  friend. 
Mrs.  Lincoln's  grief  was  equally  poignant.  Be- 
fore bedtime  I  told  the  German  landlord  to  tell  my 
servant  I  wanted  my  horse  round  at  seven  o'clock. 

October  23rd. — Up  at  six,  waiting  for  my  horse 
and  man.  At  eight  walked  down  to  stables.  No 
one  there.  At  nine  became  very  angry — sent 
messengers  in  all  directions.  At  ten  was  nearly 
furious,  when,  at  the  last  stroke  of  the  clock, 
James,  with  his  inexpressive  countenance,  per- 
fectly calm  nevertlu'less,  and  betraying  no  symp- 
tom of  solicitude,  appeared  at  the  door  leading 
my  charger.  "  And  may  I  ask  you  where  you 
have  been  till  this  time?"  "Wasn't  I  dressing 
the  horse,  taking  him  out  to  water,  and  exercising 
him."  "Good  heavens  I  did  I  not  tell  you  to  be 
here  at  seven  o'clock  ?"  "  No,  sir ;  Carl  told  me 
you  wanted  me  at  ten  o'clock,  and  here  I  am." 
"  Carl,  did  I  not  tell  you  to  ask  James  to  be 
round  here  at  seven  o'clock  ?"  "  Not  zeven  clock, 
_sere,  but  zehn  clock.  I  tell  him,  you  come  at 
"zehn  clock."  Thus  at  one  blow  was  I  stricken 
down  by  Gaul  and  Teuton,  each  of  whom  retired 
with  the  air  of  a  man  who  had  baffled  an  intended 
indignity,  and  had  achieved  a  triumph  over  a 
wrong-doer. 

The  roads  were  in  a  frightful  state  outside 
Washington — literally  nothing  but  canals,  in 
which  earth  and  water  were  mixed  together  for 
depths  varying  from  six  inches  to  three  feet  above 
the  surface ;  but  late  as  it  was  I  pushed  on,  and 
had  got  as  far  as  the  tlim  of  the  road  to  Rock- 
ville,  near  the  great  falls,  some  twelve  miles 
beyond  Washington,  when  I  met  an  officer  with 
a  couple  of  orderlies,  huriying  back  from  General 
Banks's  head-quarters,  who  told  me  the  whole 
affair  was  over,  and  that  I  could  not  possibly  get 
to  the  scene  of  action  on  one  horse  till  next 
morning,  even  supposing  that  I  pressed  on  all 
tlirough  the  night,  the  roads  being  utterly  villan- 
ou.s,  and  the  country  at  night  as  black  as  ink ; 
and  so  I  returned  to  Washington,  and  was  stopped 
by  citizens,  who  seeing  the  streaming  horse  and 
splashed  rider,  imagined  he  was  reeking  from  the 
fray,  "  As  you  were  not  there,"  says  one,  "  I'll 
tell  you  what  I  know  to  be  the  case.  Stone  and 
Baker  are  killed ;  Banks  and  all  the  other  gene- 
rals are  prisoners ;  the  Rhode  Island  and  two 
other  batteries  are  taken,  and  5000  Yankees  have 
been  sent  to  H —  to  help  old  John  Brown  to 
roast  niggers." 


Oi'loher  2  \lh  — The  lioavioHt  blow  which  Im.'j 
yet  been  inllictod  on  the  adininistratiun  orjiiHtice 
in  the  United  States,  and  that  is  saying  a  good 
deal  a^  pl-esont,  has  boon  givon  to  il  iti  Wiisliing- 
ton.  The  jmlgo  of  whom  I  wrolo  a  few  days 
ago  in  the  haheds  corpus  case,  has  boon  ii'accd 
undiT  military  arrest  and  surveillance  by  the 
Prii  istMarslial  of  the  city,  a  very  lit  man  for 
Hucii  work,  one  Colonel  Andrew  Porter.  Tlio 
Provost-Marshal  imprisoned  ilio  attorney  who 
served  the  writ,  and  thou  sent  a  guard  to  Mr. 
Merrick's  liouso,  who  thereupon  sent  a  minute  to 
his  brother  judges  the  day  before  yesterday  stat- 
ing the  circumslanc(!H,  in  order  to  .show  why  ho 
did  not  appear  in  his  place  on  the  bench.  The 
Chief  Judge  Dunlop  and  Judge  Morsell  there- 
upon issued  their  writ  to  Andrew  Porter  greeting, 
to  show  cause  why  an  attachment  tor  contempt 
should  not  be  issued  against  liim  for  his  treat- 
ment of  Judge  Morricic.  As  the  sharp  tonguos 
of  women  are  very  troublesome,  the  Unit('(l 
States  officers  have  quite  little  harems  of  <!aplives, 
and  Mrs.  Merrick  has  just  been  added  to  the 
number.  She  is  a  Wickliffe  of  Kentucky,  and 
has  a  right  to  martyrdom.  The .  inconsistencies 
of  the  Northern  people  multiply  ad  infiniium  as 
thoy  go  on.  Thus  at  Hattenis  they  enter  into 
terms  of  capitulation  with  officers  signing  them- 
selves of  the  Confederate  States  Army  and  (Jon- 
federate  States  Navy ;  elsewhere  thoy  exchange 
prisoners;  at  New  York  thoy  are  going  through 
the  farce  of  trying  the  crew  of  a  C.  S.  privateer, 
as  pirates  engaged  in  robbing  on  the  high  seas, 
on  "the  authority  of  a  pretended  letter  of  marque 
from  one  Jeffenson  Davis."  One  Jeff  Davis  is 
certainly  quite  enough  for  them  at  present. 

Colonel  and  Senator  Baker  was  honoured  by  a 
ceremonial  which  was  intended  to  be  a  public 
funeral,  rather  out  of  compliment  to  Mr.  Lincoln's 
feelings,  perhaps,  than  to  any  great  attachnunt 
for  the  man  himself,  who  fell  gallantly  fighting 
near  Leesburg.  There  is  need  for  a  republic  to 
contain  some  elements  of  an  aristocracy  if  it 
would  make  that  display  of  pomp  and  ceremony 
which  a  public  funeral  should  have  to  produce 
effect.  At  all  events  there  should  bo  some  prin- 
ciple of  reverence  in  the  heads  and  hearts  of  the 
people,  to  make  up  for  other  dcflciencies  in  it  aa 
a  show,  or  a  ceremony.  The  procession  down 
Pennsylvania  Avenue  was  a  tawdry,  shabby 
string  of  hack  carriages,  men  in  light  coats  and 
white  hats  following  the  hearse,  and  three  regi- 
ments of  foot  soldiers,  of  which  one  was  simply 
an  uncleanly,  unwholesome-looking  rabble.  The 
President,  in  his  carriage,  and  many  of  the  mini.s- 
ters  and  senators,  attended  also,  and  passed 
through  unsympathetic  hues  of  people  on  the 
kerbstones,  not  one  of  whom  raised  his  hat  to 
the  bier  as  it  passed,  or  to  the  President,  except 
a  couple  of  Englishmen  and  myself  who  stood  in 
the  crowd,  and  that  proceeding  on  our  part  gave 
rise  to  a  variety  of  remarks  among  the  bystanders. 
But  as  the  band  turned  into  Pennsylvania  Ave- 
nue, playing  something  like  the  minuet  de  la  cour 
in  Don  Giovanni,  two  officers  in  uniform  came 
riding  up  in  the  contrary  direction;  they  were 
smoking  cigars ;  one  of  them  let  his  fall  on  the 
ground,  the  other  smoked  lustily  as  the  hearse 
pas.sed,  and  reining  up  his  horse,  continued  to 
puff'  his  weed  under  the  nose  of  President,  minis- 
ters, and  senators,  with  tfie  air  of  a  man  who  waa 
doing  a  very  soldierly  correct  sort  of  thing. 


20i> 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTir. 


1, 


^1 


m 


Wliptlicr  tho  ProHidont  is  nia^ry  an  well  na 
grieved  iit  ilu>  loss  of  his  fiivonrito  or  not,  I  can- 
not iilllrrii,  but  lio  in  uHsurcdly  doin^  tliat  ternblo 
tliiiiK  wlilcli  is  railed  puttiii^;^  liis  foot  down  un 
tho  judgoH;  and  lio  luiH  inHiructi'd  Andrew  Tor- 
tor  not  to  mind  tiio  writ  itwuod  yosterday,  and 
liaM  lurtliiT  iuMtninted  the  United  StuleH  Manilial, 
wlio  \\tin  tii>>  writ  in  liiH  hands  to  Hcrvo  on  tho 
Buid  Andrew,  to  return  it  to  tiio  court  with  tho 
intbrniation  tliat  Abraham  Lincoln  has  HUHpended 
tlie  writ  of  luiheaa  corinu  in  ciwoa  relutiiiK  to  tho 
military. 

Odober  2<jth. — Moro  reviews.  To-duy  rather  a 
pretty  ni^^lit — 12  rei^iments,  10  guns,  and  a  few 
siiuads  of  men  witli  swords  and  pistols  on  liorso- 
bnelv,  called  cavalry,  comprising  Fitz-John  Por- 
ter's division.  MClollan  seemed  to  my  oyes  crest- 
fallen and  moody  to-day.  Lright  eyes  looked  on 
him ;  hu  is  getting  up  something  like  a  stiUI', 
ftmong  which  are  tho  young  French  princes,  un- 
der the  tutelage  of  their  undo,  tho  Prince  of  Join- 
ville.  Whilst  M'Clellan  is  reviewing,  our  Romans 
in  Wiishingtou  are  shivering;  for  tho  blockade  of 
tho  Potomac  by  the  Confederate  batteries  stops 
tho  fuel  boats.  Little  caro  theso  enthusiastic 
young  American  patriots  in  crinoline,  who  have 
como  to  see  M'Clellan  and  the  soldiers,  what  a 
cord  of  wcxjcl  costs.  Tho  lower  orders  are  very 
angry  about  it,  howevor.  The  nuisance  and  dis- 
order arising  from  soldiers,  drunk  and  sober,  rid- 
ing full  gallop  down  tho  streets,  and  as  fast  as 
they  can  round  tho  corners,  has  been  stopped,  by 
placing  mounted  sentries  at  tho  principal  points 
in  all  the  tiioroughfares.  The  "otticers''  were 
worse  than  the  men;  the  papers  this  week  con- 
tain tlio  account  of  two  accidents,  in  ono  of 
which  a  colonel,  in  another  a  major,  ./as  killed 
by  falls  from  horseback,  in  furious  riding  in  tho 
city. 

Forgetting  all  about  this  fact,  and  spurring 
homo  pretty  fast  along  an  unfrequented  road, 
leading  from  tho  ferry  at  Georgetown  into  tho 
city,  I  was  nearly  spitted  by  a  "  dragoon,"  who 
rode  at  me  from  under  cover  of  a  house,  and 
shouted  "stop"  just  as  his  sabre  was  witliin  a 
foot  of  my  head.  Fortunately  his  horse,  being 
aware  that  if  it  ran  against  mine  it  might  bo  in- 
jured, shied,  and  over  went  dragoon,  sabre  and 
all,  and  off  went  his  horse,  but  as  the  trooper  was 
able  to  run  after  it,  I  presume  ho  was  not  the 
worse;  and  T  went  on  my  way  rejoicing. 

M'Clellan  has  fallen  very  much  in  my  opinion 
since  the  Leesburg  disaster.  He  went  to  the  spot, 
and  with  a  little — nay,  tho  least — promptitude 
and  ability  could  have  turned  the  check  into  a 
successful  advance,  in  the  blaze  of  which  the 
earlier  repulse  would  have  been  forgotten.  It  is 
whispered  that  General  Stone,  who  ordered  the 
movement,  is  guilty  of  treason — a  common  crime 
of  unlucky  generals — at  all  events  he  is  to  be  dis- 
placed, and  will  bo  put  under  surveillance.  The 
orders  he  gave  are  certainly  very  strange. 

The  official  right  to  fib,  I  presume,  is  very  much 
the  same  all  over  the  world,  but  still  there  is  more 
dash  about  it  in  the  States,  I  think,  than  else- 
where. "Blockade  of  the  Potomac  I"  exclaims 
an  official  of  the  Navy  Department.  "  What  are 
you  talking  of?  The  Department  has  just  heard 
that  a  few  Confederates  have  been  practising  with 
a  few  light  fleld-pieces  from  the  banks,  and  has 
issued  orders  to  prevent  ft  in  the  future."  "  De- 
feat at  Leesburg  I"  cries  little  K ,  of  M'Clel- 


lan's  stall',  "nothing  of  tho  kind.  Wo  drove  tho 
ConfodoratoH  ut  all  points,  retained  our  position 
on  tho  right  bunk,  and  only  lell  it  when  wo 
pleased,  having  whipped  tho  enemy  ho  wvercly 
they  never  Hliowcd  since."  "Any  news,  Mr. 
Cosh,  in  tho  Treasury  to-day?"  "Nothing,  sir, 
except  that  Mr.  IJhaso  is  highly  pleased  with 
everything;  he's  only  afraid  of  having  too  much 
money,  and  being  troubled  with  his  balances." 
'•The  State  Deparlmont  all  right,  Mr.  Protocol'?" 
"My  dear  sir  I  delighttul!  with  everybody,  best 
terms.  Mr.  Seward  and  the  Count  are  managing 
delightfully;  most  friendly  assurancoH;  Guute- 
mala  particularly ;  yes,  and  Franco  too.  Yes,  I 
may  say  Franco  too;  no«  the  smallest  difficulty 
at  Honduras;  altogether,  with  the  aH.surances  of 
support  wo  are  getting,  tho  Minister  thinks  tho 
whole  all'air  will  bo  settled  in  thirty,  days;  uj 
joking,  I  assure  you;  thirty  days  this  time  posi- 
tively. Say  for  exactness  on  or  about  Dccomber 
Gth."  Tho  canvas-backs  are  coming  in,  and  I  am 
off  for  a  day  or  two  to  escape  reviews  and  abuse, 
and  to  see  something  of  the  famous  wild-fowl 
shooting  on  the  Chesapeake. 

October  27th. — Alter  church,  I  took  a  long 
walk  round  by  the  commissariat  waggons,  where 
there  is,  I  think,  as  much  dirt,  bad  language, 
cruelty  to  animals,  and  waste  of  public  money, 
as  can  bo  conceived.  Let  mo  at  once  declare  my 
opinion  that  the  Americans,  generally,  are  ex- 
ceedingly kind  to  their  cattle;  but  there  is  a 
hybrid  race  of  ruffianly  waggoners  hero,  subject 
to  no  law  or  discipline,  and  tho  barbarous  treat- 
ment inflicted  on  tho  transport  animals  is  too  bad 
even  for  the  most  unruly  of  mules.  I  mentioned 
the  circumstance  to  General  M 'Do well,  who  told 
me  that  by  tho  laws  of  tho  United  States  there 
was  no  power  to  enlist  a  man  for  commissariat  or 
transport  duty. 

October  28th. — Telegraphed  to  my  friend  at 
Baltimorp  that  I  was  ready  for  the  ducks.  Tho 
Legation  going  to  Mr.  Kortwright's  marriage  at 
Philadelphia.  Started  with  Lamy  at  6  o'clock 
for  Baltimore;  to  Gilmore  House;  thence  to 
club.  Every  person  present  said  that  in  my 
letter  on  Maryland  I  had  understated  tho  ques- 
tion, as  far  as  Southern  sentiments  were  con- 
cerned. In  the  club,  for  example,  there  are  not 
six  Union  men  at  the  outside.  General  Dix  has 
fortified  Federal  Hill  very  efficiently,  and  the 
heights  over  Fort  McHenry  are  bristling  with 
cannons,  and  display  formidable  earthworks ;  it 
seems  to  bo  admitted  that,  but  for  the  action  of 
the  Washington  Government,  tho  Legislature 
would  pass  an  ordinance  of  Secession,  Gilmore 
House — old-fashioned,  good  bed-rooms.  Scnrcoly 
had  I  arrived  in  the  passage,  than  a  man  ran  off 
with  a  paragraph  to  the  papers  that  Dr.  Russell 
had  come  for  the  purpose  of  duck-shooting ;  and, 
hearing  that  I  was  going  with  Taylor,  put  in  that 
I  was  going  to  Taylor's  Ducking  Shore.  It  ap- 
pears that  there  are  considerable  numbers  of  these 
duck  clubs  in  the  neighbourhood  of  Baltimore. 
The  canvas-back  ducks  have  come  in,  but  they 
will  not  bo  in  perfection  until  the  10th  of  No- 
vember ;  their  peculiar  flavour  is  derived  from  a 
water-plant  called  wild  celery.  This  lies  at  the 
depth  of  several  feet,  sometimes  nine  or  ten,  and 
the  birds  dive  for  it. 

October  29th. — At  ten  started  for  the  shooting 
ground,  Carroll's  Island;  my  companion,  Mr. 
Pennington,  drove  me  in  a  light  trap,  and  Mr. 


<' 


■-iaaaasT' 


>S9Bei 


MY  DIARY  NORTn  AND  SOUTIL 


209 


I  drove  tho 
ir  poiiitioii 

wlii'ii  wo 
lo  Hovoroly 
iioWH,  Mr. 
:)tliin^,  Hir, 
)aHud  witli 
<  too  much 

bulaneos." 
I'rotocol '/" 
•body,  boHt 
)  iiiuiingiug 
)s;  Uuute- 
)o.  Yon,  I 
it  dilliculty 
luruiices  of 
thiiikfl  tlio 
.  days ;   .1  j 

tiinu  poHi- 
t  Decoinbor 
X  and  I  am 
and  abuse, 
9  wild-fowl 

3ok  a  long 
^ons,  where 
1  lauKuago, 
)lic  nu)ney, 

declare  my 
lly,  are  ex- 

tiiere  ia  a 
lero,  subject 
arous  trent- 
Is  is  too  bad 
[  mentioned 
11,  wlio  told 
States  there 
mi&sariat  or 

friend  at 
ucks.     Tho 
marriage  at  . 
6  o'clock 
thence  to 
hat  in  my 
the  ques- 
were  con- 
lere  are  not 
ral  Dix  has 
and  tlie 
stling  with 
hworka;  it 
le  action  of 
Legislature 
Gilmore 
Scnrcoly 
nan  ran  off 
Dr.  Russell 
Jting;  and, 
put  in  that 
)re.     It  ap- 
ers  of  these 
Baltimore, 
n,  but  they 
0th  of  No- 
ved  from  a 
lies  at  the 
or  ten,  and 

16  shooting 
anion,  Mr. 
p,  and  Mr. 


Taylor  and  Latny  catno  with  Mr.  Tucker  (yarroll,* 
along  with  giniH,  Ac.  rasscd  out  towards  th 
Ben,  a  lotig  height  commanding  n  tine  view  of  tho 
river ;  near  this  was  forght  tlio  battle  witli  tlio 
English,  at  which  tlio  "  Uultimoro  defeiidorH'  ad- 
mit they  ran  away.  Mr.  Pennington's  fatiier 
says  ho  can  answer  for  the  speed  of  himself  and 
ills  companions,  but  still  the  battle  was  thougiit 
to  bo  glorious.  Along  the  posting  road  to  Phila- 
dolpliiii,  passed  tho  Bluo  Ball  Tavern ;  on  all 
sides  except  the  left,  groat  wooded  lagoons  visi- 
ble, Hwarmitig  with  ducks;  boats  are  forbidden 
to  (Ire  upon  tho  birds,  which  are  allured  by 
wooden  decoys.  Crossed  the  Philadelphia  Rail- 
way three  times ;  land  poor,  covered  with  undcr- 
frowths  and  simill  trees,  given  up  to  Dutch  and 
rish  and  free  niggers.  Reached  tho  duck-club- 
house in  two  hours  and  a  half;  substantial  farm- 
house, with  out-offlcos,  on  a  strip  of  land  sur- 
rounded by  water ;  Qu'.ipowdor  River,  Saltpetro 
River,  facing  Chosapoako ;  on  either  side  lakes 
and  tidal  water ;  tho  owner.  Slater,  an  Irishmaii, 
reputed  very  rich,  aolf-mado.  Dinner  at  one 
o'clock;    any    number   of  cnnvas-back   ducks, 

Jilontiful  joints ;  drink  whisky ;  company.  Swan, 
loward,  Duval,  Morris,  and  others,  also  extra- 
ordinary specimen  named  Smitli,  bclioved  never 
to  wash  except  in  rain  or  by  occidental  sousing 
In  the  river.  Went  out  for  afternoon  shooting ; 
birds  wide  and  high ;  killed  sevoatoon ;  back  to 
Buppor  at  dusk.  M 'Donald  and  a  guitar  came 
over ;  had  a  negro  dance ;  and  so  to  bed  about 
twelve.  Lamy  got  single  bed ;  I  turned  in  with 
Taylor,  as  single  beds  are  not  permitted  when 
the  house  is  full. 

October  80th. — A  light,  a  grim  man,  and  a  voice 
in  the  room  at  4  a.m.  awaken  me ;  I  am  up  first ; 
breakfast ;  more  duck,  eggs,  meat,  mighty  cakes, 
milk;  to  the  gun-house,  already  hung  with  ducks, 
and  then  tramp  to  the  "  blinds"  with  Smith,  who 
talked  of  the  Ingines  and  wild  sports  in  far 
Minnesota.  As  morning  breaks,  very  red  and 
lovely,  dark  visions  and  long  streaky  clouds  ap- 
pear, skimming  along  from  bay  or  river.  The 
men  in  the  blinds,  which  are  square  enclosures 
of  reeds  about  4^  feet  high,  call  out  "Bay," 
"  River,"  according  to  the  direction  from  which 
the  ducks  are  coming.  Down  we  go  in  blinds ; 
they  come ;  puffs  of  smoke,  a  bang,  a  volley ; 
one  bird  falls  with  flop;  another  by  degrees 
drops,  and  at  last  smites  the  sea ;  there  are  five 
down :  in  go  the  dogs.  "  Who  shot  that  ?"  "  I 
did."  "Who  killed  this?"  "That's  Tucker's  I" 
"  A  good  shot."  "  I  don't  know  how  I  missed 
mine."  Same  thing  again.  The  ducks  fly  pro- 
•iigious  heights— out  of  all  range  one  would 
think.  It  is  exciting  when  the  cloud  does  rise  at 
first.  Day  voted  very  bad.  Thence  I  move 
homeward ;  talk  with  Mr.  Slater  till  the  trap  is 
ready;  and  at  twelve  or  so,  drive  over  to  Mr. 
M'Donald ;  find  Lamy  and  Swan  there ;  miserable 
shed  of  two-roomed  shanty  in  a  marsh ;  rough 
deal  presses;  white-washed  walls;  fiddler  in 
attendance ;  dinner  of  ducks  and  steak ;  whisky, 
and  thence  proceed  to  a  blind  or  marsh,  amid' 
wooden  decoys ;  but  there  is  no  use ;  no  birds ; 
high  tide  flooding  everything;  examined  M 'Do- 
nald's stud ;  knocked  to  pieces  trotting  on  hard 
ground.  Rowed  back  to  house  with  Mr.  Pen- 
nington, and  returned  to  the  mansion ;  all  the 

•  Since  killed  in  action  fighting  for  the  South  at 
Antletam. 

0 


party  hud  but  poor  sport ;  but  every  one  had 
killed  something.  Drew  lots  for  bed,  and  won 
this  time;  Lamy,  however,  would  not  sleep 
double,  and  reposed  on  a  hard  sofa  in  tlio  jiar- 
lour;  indications  favourable  for  ducks.  It  was 
curious,  in  the  early  morning,  to  hear  tho  inces- 
sant booming  of  duck-guns,  along  all  tho  creeks 
and  coves  of  the  indented  bays  and  salt-water 
marshes;  and  one  could  toll  when  they  wore 
fired  at  decoys,  or  were  directed  against  birds  in 
tho  air;  heard  a  salute  fired  at  Baltimore  very 
distinctly.  Lamy  and  Mr.  M'Donald  met  in  their 
voyoge  up  tho  Nile,  to  kill  ennui  and  spend 
money. 

October  S\ at. — No,  no,  Mr.  Smith;  it  ain't  of 
no  use.  At  four  a.m.  we  were  invited,  as  usual, 
to  rise,  but  Taylor  and  I  reasoned  from  under  our 
respective  quilts,  that  it  would  be  quite  as  good 
shooting  if  wo  got  up  at  six,  and  I  acted  in  ac- 
cordance with  that  view.  Breakfasted  as  the  sun 
was  shining  above  tho  troo-tops,  and  to  my  blind 
— found  there  was  no  shooting  at  all — got  one 
shot  only,  and  killed  a  splendid  canvas-back — on 
returning  to  homo,  found  nearly  all  the  party  on 
the  move — 140  ducks  hanging  round  the  house, 
the  reward  of  our  toils,  and  of  these  I  received 
egregious  share.  Drove  back  with  Pennington, 
very  sleepy,  followed  by  Mr.  Taylor  and  Lamy. 
I  would  have  stayed  longer  if  sport  wore  better. 
Birds  don't  fly  when  tho  wind  is  in  certain  points, 
but  lie  out  in  great  "  ricks,"  as  they  are  called, 
blackening  tho  waters,  drifting  in  the  wind,  or 
with  wings  covering  their  heads — poor  defence- 
less things !  The  red-head  waits  alongside  the 
canvas-back  till  ho  comes  up  from  the  depths 
with  mouth  or  bill  full  of  parsley  and  wild  colery, 
when  ho  makes  at  him  and  forces  him  to  dis- 
gorge. At  Baltimore  at  1.30 — dined — Lamy  re- 
solved to  stay — bade  good-bye  to  Swan  and 
Morris.  Tho  man  at  first  would  not  take  my 
ducks  and  boots  to  register  or  check  them — 
twenty-five  cents  did  it.  I  arrived  at  Washing- 
ton late,  because  of  detention  of  train  by  enor- 
mous transport ;  labelled  and  sent  out  game  to 
the  houses  till  James's  fingers  ached  again.  No- 
thing doing,  except  that  General  Scott  has  at 
last  sent  in  resignation.  M'Clellan  is  now  in- 
deed master  of  tho  situation.  And  so  to  bed, 
rather  tired. 


CHAPTER  LVIIL 

General  Bcott's  resignation— MrB.  A.  Lincoln— Unoflflclal 
mission  to  Europe — Uneasy  feeling  with  regard  to 
Franco— Ball  given  by  tho  United  States  cavalry— 
The  United  States  army— Success  at  Beaufort — Arrests 
— Dinner  at  Mr.  Seward's — News  of  Captain  Wlllces 
and  the  Trent — Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell — Discussion 
as  to  Wilkes — Prince  de  Joinvillo — Tho  American  Press 
on  the  Trent  alTair— Absence  of  thieves  in  Washington 
-"Thanksgiving  Day"— Success  thus  far  in  favour  of 
the  North. 

November  Isi. — Again  stagnation;  not  the 
smallest  intention  of  moving;  General  Scott's 
resignation,  of  which  I  was  aware  long  ago,  in 
publicly  known,  and  he  is  about  to  go  to  Europe, 
and  end  his  days  probably  in  France.  M'Clellan 
takes  his  place,  minus  the  large  salary.  Riding 
back  from  camp,  where  I  had  some  trouble  with 
a  drunken  soldier,  my  horse  came  down  in  a 
dark  hole,  and  threw  mo  heavily,  so  that  my  hat 
was  crushed  in  on  my  head,  and  my  right  thumb 
sprained,  but  I  managed  to  get  up  and  ride  home ; 


i***""****^      il 


210 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


A 


for  tho  brute  had  fallen  right  on  hia  own  head, 
cut  a  piece  out  of  hia  forehead  between  the  eyea, 
and  waa  stunned  too  much  to  rui:  away,  I  found 
lettera  waiting  from  Mr.  Seward  and  otliers, 
tlianking  mo  for  the  game,  if  canvaa-backa  come 
under  the  title. 

November  2nd. — A  tremendoua  gale  of  wind 
and  rain  blew  all  day,  and  caused  much  uneasi- 
ness, at  the  Navy  Department  and  elaewhere,  for 
the  safety  of  the  Burnaido  expedition.  The  Se- 
cessionists are  delighted,  and  those  who  can,  aay 
"Afflavit  Deua  et  hostes  dissipantur."  There  is 
a  project  to  send  secret  non-official  commiasionera 
to  Europe,  to  counteract  tho  machinations  of  the 
Confederates.  Mr.  Everett,  Mr.  R.  Kennedy, 
Bishop  Hughea,  and  Biahop  Milwaine  are  desig- 
nated for  the  office ;  much  ia  expected  from  the 
expedition,  not  only  at  home  but  abroad. 

November  3rd. — For  some  reason  or  another,  a 
certain  set  of  papers  have  lately  taken  to  flatter 
Mrs.  Lincoln  in  the  most  noisome  manner,  whilst 
otliers  deal  in  dark  insinuations  against  her  loyal- 
ty. Union  principles,  and  honesty.  The  poor  lady 
ia  loyal  iis  steel  to  her  family  and  to  Lincoln  the 
firat ;  but  she  ia  acceasible  to  the  influence  of  flat- 
tery, and  has  permitted  her  society  to  be  infested 
by  men  who  would  not  be  received  in  any 
respectable  private  house  in  New  York.  The 
gentleman  who  furnishes  fashionable  paragraphs 
for  the  Washington  paper  has  some  charming  lit- 
tle pieces  of  gossip  about  "  the  first  Lady  in  the 
Land  "  this  week ;  ho  ia  doubtless  the  aame  who, 
some  weeka  back,  chronicled  the  detaila  of  a  raid 
on  the  piga  in  the  atreets  by  the  police,  and  who 
concluded  thua :  "  We  cannot  but  congratulate 
Officer  Smith  on  the  very  gentlemanly  manner  in 
which  he  performed  his  disagreeable  but  arduous 
duties ;  nor  did  it  escape  our  notice,  that  Officer 
Washington  Jones  was  likewise  active  and  ener- 
getic in  the  discharge  of  his  functions." 

The  ladles  in  Washington  delight  to  hear  or  to 
invent  small  scandals  connected  with  the  White 
House ;  thua  it  ia  reported  that  the  Scotch  gar- 
dener left  by  Mr.  Buchanan  has  been  made  a 
lieutenant  in  the  United  Statea  Army,  and  haa 
been  specially  detached  to  do  duty  at  the  White 
House,  where  he  superintends  the  cooking. 
Another  person  connected  with  the  establishment 
was  made  Commissioner  of  Public  Buildings,  but 
was  dismissed  because  he  would  not  put  down 
the  expense  of  a  certain  state  dinner  to  the  pub- 
hv-  account,  and  charge  it  under  the  head  of  "  Im- 
provement to  the  Grounds."  But  many  more 
better  tales  than  these  go  round,  and  it  ia  not  sur- 
prising if  a  woman  is  now  and  then  put  under 
close  arrest,  or  sent  off  to  Fort  M'Henry  for  too 
much  esprit  and  inventiveness. 

November  4<A. — General  Fremont  will  certainly 
be  recalled.  There  is  not  the  amalleat  incident  to 
note. 

November  5th. — Small  banquets,  very  simple  and 
tolerably  social,  are  the  order  of  the  day  as  winter 
closes  around  us ;  the  country  haa  become  too 
deep  in  mud  for  pleasant  excursions,  and  at  times 
the  weather  ia  raw  and  cold.  General  M'Dowell, 
who  dined  with  ua  to-day,  maintaina  there  will 
be  no  difficulty  in  advancing  during  bad  weather, 
because  the  men  are  ao  expert  in  felling  treea, 
they  can  make  oorduroy  roads  wherever  they 
like.  I  own  the  arguments  surprised  but  did  not 
convince  me,  and  I  think  the  General  will  find 
out  his  mistake  when  the    time    comea.    Mr. 


Everett,  whom  I  had  dApected,  waa  summoned 
away  by  the  unexpected  intelligence  of  hia  son's 
death,  so  I  missed  tho  opportunity  of  seeing  one 
whom  I  much  desired  to  have  met,  as  the  great 
Apostle  of  Washington  worship,  in  addition  to  his 
claims  to  higher  distinction.  He  haa  admitted 
that  the  only  bond  which  can  hold  the  Union 
together  ia  tlie  common  belief  in  the  greatness  of 
the  departed  general. 

November  6th.  —  Instead  of  Mr.  Everett  and 
Mr.  Johnson,  Mr.  Thurlow  Weed  and  Bishop 
Hughea  will  pay  a  visit  to  Europe  in  the  Federal 
interests.  Notwithstanding  the  adulation  of 
everything  French,  from  tiie  Emperor  down  to  a 
Zouave's  gaiter,  in  the  New  York  press  there  ia 
an  uneasy  feeling  respecting  the  intentions  of 
France,  founded  on  the  notion  that  the  Emperor 
ia  not  very  friendly  to  the  Federalists,  and  would 
be  little  disposed  to  expoao  his  subjects  to  priva- 
tion and  suffering  from  the  scarcity  of  cotton  and 
tobacco  if,  by  intervention,  he  could  avert  such 
misfortunes.  The  inactivity  of  M'Clellau,  which 
is  not  understood  by  the  people,  hqs  created  an 
1  '  .er-current  of  unpopularity,  to  which  hia 
enemiea  are  giving  every  possible  strength,  and 
some  people  are  beginning  to  think  the  youthful 
Napoleon  ia  only  a  Brummagem  Bonr.parte. 

November  1th, — After  such  bad  Aveather,  the 
Indian  summer,  Vete  de  St.  Martin,  is  coming 
gradually,  lighting  up  the  ruins  of  the  autumn's 
foliage  atill  clinging  to  the  trees,  giving  us  pure, 
bright,  warm  days,  and  sunsets  of  extraordinary 
loveliness.  Drove  out  to  Bladensburgh  with 
Captain  Haworth,  and  discovered  that  my  wag- 
gon waa  intended  to  go  on  to  Richmond  and 
never  to  turn  back  or  round,  for  no  roads  in  this 
part  of  the  country  are  wide  enough  for  the  pur- 
pose. Dined  at  the  Legation,  and  in  the  evening 
went  to  a  grand  ball,  given  by  the  6th  United 
States  Cavalry  in  the  Poc  r  llouse  near  their 
camp,  about  two  miles  outride  the  city. 

The  ball  took  place  in  a  series  of  small  white- 
washed rooms  off  long  passages  and  corridors ; 
many  supper  tables  were  spread ;  whisky,  cham- 
pagne, hot  terrapin  soup,  and  many  luxuries 
graced  the  board ;  and  although  but  two  or  three 
couple  could  dance  in  each  room  at  a  time,  by 
judicious  arrangement  of  the  music  several  rooms 
were  served  at  once.  The  Duke  of  Chartrea,  in 
the  uniform  of  a  United  Statea  Captain  of  Staff, 
waa  among  the  guests,  and  had  to  share  the 
ordeal  to  which  strangers  were  exposed  by  tho 
hospitable  entertainers,  of  drinking  with  them 
all.  Some  called  him  *'  Chatters  " — others,  "Cap- 
tain Chatters;"  but  these  were  of  the  outside 
poUoi,  wlio  cannot  be  kept  out  on  such  occasions, 
and  wh6  shake  hands  and  are  familiar  with  every- 
body. 

Tlie  Duke  took  it  all  exceedingly  well,  and 
laughed  with  the  loudest  in  the  company.  Alto- 
gether the  ball  was  a  great  success — somewhat 
marred  indeed  in  my  own  case  by  the  bad  taste 
of  one  of  the  officers  of  the  regiment  which  had 
invited  me,  in  adopting  an  offensive  manner 
when  about  to-  be  introduced  to  me  by  one  of 
hia  brother  officera.  Colonel  Emory,  the  officer 
in  command  of  the  regiment,  interfered,  and, 
finding  that  Captain  A waa  not  sober,  order- 
ed him  to  retire.  Another  amall  contretemps  waa 
caused  by  the  master  of  tho  Work  House,  who 
had  been  indi'lglng  at  least  as  freely  as  the  cap- 
tain, and  at  last  began  to  fancy  that  the  paupers 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


Jll 


'as  summoned 
ce  of  his  son's 
of  seeing  one 
;,  as  the  great 
addition  to  hia 
has  admitted 
3ld  the  Union 
le  greatness  of 

•.  Everett  and 
i  and  Bishop 
in  the  Fedenil 
adulation  of 
3ror  down  to  a 
press  there  is 
I  intentions  of 
t  the  Emperor 
sts,  and  would 
)jocts  to  priva- 
^  of  cotton  and 
aid  avert  such 
Clellau,  which 
iqs  created  an 
to  which  his 
)  strength,  and 
ik  the  youthful 
oiinparte. 

1  weather,  the 
tin,  is  coming 
if  the  autumn's 
giving  us  pure, 
■  extraordinary 
ensburgh  with 

that  my  wag- 
Richmond  and 
10  roads  in  this 
gh  for  the  pur- 
i  in  the  evening 
the  6th  United 
ise  near  their 

city, 
small  white- 

and  corridors ; 
whisky,  cham- 
many  luxuries 
lut  two  or  three 
3  at  a  time,  by 

2  several  rooms 
of  Ghartres,  in 
aptain  of  Staff, 

to  share  the 
xposed  by  tho 
ng  with  them 
—others,  "Cap- 
of  the  outside 
such  occasions, 
har  with  every- 

igly  well,  and 
mpany.  Alto- 
;8S — somewhat 

the  bad  taste 
ent  which  had 
jnsive  manner 

me  by  one  of 
)ry,  tho  officer 
nterfered,  and, 
)t  sober,  order- 
onireteriips  was 
rk  House,  who 
lely  as  the  cap- 

at  the  paupers 


had  broken  loose  and  were  dancing  about  afler 
hours  below  stairs.  In  vain  he  was  led  away 
and  incarcerated  in  one  room  after  another ;  his 
intimate  knowledge  of  the  architectural  difTiculties 
of  tlie  bu.lding  enabled  liim  to  sot  all  precautions 
at  deflan.  J,  and  he  might  bo  seen  at  intervals 
flying  along  tho  passages  towards  the  music, 
pursued  by  the  officers,  until  ho  was  finally 
secured  in  a  dungeon  without  a  window,  and 
with  a  bolted  and  locked  door  betwetn  him  and 
the  ball-rooms. 

Novembei-  8th. — Colonel  Emory  made  us  laugh 
this  morning  by  an  account  of  our  Aiiiphytrion  of 
the  night  before,  who  came  to  him  witli  a  very  red 
eye  and  curious  expression  of  face  to  congratulate 
the  regiment  on  the  success  of  the  ball  "  The 
most  beautiful  thing  of  all  was,"  said  he, — "  Colo- 
nel, I  did  not  see  one  gentleman  or  lady  who  had 
taken  too  much  liquor ;  there  was  not  a  drunken 
man  in  the  whole  company."  I  consulted  my 
friends  at  tho  Legation  with  respect  to  our  ine- 
briated officer,  on  whoso  behalf  Colonel  Emory 
tendered  his  own  apologies;  but  they  were  of 
opinion  I  had  done  all  that  was  right  and  becom- 
ing in  the  matter,  and  that  I  must  take  no  more 
notice  of  it. 

November  Qth. — Colonel  Wilmot,  R.  A.,  who 
has  come  down  from  Canada  to  see  the  army, 
spent  the  day  with  Captain  Dahlgren  at  tlie 
Navy  Yard,  and  returned  with  impressions  fa- 
vourable to  the  system.  He  agrees  with  Dahl- 
gren, who  is  dead  against  breech-loading,  but 
admits  Armstrong  has  done  the  most  that  can  be 
effected  with  the  system.  Colonel  Wilmot  avers 
tho  English  press  are  responsible  for  the  Arm- 
strong guns.  He  has  been  much  struck  by  the 
excellence  of  the  great  iron-works  he  has  visited 
in  t'le  States,  particularly  tliat  of  Mr.  Sellers,  in 
Philadelphia. 

November  10th. — Visiting  Mr.  Mure  the  other 
day,  who  was  still  an  invalid  at  Washington,  I 
met  a  gentleman  named  Maury,  who  liad  come  to 
Washington  to  see  after  a  portmanteau  v.iiicli  had 
been  taken  from  him  on  the  Canadian  frontier  by 
the  police.  He  was  told  to  go  to  tho  State  De- 
partment and  claim  his  property,  and  on  arriving 
there  was  arrested  and  confined  with  a  number 
of  prisoners,  my  horse-dealing  friend,  Sammy 
Wroe,  among  tliem.  We  walked  down  to  inquire 
how  he  was  ;  the  soldier  who  was  on  duty  gave 
a  flourishing  account  of  him — he  had  plenty  of 
■whiskey  and  food,  and,  said  the  man,  "  I  quite 
feel  for  Maury,  because  he  does  business  in  my 
State."  These  State  influences  must  be  over- 
come, or  no  Union  will  ever  hold  together. 

Sir  James  Ferguson  and  Mr.  Bourke  w^re 
rather  shocked  wlien  Mr.  Seward  opened  tho 
letters  from  persons  in  the  South  to  friends  in 
Europe,  of  which  they  had  taken  charge,  and  cut 
some  passages  out  with  a  scissors ;  but  a  Minis- 
ter who  combines  the  functions  of  Chief-of- Police 
with  those  of  Secretary  of  State  must  do  such 
tilings  now  and  then. 

November  lli/i.— The  United  States  have  now, 
according  to  the  returns,  600,000  infantry,  600 
pieces  of  artillery,  61,000  cavalry  in  the  field,  and 
yet  they  are  not  only  unable  to  crush  the  Confe- 
derates, but  they  cannot  conquer  the  Secession 
ladies  in  their  capital.  The  Southern  people  here 
trust  in  a  break-down  in  the  North  before  the 
screw  can  be  turned  to  the  utmost ;  and  assert 
that  the  South  does  not  want  corn,  wheat,  leather, 


or  food.  Georgia  makes  cloth  enough  for  all — 
the  only  deficiency  will  be  in  metal  and  materiel 
of  war.  When  the  North  comes  to  discuss  the 
question  whether  the  war  is  to  be  against  slavery 
or  for  tho  Union,  leaving  slavery  to  take  care  of 
itself,  they  think  a  split  will  be  inevitable.  Tlien 
the  pressure  of  taxes  will  force  on  a  solution,  for 
the  State  taxes  already  amount  to  2  to  a  per 
cent ,  and  the  people  will  not  bear  the  addition. 
Tlie  North  has  set  out  with  the  principle  of  pay- 
ing for  everything,  the  South  with  the  principle 
of  paying  for  nothing ;  but  this  will  be  reversed 
in  time.  All  the  diplomatists,  with  one  excep- 
tion, are  of  opinion  the  Union  is  broken  for  ever, 
and  the  independence  of  the  South  virtually 
established. 

November  \2lh. — An  irruption  of  dirty  little 
boys  in  the  streets  shouting  out,  "  Glorious  Union 
victory  1  Charleston  taken  1"  The  story  is  that 
Bumside  has  landed  nnd  reduced  the  forts  defend- 
ing Port  Royal.  I  mv.t  Mr.  Fox,  Assistant-SecTe- 
tary  to  the  Navy,  and  Mr.  Hay,  Secretary  to  Mr. 
Lincoln,  in  the  Avenue.  The  former  showed 
me  Burnside's  despatches  from  Beaufort,  announc- 
ing reduction  of  the  Confederate  batteries  by  the 
ships  and  tiie  establishment  of  the  Federals  on 
tlie  skirts  of  Port  Royal.  Dined  at  Lord  Lyons', 
wliere  were  Mr.  Chase,  Major  Palmer,  U.S.E.,  and 
his  wife,  Colonel  and  Mrs.  Emory,  Professor 
Henry  and  his  daughter,  Mr.  Kennedy  and  his 
daughter.  Colonel  Wilmot  and  the  Englisliry  of 
Washington.  I  had  a  long  conversation  with 
Mr.  Chase,  who  is  still  sanguine  that  the  war 
must  speedily  terminate.  The  success  at  Beau- 
fort has  made  him  radiant,  and  he  told  me  that 
the  Federal  General  Nelson  * — who  is  no  other 
than  the  enormous  blustering,  boasting  lieutenant 
in  the  navy  whom  I  met  at  Washington  on  my 
first  arrival — has  gained  an  immense  victory  in 
Kentucky,  killing  and  capturing  a  whole  army 
and  its  generals. 

A  strong  Government  •w'll  be  the  end  of  the 
struggle,  but  before  they  come  to  it  there  must 
be  a  complete  change  of  administration  and  inter- 
nal economy.  Indeed,  the  Secretary  of  tlie 
Treasury  candidly  admitted  that  the  expenses  of 
the  war  were  enormous,  and  could  not  go  on  at 
the  present  rate  very  long.  Tho  men  are  paid 
too  highly ;  every  one  is  paid  too  much.  The 
scale  is  adapted  to  a  small  army  not  very  popu- 
lar, in  a  country  where  labour  is  very  well  paid, 
and  competition  is  necessary  to  obtain  recruits  at 
all.  He  has  never  disguised  his  belief  the  South 
might  have  been  left  to  go  at  first,  with  a  cer- 
tainty of  their  return  to  the  L^nion. 

November  I'ith. — Mr.  Charles  Green,  who  was 
my  host  at  Savannah,  and  Mr.  Low,  of  the  same 
city,  have  been  arrested  and  sent  to  Fort  Warren. 
Dining  with  Mr.  Seward,  I  heard  accidentally 
that  Mrs.  Low  had  also  been  arrested,  but  was 
now  liberated.  The  sentiment  of  dislike  towards 
PJngland  is  uicreasing,  because  English  subjects 
have  assisted  the  South  by  smuggling  and  nm- 
ning  the  blockade.  "It  is  strange,"  said  Mr. 
Seward  the  other  day,  "  that  this  great  free  and 
civilized  Union  should  bo  silpported  by  Germans, 
coming  here  semi-civilized  or  half-savage,  who 
plunder  and  destroy  as  if  they  were  living  in  the 
days  of  Agricola,  whilst  the  English  are  the 
great  smugglers  who  support  our  enemies  in 

*  Since  shot  dead  by  the  Federal  General  Jeff.  C.  Davis 
In  a  quarrel  at  NoshTille. 


213 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


their  rebellion."  I  reminded  him  that  the  United 
States  flag  had  covered  the  smugglers  who 
carried  guns  and  materiel  of  war  to  Russia, 
although  they  were  at  peace  with  France  and 
England,  "Yes,  but  then,"  said  he,  "that  was 
a  legitimate  contest  between  great  established 
powers,  and  I  admit,  though  I  lament  the  fact, 
that  the  public  sympathy  iu  this  country  ran  with 
Russia  during  that  war."  The  British  public 
have  a  right  to  their  sympathies  too,  and  the 
Government  can  scarcely  help  it  if  private  indi- 
viduals aid  the  South  on  their  own  responsibility. 
In  future,  British  subjects  will  be  indicted  instead 
of  being  sent  to  Fort  La  Fayette.  Mr.  Seward 
feels  keenly  the  attacks  in  the  New  York  Tribune 
on  him  for  ajbitrary  arrests,  and  representations 
have  been  made  to  Mr.  Greeley  privately  on  the 
subject ;  nor  is  he  indifferent  to  similar  English 
criticisms. 

General  M'Dowell  asserts  there  is  no  nation  in 
the  world  whose  censure  or  praise  the  people  of 
the  United  States  care  about  except  England, 
and  with  respect  to  her  there  is  a  morbid  sensi- 
tiveness which  can  neither  be  explained  nor 
justified. 

It  is  admitted,  indeed,  by  Americans  whose 
opinions  are  valuable,  that  the  popular  feeling 
was  in  favour  of  Russia  during  the  Crimean  war. 
Mr.  Raymond  attributes  the  circumstance  to  the 
influence  of  the  large  Irish  element ;  but  I  am 
inclined  to  believe  it  is  partly  due  at  least  to  the 
feeling  of  rivalry  and  dislike  to  Great  Britain,  in 
which  the  mass  of  the  American  people  are  trained 
by  their  early  education,  and  also  in  some  mea- 
sure to  the  notion  that  Russia  was  unequally 
matched  in  the  contest. 

November  14:ih. — Rode  to  cavalry  camp,  and 
sat  in  front  of  Colonel  Emory's  tent  with  General 
Stoneman,  who  is  chief  of  the  cavalry,  and  Cap- 
tain Pleasanton ;  heard  interesting  anecdotes  of  the 
wild  life  on  the  frontiers,  and  of  bushranging  in 
California,  of  lassoing  bulls  and  wild  horses  and 
buffaloes,  and  encounters  with  grizly  bears — 
interrupted  by  a  one-armed  man,  who  came  to 
the  Colonel  for  "  leave  to  take  away  George." 
He  spoke  of  his  brother  who  had  died  in  camp, 
and  for  whose  body  he  had  come,  metallic  coffin 
and  all,  to  carry  it  back  to  his  parents  in  Pennsyl- 
vania. 

I  dined  with  Mr.  Seward — Mr.  Raymond,  of 
New  York,  and  two  or  three  gentlemen,  being 
the  only  guests.  Mr.  Lincoln  came  in  whilst  we 
were  playing  a  rubber,  and  told  some  excellent 
"West-country  stories.  "  Here,  Mr.  President,  we 
have  got  the  two  Times — of  New  York  and 
of  London — if  they  would  only  do  what  is  right 
and  what  we  want,  all  will  go  well."  "Yes," 
said  Mr.  Lincoln,  "if  the  bad  Times  would  go 
where  we  want  them,  good  Times  would  be  sure 
to  follow."  Talking  over  Bull's  Run,  Mr.  Seward 
remarked  "that  civilians  sometimes  displayed 
more  courage  than  soldiers,  but  perhaps  the 
courage  was  unprofessional.  When  we  were 
cut  off  from  Baltnnore,  and  the  United  States 
troops  at  Annapolis  were  separated  by  a  country 
swarming  with  malcontents,  not  a  soldier  could 
be  found  to  undertake  the  journey  and  communi- 
cate with  them.  At  last  a  civilian" — (I  think  he 
mentioned  the  name  of  Mr.  Cassius  Clay) — 
"volunteered,  and  executed  the  business.  So, 
after  Bull's  Run,  there  was  only  one  officer, 
General  Sherman,  who  was  domg  anything  to 


get  the  troops  into  order  when  the  President  and 
myself  drove  ever  to  see  what  we  could  do  on 
that  terrible  Tuesday  evening."  Mr.  Teakle 
Wallis  and  others,  after  the  Baltimore  business, 
told  him  the  people  would  carry  his  head  on  their 
pikes ;  and  so  he  went  to  Auburn  to  see  how  mat- 
ters stood,  and  a  few  words  from  his  old  friends 
there  made  him  feel  his  head  was  quite  right  on 
his  shoulders. 

November  15/A. — Horse-dealers  are  the  same 
all  the  world  over.  To-day  comes  one  with  a 
beast  for  which  he  asked  £50.  "  There  was  a 
Government  agent  looking  after  this  horse  for  one 
of  them  French  princes,  I  believe,  just  as  I  was 
talking  to  the  Kentuck  chap  that  had  him. 
'  John,'  says  he,  '  that's  the  best-looking  horse  I'vo 
seen  in  Washington  this  many  a  day.'  'Yes,' 
says  I, '  and  you  need  not  look  at  him  any  more.' 
•Why?'  says  he.  'Because,'  says  I,  'it's  one 
that  I  want  for  Lord  John  Russell,  of  the  London 
Times,''  says  I,  '  and  if  ever  there  was  a  man 
suited  for  a  horse,  or  a  horse  that  was  suited  for 
a  man,  they're  the  pah-,  and  I'll  give  every  cent 
I  can  raise  to  buy  my  friend,  Lord  Russell,  that 
horse.'  "  I  could  not  do  less  than  purchase,  at  a 
small  reduction,  a  very  good  animal  thus  recom- 
mended. 

November  \Qth. — A  cold,  raw  day.  As  I  was 
writing,  a  small  friend  of  mine,  who  appears  like 
a  stormy  petrel  in  moments  of  great  storm,  flut- 
tered into  my  room,  and  having  chirped  out  some- 
thing about  a  "Jolly  row" — "Seizure  of  Mason 
and  Slidell"— "  British  flag  insulted,"  and  the  like, 
vanished.  Somewhat  later,  going  down  llth 
Street,  I  met  the  French  Minister,  M.  Mercier, 
wrapped  in  his  cloak,  coming  from  the  British  Le- 
gation. "Vous  avez  entendu  quelqu'  chose  de 
nouveau  ?"  "  Mais  non,  excellence."  And  then, 
indeed,  I  learned  there  was  no  doubt  about  tlie 
fact  that  Captain  Wilkes,  of  the  U.  S.  steamer  San 
Jacinto,  had  forcibly  boarded  the  Trent,  British 
mail  steamer,  off  the  Bahamas,  and  had  taken 
Messrs.  Mason,  Slidell,  Eustis,  and  M 'demand 
from  on  board  by  armed  force,  in  deflance  of  the 
protests  of  the  captain  and  naval  officer  in  charge 
of  the  mails.  This  was  indeed  grave  intelligence, 
and  the  French  Minister  considered  the  act  a  fla- 
grant outrage,  which  could  not  for  a  moment  be 
justified. 

I  went  to  the  Legation,  and  found  the  young 
diplomatists  in  the  "  Chancellerie"  as  demure  and 
innocent  as  if  nothing  had  happened,  though  per- 
haps they  were  a  trifle  more  lively  than  usual. 
An  liour  later,  and  the  whole  affair  was  published 
in  full  in  the  evening  papers.  Extraordinary  ex- 
ultation prevailed  in  tlie  hotels  and  bar-rooms. 
The  State  Department  lias  made  of  course  no 
communication  respecting  the  matter.  All  the 
English  are  satisfied  that  Mason  and  his  friends 
must  be  put  on  board  an  English  mail  packet 
from  the  San  Jacinto  under  a  salute. 

An  officer  of  the  United  States  navy — whose 
name  I  shall  not  mention  here — came  in  to  see 
the  buccaneers,  as  the  knot  of  English  bachelors 
of  Wasliington  are  termed,  and  talk  over  the  mat- 
ter. "Of  course,"  ho  said,  "we  shall  apologize 
and  give  up  poor  Wilkes  to  vengeance  by  dis- 
missing him,  but  under  no  circumstance  shall  we 
ever  give  up  Mason  and  Slidell.  No,  sir ;  not  a 
man  dare  propose  such  a  humiliation  to  our  flag." 
.He  says  that  Wilkes  acted  on  his  own  responsi* 
bility,  and  that  the  San  Jacinto  was  coming  home 


t^ 


» 


smitimiui,    * 


■esident  and 
lould  do  on 
Mr.  Teakle 
re  business, 
ead  on  their 
36  how  mat- 
old  frienda 
te  right  on 

0  the  same 
one  with  a 
Chere  was  a 
lorse  for  one 
ist  as  I  was 
had  him. 
ig  horse  I've 
ay.'  'Yes,' 
3  any  more.' 
I,  'it's  one 
the  London 
was  a  man 
a  suited  for 
)  every  cent 
Kussell,  that 
irchase,  at  a 
thus  recom- 

As  I  was 
appears  like 
;  storm,  flut- 
ed out  some- 
ro  of  Mason 
and  the  like, 
down  17  th 
M.  Mercier, 
e  British  Le- 
lu'  chose  de 

And  then, 
Dt  about  the 
steamer  San 
rent,  British 

had  taken 
M'Clernand 
iance  of  the 
er  in  charge 
intelligence, 
he  act  a  fla- 

moment  bo 

the  young 
demure  and 
though  per- 
than  usual. 
IS  published 
)rdinary  ex- 
bar-rooms. 
:  course  no 
•.    All  the 
his  friends 
nail  packet 

ivy — whose 
e  in  to  see 
h  bachelors 
^er  the  mat- 
11  apologize 
ice  by  dis- 
co shall  we 

sir;  not  a 
;o  our  Hag." 

n  responsi" 
ming  home 


MY  DIARY  NOKTH  AND  SOUTH. 


213 


O 


from  the  African  station  when  she  encountered 
the  Trent.  Wilkes  knew  the  rebel  emissaries 
were  on  board,  and  thought  ho  would  cut  a  dash 
and  get  up  a  little  sensation,  being  a  bold  and 
daring  sort  of  a  fellow  with  a  quarrelsome  dispo- 
sition and  a  great  love  of  r  otoriety,  but  an  excel- 
lent officer. 

Novemhtr  Ylth. — For  my  sins  I  went  to  see  a 
dress  parade  of  the  6th  Regular  Cavalry  early 
this  morning,  and  underwent  a  small  purgatory 
from  the  cold,  on  a  bare  plain,  whilst  the  men  and 
officers,  with  red  cheeks  and  blue  noses,  mounted 
on  horses  with  staring  coats,  marched,  trotted, 
and  cantered  past.  The  papers  contain  joyous 
articles  on  the  Trent  affair,  and  some  have  got  up 
an  immense  amount  of  learning  at  a  short  no- 
tice ;  but  I  am  glad  to  say  we  had  no  discussion 
in  camp.  There  is  scarcely  more  than  one  opi- 
nion among  thinking  people  in  Washington  re- 
specting the  legality  of  the  act,  and  the  course 
Great  Britain  must  pursue.  All  the  Foreign  Mi- 
nisters, without  exception,  have  called  on  Lord 
Lyons — Russia,  France,  Italy,  Prussia,  Denmark. 
All  are  of  accord.  I  am  not  sure  whether  the 
important  diplomatist  who  represents  the  mighty 
interests  of  the  Hanse  Towns  has  not  condescend- 
ed to  admit  England  has  right  on  her  side. 

November  I8th. — There  is  a  storm  of  exultation 
sweeping  over  the  land.  Wilkes  is  the  hero  of 
the  hour.  I  saw  Mr.  F.  Seward  at  the  State  De- 
partment at  ten  o'clock ;  but  as  at  the  British  Le- 
gation the  orders  are  not  to  speak  of  the  transac- 
tion, so  at  the  State  Department  a  judicious  reti- 
cence is  equally  observed.  The  lawyers  are  busy 
furnishing  arguments  to  the  newspapers.  The 
officers  who  held  their  tongues  at  first,  astonished 
at  the  audacity  of  the  act,  are  delighted  to  find 
any  arguments  in  its  favour. 

I  called  at  General  M'Clellan'a  new  head-quar- 
ters to  get  a  pass,  and  on  my  way  met  the  Duke 
of  Chartres,  who  shook  his  young  head  very 
gravely,  and  regarded  the  occurrence  with  sorrow 
and  apprehension.  M'Clellan,  I  understand,  ad- 
vised the  immediate  surrender  of  the  prisoners ; 
but  the  authorities,  supported  by  the  sudden  out- 
burst of  public  approval,  refused  to  take  that  step. 
T  saw  Lord  Lyons,  who  appeared  very  much  iu.  • 
pi'ssed  by  the  magnitude  of  the  crisis.  Thence 
I  visited  the  Navy  Department,  where  Captain 
Dahlgren  and  Lieutenant  Wise  discussed  the  af- 
fair. The  former,  usually  so  calm,  has  too  much 
sense  not  to  perceive  the  course  England  must 
take,  and  as  an  American  officer  naturally  feels 
regret  at  what  appears  to  be  the  humiliation  of 
his  flag;  but  he  speaks  with  passion,  and  vows 
that  if  England  avails  herself  of  the  temporary 
weakness  of  tho  United  States  to  get  back  the 
rebel  commissioners  by  threats  of  force,  every 
American  should  make  his  sons  swear  eternal 
hostility  to  Great  Britain.  Having  done  wrong, 
stick  to  it  I  Thus  men's  anger  blinds  them,  and 
thus  come  wars. 

It  is  obvious  that  no  Power  could  permit  po- 
litical offenders  sailing  as  passengers  in  a  mail- 
boat  under  its  flag,  from  one  neutral  port  to  an- 
other, to  be  taken  by  a  belligerent,  though  thd 
recognition  of  such  a  right  would  be,  perhaps, 
more  advantageous  to  England  than  to  any  other 
Power.  But,  notwithstanding  those  discussions, 
our  naval  frienda  dined  and  spent  tiio  evening 
with  us,  in  company  with  some  other  officers. 

I  paid  my  respects  to  the  Prince  of  Joinville, 


with  whom  I  had  a  long  and  interesting  conver- 
sation, in  the  course  of  which  he  gave  mo  to  un- 
derstand hethouglit  the  seizure  an  untoward  and 
unhappy  event,  which  could  not  be  justified  on 
any  grounds  whatever,  and  that  he  had  so  ex- 
pressed himself  in  the  highest  quarters.  There 
are,  comparatively,  many  English  here  at  present; 
Mr.  Chaplin,  Sir  F.  Johnstone,  Mr.  Weldon,  Mr. 
Browne,  and  others,  and  it  may  be  readily  ima- 
gined this  affair  creates  deep  feeling  and  much 
discussion. 

November  I9th. — I  rarely  sat  down  to  write  un- 
der a  sense  of  greater  responsibility,  for  it  is  just 
possible  my  letter  may  contain  the  first  account 
of  the  seizure  of  the  Southern  Commissioners 
which  will  reach  England ;  and,  having  heird  all 
opinions  and  looked  at  authorities,  as  far  as  I 
could,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  conduct  of  the 
American  officer,  now  sustained  by  his  Govern- 
ment, is  without  excuse.  I  dined  at  Mr.  Corco- 
ran's,  where  the  Ministers  of  Prussia,  Brazil,  and 
Chill,  and  the  Secretary  of  the  French  Legation, 
were  present ;  and,  although  we  did  not  talk  poli- 
tics, enough  was  said  to  show  there  was  no  dis- 
sent from  the  opinion  expressed  by  intelligent 
and  uninterested  foreigners. 

November  2Qth. — To-day  a  grand  review,  the 
most  remarkable  feature  of  which  was  the  able 
disposition  made  by  General  M'Dowell  to  march 
seventy  infantry  regiments,  seventeen  batteries, 
and  seven  cavalry  regiments,  into  a  very  con- 
tracted space,  from  the  adjoining  camps.  Of  the 
display  itself  I  wrote  a  long  account,  which  is 
not  worth  repeating  here.  Among  the  55,000 
men  present  there  were  at  least  20,000  Germans 
and  12,000  Irish. 

November  22nd. — All  the  American  papers 
have  agreed  that  the  Trent  business  is  quite  ac- 
cording to  law,  custom,  and  international  comity, 
and  that  England  can  do  nothing.  They  cry  out 
so  loudly  in  this  one  key  there  is  reason  to  sus- 
pect tliey  have  some  inward  doubts.  General 
M'Clellan  invited  all  the  world,  including  myself, 
to  see  a  performance  given  by  Hermann,  the 
conjuror,  at  his  quarters,  which  will  be  aggravat- 
ing news  to  the  bloody-minded,  serious  people  in 
New  England. 

Day  at\er  day  passes  on,  and  finds  our  Micaw- 
bers  in  Washington  waiting  for  something  to 
turn  up.  The  Trent  afl'air,  having  been  proved 
to  be  legal  and  right  beyond  yea  or  nay,  has 
dropped  out  of  the  minds  of  all  save  those  who 
are  waiting  for  news  from  England ;  and  on  look- 
ing over  my  diary  I  can  see  nothing  but  memo- 
randa relating  to  quiet  rides,  visits  to  camps, 
conversations  with  this  one  or  the  other,  a  fresh 
outburst  of  anonymous  threatening  letters,  as  if 
I  had  anything  to  do  with  tlie  Trent  afftiir,  and 
notes  of  small  social  reunions  at  our  own  rooms 
and  the  Washington  houses  wliich  were  open  to 
us. 

November  25ih, — I  remarked  the  other  even- 
ing tliat,  with  nil  the  disorder  in  Washington, 
there  are  no  thieves.  Next  night,  as  we  were 
sitting  in  our  little  symposium,  a  thirsty  soldier 
knocked  at  tlie  door  for  a  glass  of  water.  He 
was  brought  in  and  civilly  treated.  Under  the 
date  of  the  27th,  accordingly,  I  find  it  duly  enter- 
ed that  "  the  vagabond  who  came  in  for  water 
must  have  had  a  confederate,  who  got  into  the 
hall  whilst  we  were  attending  to  his  comrade, 
for  yesterday  there  was  a  great  lamentation  over 


!!■ 


: 


214 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


':'.  I 


cloaks  and  groat-coats  missing  from  the  hall, 
and  as  the  day  wore  on  the  area  of  plunder  was 
extended.  Carl  discovers  he  has  been  robbed  of 
his  best  clothes,  and  Caroline  has  lost  her  watch 
and  many  petticoats." 

Thanksgiving  Day  on  the  28th  was  celebrated 
by  enormous  drunkenness  in  the  army.  The 
weather  varied  between  days  of  delicious  sum- 
mer— soft,  bright,  balmy,  and  beautiful  beyond 
expression — and  days  of  wintry  storm,  with  tor- 
rents of  rain. 

Some  excitement  was  caused  at  the  end  of  the 
month  by  the  report  I  had  received  information 
from  England  that  the  law  officers  of  the  Crown 
iiad  given  it  as  their  opinion  that  a  United 
States  man-of-war  would  be  justified  by  Lord 
Sto well's  decisions  in  taking  Mason  and  Slidell 
oven  in  the  British  Channel,  if  tho  Nashville 
transferred  them  to  a  British  mail  steamer.  This 
opinion  was  called  for  in  consequence  of  the 
Tuscarora  appearing  in  Southampton  Water; 
and,  having  heard  of  it,  I  repeated  it  in  strict 
confidence  to  some  one  else,  till  at  last  Baron 
de  Stoeckl  came  to  ask  me  if  it  was  true.  Re- 
ceiving passengers  from  the  Nashville,  however, 
would  have  been  an  act  of  direct  intercourse 
with  an  enemy's  ship.  In  the  case  of  the  Trent 
the  persons  seized  had  come  on  board  as  lawful 
passengers  at  a  neutral  port. 

The  tide  of  success  runs  strongly  in  favour  of 
the  North  at  present,  although  they  generally 
get  the  worst  of  it  in  the  small  affairs  in  the  front 
of  Washington.  The  entrance  to  Savannah  has 
been  occupied,  and  by  degrees  the  fleets  are  bit- 
ing into  the  Confederate  lines  along  the  coast, 
and  establishing  positions  which  will  afford  bases 
of  operations  to  the  Federals  hereafter.  Tlie 
President  and  Cabinet  seem  in  better  spirits,  and 
the  former  indulges  in  quaint  speculations,  whicli 
he  transfers  even  to  Stp.te  papers.  He  calculates, 
for  instance,  there  are  human  beings  now  alive 
who  may  ere  they  die  behold  the  United  States 
peopled  by  250  millions  of  souls.  Talking  of  a 
higii  mound  on  the  prairie,  in,  Illinois,  he  re- 
marked, "that  if  all  the  nations  of  the  earth 
were  assembled  there,  a  man  standing  on  its  top 
would  see  them  all,  for  that  the  whole  human 
race  would  fit  on  a  space  twelve  miles  square, 
which  was  about  the  extent  of  the  plain." 


CHAPTER  LIX. 

A  Captain  under  arrest — Opening  of  Congress— Colonel 
D"Uta8sy — An  ex-pugilfst  turneil  Senator — Mr.  Came- 
ron— Ball  in  the  ofHcers'  huts — Presentation  of  stand- 
ards  at  Arlington— Dinner  at  Lord  Lyons'' — Paper 
currpncy — A  polyglot  dinner — Visit  to  Washington's 
Tomb — Mr.  Chase's  Report — Colonel  Seaton — Unani- 
mity of  the  South — The  Potomac  blockade — A  Dntch- 
Auiericnn  Crimean  acquaintance  —  Tlie  American 
Lawyers  o'n  the  Trent  affair— Mr.  Sumner — M'Clel- 
lan's  Army — Impressions  produced  in  America  by  the 
English  Press  on  the  affair  of  the  Trent— Mr.  Sumner 

'  on  the  crisis — Mutual  feelings  of  the  two  nations — 
Rumours  of  war  with  Great  Britain. 

December  \st — A  mixed  party  of  American 
officers  and  English  went  to-day  to  the  post  at 
Great  Falls,  about  sixteen  or  seventeen  miles  up 
the  Potomac,  and  were  well  repaid  by  the 
charming  scenery,  and  by  a  visit  to  an  Ameri- 
can military  station  in  a  state  of  nature.  The 
captain  in  command  told  us  over  a  drink  that  he 
was  under  arrest,  because  he  had  refused  to  do 


duty  as  lieutenant  of  the  guard,  he  being  a  cap- 
tain. "But  I  have  written  to  MClellan  about 
it,"  said  ho,  "  and  I'm  d — d  if  I  stay  uader  arrest 
more  than  throe  days  longer."  He  was  not  aware 
that  the  General's  brother,  who  is  a  captain  on 
his  staff,  was  sitting  beside  him  at  the  time. 
Tliis  worthy  centurion  further  informed  us  he 
had  shot  a  man  dead  a  short  time  before  for 
disobeying  his  orders.  "That  he  did,"  said  his 
sympathising  and  enthusiastic  orderly,  "  and 
there's  the  weapon  that  done  it."  The  captain 
was  a  boot  and  shoo  maker  by  trade,  and  had 
travelled  across  the  isthmus  before  the  railway 
was  made  to  get  orders  for  his  boots.  A  hard, 
determined,  fierce  "sutor,"  aa  near  a  savage  as 
might  be. 

"And  what  wUl  you  do,  captain,"  asked  I, 
"if  they  keep  you  in  arrest?" 

"  Fight  for  it,  sir.  I'll  go  straight  away  into 
Pennsylvania  with  my  company,  and  we'll  whii) 
any  two  companies  they  can  send  to  stop  us." 

Mr.  Sumner  paid  mo  a  visit  on  my  return  from 
our  excursion,  and  sefims  to  think  everything  is 
in  the  best  possible  state. 

December  2nd. — Congress  opened  to-day.  The 
Senate  did  notiiing.  In  the  House  of  Represent- 
atives some  Buncombe  resolutions  were  passed 
about  Captain  Wilkes,  who  has  become  a  hero — 
"  a  great  interpreter  of  international  law,"  and 
also  recommending  that  Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell 
be  confined  in  felons'  cells,  in  retaliation  for  Colo- 
nel Corcoran's  treatment  by  the  Confederates. 
M.  Blondel,  the  Belgian  minister,  who  was  at  the 
court  of  Greece  during  the  Russian  war,  told  me 
that  when  the  French  and  English  fleets  lay  in 
the  PirtBUS,  a  United  States  vessel,  commanded, 
he  thinks,  by  Captain  Stringham,  publicly  re- 
ceived M.  Persani,  the  Russian  ambassador,  on 
board,  hoisted  and  saluted  the  Russian  flag  in  the 
harbour,  whereupon  the  French  Admiral,  Barbier 
de  Tinan,  proposed  to  the  English  Admiral  to  go 
on  board  the  United  States  vessel  and  seize  the 
ambassador,  which  the  British  officer  refusid 
to  do. 

December  3rd. — Drove  down  to  the  Capitol, 
and  was  introduced  to  the  floor  of  the  Senate  by 
Senator  Wilson,  and  arrived  just  as  Mr.  Forney 
commenced  reading  the  President's  message, 
which  was  listened  to  with  considerable  interest. 
At  dinner.  Colonel  D'Utassy,  of  the  Garibaldi 
legion,  who  gives  a  curious  account  of  his  career. 
A  Hungarian  by  birth,  he  went  over  from  the 
Austrian  service,  and  served  under  Bem;  was 
wounded  and  taken  prisoner  at  Teraesvar,  and 
escaped  from  Spielberg,  through  the  kindness  of 
Count  Bennigsen,  making  his  way  to  Semlin,  in 
the  disguise  of  a  servant,  where  M.  Fonblanque, 
the  British  consul,  protected  him.  Thenco  he 
went  to  Kossuth  at  Slmmla,  finally  proceeded  to 
Constantinople,  where  he  was  engaged  to  instruct 
the  Turkish  cavalry;  turned  up  in  the  Ionian 
Islands,  where  he  was  engaged  by  the  late  Sir 
H.  Ward,  as  a  sort  of  Secretary  and  Interpreter, 
in  which  capacity  ho  also  served  Sir  G.  Le  Mar- 
chant.  In  the  United  States  ho  was  earning  his 
livelihood  as  a  fencing,  dancing,  and  language 
master ;  and  when  the  war  broke  out  he  exerted 
himself  to  raise  a  regiment,  and  succeeded  in 
completing  his  number  in  seventeen  days,  being 
all  the  time  obliged  to  support  himself  by  his 
lessons.     I  tell  his  tale  as  he  told  it  to  nie. 

One  of  our  friends,  of  a  sporting  tro-n,  dropped 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


215 


being  a  cnp- 
^lellan  about 
liader  arrest 
IS  not  awaro 
a  captain  on 
it  the  time, 
rmed  us  he 
e  before  for 
id,"  said  his 
ierly,  "  and 
The  captain 
de,  and  had 
the  railway 
;s.  A  hard, 
a  savage  as 

1,"  asked  I, 

t  away  into 
I  we'll  whip 
stop  us." 
return  from 
verything  is 

0-day.  The 
'  Represent- 
Nere  passed 
ne  a  hero — 
il  law,"  and 
1  and  Slidell 
on  for  Colo- 
onfederates. 
)  was  at  the 
rar,  told  me 
Beets  lay  in 
lommanded, 
publicly  re- 
assador,  on 
1  flag  in  the 
ral,  Barbier 
Imiral  to  go 
d  seize  the 
;er  refusid 

he  Capitol, 

Senate  by 

Mr.  Forney 

message, 
)le  interest. 

Garibaldi 
his  career. 

from  the 
Bern ;  was 
lesvar,  and 
:indness  of 
Semlin,  in 
onblanqne, 
Thence  he 
oceeded  to 
to  instruct 
the  Ionian 
le  late  Sir 
nterpreter, 

Le  Mar- 
darning  his 

language 
10  exerted 
ceeded  in 
ays,  being 
self  by  his 
riie. 

dropped 


in  to-night,  followed  by  a  gentleman  dressed  in 
immaculate  black,  and  of  staid  deportment,  whose 
name  I  did  not  exactly  ca*^ch,  but  fancied  it  was 
that  of  a  senator  of  some  reputation.  As  the 
stranger  sat  next  mo,  and  was  rubbing  his  knees 
nervously,  I  thought  I  would  commence  conver- 
sation. 

"  It  appears,  sir,  that  affairs  in  the  south-west 
are  not  so  promising.  May  I  ask  you  what  is  your 
opinion  of  the  present  prospects  of  the  Federals 
in  Missouri?" 

I  was  somewhat  disconcerted  by  his  reply,  for 
rubbing  his  knees  harder  than  ever,  and  impre- 
cating his  organs  of  vision  in  a  very  sanguinary 
manner,  he  said — 

"  Well,  d if  I  know  what  to  think  of  them. 

They're  a  b rum  lot,  and  they're  going  on  in 

a  d rum  way.     That's  what  I  think." 

The  supposed  legislator,  in  fact,  was  '"stin- 
guished  in  another  arena,  and  was  no  other  than 
a  celebrated  pugilist,  who  served  his  apprentice- 
ehip  in  the  English  ring,  and  has  since  graduated 
in  honours  iu  America. 

I  dined  v,'ith  Mr.  Cameron,  Secretr.ry-of-^  ar, 
where  I  met  Mr.  Forney,  Secretary  of  the  Senate; 
Mr.  House,  Jlr.  Wilkeson,  and  others,  and  was 
exceedingly  interested  by  the  shrewd  conversa- 
tion and  candid  manner  of  our  host.  He  told  me 
he  once  worked  as  a  printer  in  the  city  of  Wash- 
ington, at  ten  dollars  a  week,  and  twenty  cents 
an  hour  for  extra  work  at  the  case  on  Sundays. 
Since  that  time  he  has  worked  onwards  and  up- 
wards, and  amassed  a  large  fortune  by  contracts 
for  railways  and  similar  great  undertakings.  He 
says  the  press  rules  America,  and  that  no  one  can 
face  it  and  live ;  which  is  about  the  worst  account 
of  the  chances  of  an  honest  longevity  I  can  well 
conceive.  His  memory  is  exact,  and  his  anec- 
dotes, albeit  he  has  never  seen  any  but  Ameri- 
cans, or  stirred  out  of  the  States,  very  agreeable. 
Once  there  lived  at  Washington  a  publican's 
daughter,  named  Mary  O'Noil,  beautiful,  bold, 
and  witty.  She  captivated  a  Member  of  Con- 
gress, who  failed  to  make  her  less  than  his  wife ; 
and  by  degrees  Mrs.  Eaton — who  may  now  be 
seen  in  the  streets  of  Washington,  an  old  woman, 
still  bright-eyed  and  alas  I  bright  cheeked,  retain- 
ing traces  of  her  great  beauty — became  a  leading 
personage  in  the  State,  and  ruled  the  imperious, 
rugged,  old  Andrew  Jackson  so  completely,  that 
he  broke  up  his  Cabinet  and  dismissed  his  minis- 
ters on  her  account.  In  the  days  of  her  power 
she  had  done  some  trifling  service  to  Mr.  Came- 
ron, and  he  has  just  repaid  it  by  conferring  some 
military  appointment  on  her  grandchild. 

The  dinner,  which  was  preceded  by  deputa- 
tions, was  finished  by  one  which  came  from  the 
Far  West,  and  was  introduced  by  Mr.  Hannibal 
Hamlin,  the  Vice-President;  Mr.  Owen  Lovojoy, 
Mr.  Bingham,  and  other  ultra-Abolitionist  mem- 
bers of  Congress ;  and  then  speeches  were  made, 
and  healths  were  drunk,  and  toasts  were  pledged, 
till  it  was  time  for  me  to  drive  to  a  ball  given  by 
the  officers  of  the  5th  United  States  Cavalry, 
which  was  exceedingly  pretty,  and  admirably  ar- 
ranged in  wooden  huts,  especially  erected  and 
decorated  for  the  occasion.  A  huge  bonfire  in 
the  centre  of  the  camp,  surrounded  by  soldiers, 
by  the  carriage  drivers,  and  by  negro  servants, 
afforded  the  most  .striking  play  of  cold  ■■  and  va- 
riety of  lijht  and  shade  I  ever  beheld 
December  4tt. — To  Arlington,  whtio  Senator 


Ira  Harris  presented  flags — that  is,  standards — 
to  a  cavalry  regiment  called  after  his  name ;  the 
President,  Mrs.  Lincoln,  ministers,  generals,  and 
a  largo  gathering  present.  Mr.  lIorriL*  made  a 
very  long  and  a  very  fierce  speech  ;  it  could  not 
be  said  Ira  farm-  brevis  est ;  and  Colonel  Davics, 
in  taking  the  standard,  was  earnest  and  lengthy 
in  rejily.  Then  a  barrister  presented  colour  No. 
2,  in  a  speech  full  of  poetical  quotations,  to  which 
Major  Kilpatrick  made  an  excellent  answer. 
Though  it  was  strange  enough  to  hear  a  poli- 
tical disquisition  on  the  causes  of  the  rebellion 
from  a  soldier  in  full  uniform,  the  proceedings 
were  highly  theatrical  and  very  effective.  "  Take, 
then,  this  flag,"  &c. — "  Defend  it  with  your,"  &c. 
— "  Yes,  sir,  we,  will  guard  this  sacred  emblem 
with  — ,"  &c.  The  regiment  then  went  through 
some  evolutions,  which  were  brought  to  an  un- 
timely end  by  a  feu  de  joie  from  the  infantry  in 
the  rear,  which  instantly  broka  up  tiio  squadrons, 
and  sent  them  kicking,  plunging,  and  Ilxlling  over 
the  field,  to  the  great  amusement  of  the  crowd. 

Dined  with  Lord  Lyons,  where  was  Mr.  Gait, 
Financial  Minister  of  Canada ;  Mr.  Stewart,  who 
has  arrived  to  replace  Mr.  Irvine,  and  others.  In 
our  rooms,  a  grand  financial  discussion  took  place 
in  honour  of  Mr.  Gait,  between  Mr.  Butler  Dun- 
can and  others,  the  former  maintaining  that  a 
general  issue  of  national  paper  was  inevitable.  A 
very  clever  American  maintained  that  the  North 
will  be  split  into  two  great  parties  by  the  result 
of  the  victory  which  they  are  certain  to  gain  over 
the  South — that  the  Democrats  will  offer  tlie 
South  concessions  more  liberal  than  they  could 
ever  dream  of,  and  that  both  will  unite  againfC 
the  Abolitionists  and  Black  Republicans. 

December  Qih. — Mr.  Riggs  says  the  paper  cur- 
rency scheme  will  produce  monej'-,  and  make 
every  man  richer.  He  is  a  banker,  and  ought  to 
know ;  but  to  my  ignorant  eye  it  seems  likely  to 
prove  most  destructive,  and  I  confess,  that  what- 
ever be  the  result  of  this  war,  I  have  no  desire 
for  the  ruin  of  so  many  happy  communities  as 
have  sprung  up  in  the  United  States.  Had  it 
been  possible  for  human  beings  to  employ  popu- 
lar institutions  without  intrigue  and  miserable 
self-seeking,  and  to  be  superior  to  faction  and 
party  passion,  the  condition  of  parts  of  the  United 
States  must  cause  regret  that  an  exemption  from 
the  usual  laws  which  regulate  human  nature 
was  not  made  in  America ;  but  the  strength  of 
the  United  States — directed  by  violent  passions, 
by  party  interest,  and  by  selfish  intrigues — was 
becoming  dangerousito  the  peace  of  other  nations, 
and  therefore  there  is  an  utter  want  of  sympathy 
with  them  in  their  time  of  trouble. 

I  dined  with  Mr.  Gait,  at  Willard's,  where  wo 
had  a  very  pleasant  party,  in  spite  of  financial 
dangers. 

December  1th. — A  visit  to  the  Garibaldi  Guard 
with  some  of  the  Englishry,  and  an  excellent 
dinner  at  the  mes.s,  which  presented  a  curious 
scene,  and  was  graced  by  sketches  from  a  won- 
derful polyglot  chaplain.  What  a  company  I  — 
the  officers  present,  were  composed  as  follows: — 
Five  Spaniards,  six  Poles  and  Hungarians,  two 
Frenchmen — the  most  soldierly-looking  men  at 
table — one  American,  four  Italians,  and  nine 
Teutons  of  various  States  in  Germany. 

Decembe7'  8Ul — A  certain  excellent  Colonel 
who  commands  a  French  regiment  visited  us  to- 
day.   When  he  came  to  Washington,  one  of  the 


r 


316 


MT  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


f! 


>:1 


ForeifHi  Ministers  who  had  been  well  acquainted 
with  him  said,  "  My  dear  Colonel,  what  a  pity  wo 
can  be  no  longer  frionda."  "  Why  so,  liaron  7" 
"  Ah,  wo  can  never  dino  together  again."  "  Why 
not?  Do  you  forbid  me  your  table?"  "No, 
Colonel,  but  how  can  I  invito  a  man  who  can 
command  the  services  of  at  least  200  cooks  in  his 
own  regiment  ?"  "  Well  then,  Baron,  you  can 
come  and  dine  with  mo."  "  What  I  how  do  you 
think  I  could  show  myself  m  your  camp — how 
could  I  get  my  hair  dressed  to  sit  at  the  U>-ble  of 
a  man  who  commands  300  coifl'eurs?"  I  rode 
out  to  overtake  a  party  who  had  started  in  car- 
riages for  Mount  Vernon  to  visit  Washington's 
tomb,  but  missed  them  in  the  wonderfully  wooded 
country  which  borders  the  Potomac,  and  returned 
alone. 

December  9ih. — Spent  the  day  over  Mr.  Chase's 
report,  a  copy  of  which  he  was  good  enough  to 
send  me  witii  a  kind  note,  and  went  out  in  the 
evening  with  my  head  in  a  state  of  wild  financial 
confusion,  and  a  general  impression  that  the 
financial  system  of  England  is  very  unsound. 

December  10th. — Paid  a  visit  to  Colonel  Seaton, 
of  the  National  Intelligencer,  a  man  deservedly 
respected  and  esteemed  for  his  private  character, 
which  has  given  its  impress  to  the  journal  he  has 
so  long  conducted.  The  Now  York  pap.ers  ridi- 
cule the  Washington  organ,  because  it  does  not 
spread  false  reports  daily  in  the  form  of  tele- 
graphic "sensation"  nev.s,  and  indeed  one  may 
be  pretty  sure  that  a  fact  is  a  fact  when  it  is 
found  in  the  Intelligencer ;  but  the  man,  neverthe- 
less, who  is  content  with  the  information  he  gets 
'  from  it,  will  have  no  reason  to  regret,  in  the  ac- 
curacy of  his  knowledge  or  the  soundness  of  his 
views,  that  he  has  not  gone  to  its  noisy  and  men- 
dacious rivals.  In  the  minds  of  all  the  very  old 
men  in  the  States,  there  is  a  feeling  of  great  sad- 
ness and  despondency  respecting  the  present 
troubles,  and  though  they  cling  to  the  id>  nf 
a  restoration  of  the  glorious  Union  of  their  youth, 
it  is  hoping  against  hope.  "Our  game  is  played 
out.  It  was  the  most  wonderful  and  magnificent 
career  of  success  the  world  ever  saw,  but  rogues 
and  gamblers  took  up  the  cards  at  last;  they 
quarrelled,  and  are  found  out." 

In  the  evening,  supped  at  Mr.  Forney's,  where 
there  was  a  very  largo  gathering  of  gentlemen 
connected  with  the  press ;  Mr.  Cameron,  Secreta- 
ry of  War ;  Colonel  MuUigan,  u  tall  young  man, 
with  dark  hair  falling  on  his  shoulders,  round  a 
Celtic  impulsive  face,  and  a  hazy  enthusiastic- 
looking  eyo ;  and  other  celebrities.  Terrapin 
soup  and  canvas-backs,  speeches,  orations,  music, 
and  song,  carried  the  company  onwards  among 
the  small  hours. 

December  llth. — Tho  unanimity  of  the  people 
in  the  South  is  forced  on  tho  conviction  of  the 
statesmen  and  people  of  the  North,  by  the  very 
success  in  their  expeditions  in  Secession.  They 
.  find  the  planters  at  Beaufort  and  elsewhere  burn- 
ing their  cotton  and  crops,  villages  and  towns 
deserted  at  their  approach,  hatred  in  every  eye, 
and  curses  on  women's  tongues.  They  meet  this 
by  a  corresponding  change  in  their  own  pro- 
gramme. The  war  which  was  made  to  develop 
and  maintain  Union  sentiment  in  the  South,  and 
to  enable  the  people  to  riso  against  a  desperate 
faction  which  had  enthralled  them,  is  now  to  be 
made  a  crusade  against  slaveholders,  and  a  war 
of  subjugation — if  need  be,  of  extermination — 


against  the  whole  of  the  Southern  States.  The 
Democrats  will,  of  course,  resist  this  barbarous 
and  hopeless  policy.  There  is  a  deputation  of 
Irish  Democrats  hero  now,  to  efl'ect  a  general  ex- 
change of  prisoners,  which  is  an  operation  calcu- 
lated to  give  a  legitimate  character  to  the  war, 
and  is  pro  tanto  a  recognition  of  the  Confederacy 
as  a  belligerent  power. 

December  12th. — The  navy  are  writhing  under 
tho  disgrace  of  tho  Potomac  blockade,  and  deny 
it  exists.  The  price  of  articles  in  Washington 
which  used  to  come  by  the  river  affords  disagreea- 
ble proof  to  tho  contrary.  And  yet  there  is  not  a 
true  Yankee  in  Pennsylvania  Avenue  who  doea 
not  believe,  what  he  reads  every  day,  that  hia 
glorious  navy  could  sweep  the  fleets  of  France 
and  England  off  the  seas  to-morrow,  though  the 
Potomac  be  closed,  and  the  Confederate  batteries 
throw  their  shot  and  shell  into  the  Federal  camps 
on  the  other  side.  I  dined  with  General  Butter- 
field,  whose  camp  is  pitched  in  Virginia,  on  a 
knoll  and  ridge  from  which  a  splendid  view  can 
bo  had  over  the  wooded  vales  and  hills  extending 
from  Alexandria  towards  Manassas,  whitened 
with  Federal  tents  and  huts.  General  Fitz-John 
Porter  and  General  M'Dowell  were  among  the 
ofiScers  present. 

December  12th. — A  big-bearded,  spectacled, 
moustachioed,  spurred,  and  booted  officer  threw 
himself  on  my  bed  this  morning  ere  I  was  awake. 
"Russoll,  my  dear  friend,  here  you  are  at  last; 
what  ages  have  passed  since  we  met!"  I  sat  up 
and  gazed  at  my  friend.  "BohlenI  don't  you 
remember  Bohlen,  and  our  rides  in  Turkey,  our 
visit  to  Shumla  and  Pravady,  and  all  the  rest  of 
it  ?"  Of  course  I  did.  I  remembered  an  enthu- 
siastic soldier,  with  a  fine  guttural  voice,  and  a 
splendid  war  saddle  and  saddle-cloth,  and  brass 
stirrups  and  holsters,  worked  with  eagles  all  over, 
and  a  unifor-n  coat  and  cap  with  more  eagles  fly- 
ing amidst  laurel  leaves  and  U.  S's  in  gold,  who 
came  out  to  see  the  fightmg  in  the  East^  and 
made  up  his  mind  that  there  would  be  none,  when 
he  arrived  at  Varna,  and  so  started  ofi'  inconti- 
nent up  the  Danube,  and  returned  to  the  Crimea 
when  it  was  too  late ;  and  a  very  good,  kindly, 
warm-hearted  fellow  was  the  Dutch-American, 
who— once  more  in  his  war  paint,  this  time  act- 
ing Brigadier-General* — renewed  the  memories 
of  some  pleasant  days  far  away ;  and  our  talk 
was  of  cavasses  and  khans,  and  tchibouques,  and 
pashas,  till  his  time  was  up  to  return  to  his  fight- 
ing Germans  of  Blenker's  division. 

He  was  not  the  good-natured  officer  who  said 
the  other  day,  "  The  next  day  you  come  down, 
sir,  if  my  regiment  happens  to  be  on  picket  duty, 
we'll  have  a  little  skirmish  with  the  enemy,  just 
to  show  you  how  our  fellows  are  improved." 
"  Perhaps  you  might  bring  on  a  general  action. 
Colonel"  "  Well,  sir,  we're  not  afraid  of  that, 
either!  Let 'em  come  on."  It  did  so  happen 
thai  some  young  friends  of  mine,  of  H.M.'s  30th, 
who  had  come  down  from  Canada  to  see  the  army 
here,  went  out  a  day  or  two  ago  with  an  officer 
on  General  Smith's  staff",  formerly  in  our  army, 
who  yet  suffers  from  a  wound  received  at  the 
Alma,  to  have  a  look  at  the  enemy  with  a  detach- 
ment of  men.  The  enemy  came  to  have  a  look 
at  them,  whereby  it  happened  that  shots  were 
exchanged,  and  the  bold  Britons  had  to  ride  back 

*  Since  killed  in  notion  in  Pope's   retreat  from  the 
north  of  Rinhmond. 


;ates.  The 
barbarous 
lutation  of 
general  ex- 
itiou  calcu- 
to  the  war, 
lonfoderacy 

liing  under 
I  and  deny 
Washington 
i  disagreea- 
lore  is  not  a 

who  does 
y,  that  his 

of  France 
though  the 
te  batteries 
leral  camps 
Tal  Butter- 
[inia^  on  a 
d  view  can 
}  extending 
,  whitened 
1  ?itz-John 
among  the 

spectacled, 
[icer  threw 
was  awake, 
e  at  last; 
'    I  sat  up 
don't  you 
Curkey,  our 
the  rest  of 
i  an  enthu- 
oice,  and  a 
and  brass 
los  all  over, 
I  eagles  fly- 
gold,  who 
East,  and 
Qone,  when 
ofi'  inconti* 
le  Crimea 
od,  kindly, 
American, 
time  act- 
memories 
our  talk 
uques,  and 
0  his  fight- 

r  who  Bald 
me  down, 
icket  duty, 
nemy,  just 
mproved." 
ral  action, 
of  that, 
to  happen 
M.'s  30th, 

the  army 
an  officer 
)ur  army, 
ed   at  the 

a  detach- 
ve  a  look 
hots  were 

ride  back 

kt  from  the 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


217 


as  hard  as  they  could,  for  their  men  skedaddled, 
and  the  Secession  cavalry  slipping  after  thorn,  had 
a  very  pretty  chase  for  some  miles ;  so  the  30th 
men  saw  more  than  they  bargained  for. 

Dined  at  Baron  Gerolt's,  whore  I  had  the 
pleasure  of  meeting  Judge  Daly,  who  is  perfectly 
satisfied  the  English  lawyers  ha\  j  not  a  leg  to 
stand  upon  in  the  Trent  case.  On  the  faith  of 
old  and  very  doubtful,  and  some  purely  suppositi- 
tious, cases,  the  American  lawyers  have  made  up 
their  minds  that  the  seizure  of  tho  "  rebel"  ambas- 
sadors was  perfectly  legitimate  and  normal.  The 
Judge  expressed  his  belief  that  if  there  was  a 
rebellion  in  Ireland,  and  that  Messrs.  Smith 
O'Brien  and  O'Gorraan  ran  tho  blockade  to 
France,  and  were  going  on  their  passage  from 
Havre  to  New  York  in  a  United  States  steamer, 
they  would  be  seized  by  the  first  British  vessel 
that  knew  the  fact.  "  Granted ;  and  what  would 
the  United  States  do?"  "I  am  afraid  we  should 
be  obliged  to  demand  that  they  be  given  up ;  and 
if  you  were  strong  enough  at  the  time,  I  dare  say 
you  would  fight  sooner  than  do  so."  Mr.  Sum- 
ner, with  whom  I  had  some  conversation  this 
afternoon,  affects  to  consider  the  question  emi- 
nently suitable  for  reference  and  arbitration. 

In  spite  of  drills  and  parades,  it'Clollan  has 
not  got  an  army  yet.  A  good  officer,  who  served 
as  brigade-major  in  our  service,  told  me  the  men 
were  little  short  of  mutinous,  with  all  their  fine 
talk,  though  they  could  fight  well.  Sometimes 
they  refuse  to  mount  guard,  or  to  go  on  duty  not 
to  their  tastes;  officers  refuse  to  serve  under 
others  to  whom  they  have  a  dislike ;  men  ofler 
similai  personal,  objections  to  officers.  M'Clellan 
is  eriforeing  discipline,  and  really  intends  to  exe- 
cute a  most  villanous  deserter  this  time. 

December  15th. — Tho  first  echo  of  the  San 
Jacinto's  guns  in  England  reverberated  to  the 
United  States,  and  produced  a  profound  sensa- 
tion. The  people  had  made  up  their  minds 
John  Bull  would  acquiesce  in  the  seizure,  and 
not  say  a  word  about  it ;  or  they  affected  to  think 
so ;  and  the  cry  of  anger  which  has  resounded 
through  the  land,  and  the  unmistakable  tone  of 
the  British  press,  at  once  surprise,  and  irritate, 
and  disappoint  them.  The  American  journals, 
nevertheless,  pretend  to  think  it  is  a  mere  vulgar 
excitement,  and  that  the  press  is  "  only  indulging 
in  its  habitual  bluster." 

December  \&th. — I  met  Mr.  Seward  at  the  ball 
and  cotillon  party,  given  by  M.  de  Lisboa ;  and 
as  he  was  in  very  good  humour,  and  was  inclined 
to  talk,  he  pointed  out  to  tho  Prince  de  Joinville, 
and  all  who  were  inclined  to  listen,  and  myself, 
how  terrible  tho  effects  of  a  war  would  be  if  Great 
Britain  forced  it  on  the  United  Statea  "  "We  will 
wrap  tho  whole  world  in  flames  I"  he  exclaimed. 
"  No  power  so  remote  that  she  will  not  feel  tho 
fire  of  our  battle  and  be  burned  by  our  conflagra- 
tion." It  is  inferred  that  Mr.  Seward  means  to 
show  figlit.  One  of  tho  guests,  however,  said  to 
me,  "That's  all  bugaboo  talk.  "When  Seward 
talks  that  way,  he  means  to  break  down.  He  is 
most  dangerous  and  obstinate  when  he  pretends 
to  agree  a  good  deal  with  you."  The  young 
French  Princes,  and  the  young  and  pretty  Brazi- 
lian and  American  ladies,  danced  and  were  happy, 
notwithstanding  the  storms  without. 

Next  day  I  dined  at  Mr.  Seward's,  as  the 
Minister  had  given  carte  blanche  to  a  very  lively 
and  agreeable  lady,  who  has  to  lament  over  an 


absent  husband  in  this  terrible  war,  to  ask  two 
gentlemen  to  dine  with  him,  and  she  had  been 
pleased  to  select  myself  and  M.  de  GeoflVoy, 
Secretary  of  the  French  Legation,  as  her  thick 
and  her  thin  umbrce;  and  the  company  wont  off 
in  the  evening  to  the  White  House,  where  there 
was  a  reception,  whereat  I  imagined  I  might  bo 
de  trop,  and  so  home. 

Mr.  Seward  was  in  the  best  spirits,  and  told 
one  or  two  rather  long,  but  very  pleasant,  stories. 
Now  it  is  evident  he  must  by  this  time  know 
Groat  Britain  has  resolved  on  tho  course  to  be 
pursued,  and  his  good-humour,  contrasted  with 
the  irritation  he  displayed  in  May  and  June,  is 
not  intelligible. 

The  Russian  Minister,  at  whoso  house  I  dined 
next  day,  is  better  able  than  any  man  to  appre- 
ciate the  use  made  of  the  Czar's  professions  of 
regret  for  the  evils  which  distract  the  States  by 
the  Americans ;  but  it  is  the  fashion  to  approve 
of  everything  that  Franco  does,  and  to  assume  a 
violent  affection  for  Russia  The  Americans  aro 
irritated  by  war  preparations  on  the  part  of  Eng- 
land, in  case  the  Government  of  "Washington  do 
not  accede  to  their  demands;  and,  at  the  same 
time,  much  annoyed  that  all  p]uropean  nations 
join  in  an  outcry  against  the  famous  project  of 
destroying  tlie  Southern  harbours  by  the  moana 
of  tho  stone  fleet. 

December  20th. — I  went  down  to  the  Senate, 
as  it  was  expected  at  the  Legation  and  elsewhere 
the  President  would  send  a  special  message  to 
tlve  Senate  on  the  Trent  affair ;  but,  instead,  there 
was  merely  a  long  speech  from  a  senator,  to  aliow 
the  South  did  not  like  democratic  institutions. 
Lord  Lyons  called  on  Mr.  So  ward  yesterday  to 
read  Lord  Russell's  dispatch  to  him,  and  to  give 
time  for  a  reply ;  but  Mr.  Seward  was  out,  and 
Mr,  Sumner  told  me  the  Minister  was  down  with 
the  Committee  of  Foreign  Relations,  where  there 
is  a  serious  business  in  reference  to  the  state  of 
Mexico  and  certain  European  Powers  under  dis- 
cussion, when  the  British  Minister  went  to  the 
State  Department. 

Next  day  Lord  Lyons  had  two  interviews 
with  Mr.  Seward,  read  the  despatch,  wliich  sim- 
ply asks  for  surrender  of  Mason  and  Slidell  and 
reparation,  without  any  specific  act  named,  but 
he  received  no  indication  from  Mr.  Seward  of  the 
course  he  would  pursue.  Mr.  Lincoln  has  "  put 
down  his  foot"  on  no  surrender.  "Sir!"  ex- 
claimed the  President,  to  an  old  Treasury  official 
tho  other  day,  "I  would  sooner  die  than  give 
them  up."  "Mr.  President,"  was  tho  reply, 
"  your  death  would  bo  a  great  loss,  but  tho  de- 
struction of  the  United  States  would  be  a  still 
more  deplorable  event" 

Mr.  Seward  will,  however,  control  tho  situa- 
tion, as  the  Cabinet  will  very  probably  support 
his  views;  and  Americans  will  comfort  them- 
selves, in  case  the  captives  are  surrendered,  with 
a  promise  of  future  revenge,  and  witii  the  reflec- 
tion that  they  have  avoided  a  very  disagreeable 
intervention  between  their  march  of  conquest 
and  the  Southern  Confederacy.  The  general  be- 
lief of  the  diplomatists  is,  that  the  prisoners  will 
not  be  given  up,  and  in  that  case  Lord  Lyons  and 
tho  Legation  will  retire  fh)m  "Washington  for  the 
time,  probably  to  Halifax,  leaving  Mr.  Monson  to 
wind  up  affairs  and  clear  out  the  archives.  But 
it  is  understood  that  there  is  no  ultimatum,  and 
that  Lord  Lyons  is  not  to  indicate  any  course  of 


k' 


218 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


i: 


action,  should  Mr.  Soward  inform  liim  tlio  United 
States  Government  rofusos  to  comply  with  tho 
demands  of  Great  Britain. 

Any  humiliation  which  may  bo  attached  to 
concession  will  bo  caused  by  tlio  language  of  the 
Americans  tliomselves,  wiio  have  given  in  their 
press,  in  public  meetings,  in  tho  Lower  House,  in 
tho  Cabinet,  and  in  tlie  conduct  of  the  President, 
a  complete  ratification  of  tho  act  of  Captain 
Wilkes,  not  to  speak  of  tiie  opinions  of  the  law- 
yers, and  the  speeches  of  their  orators,  who  de- 
clare "  they  will  face  any  alternative,  but  that 
they  will  never  surrender."  The  friendly  rela- 
tions which  existed  between  ourselves  and  many 
excellent  Americana  are  now  rendered  somewhat 
constrained  by  the  prospect  of  a  great  national 
difference. 

December  (Sunday)  22nd — Lord  Lyons  saw 
Mr.  Soward  again,  but  it  does  not  appear  that 
any  answer  can  be  expected  before  Wednesday. 
All  kinds  of  rumours  circulate  through  tho  city, 
and  are  repeated  in  an  authoritative  manner  in 
the  New  York  papers. 

December  SSrd — There  was  a  tremendous 
storm,  which  drove  over  tho  city  and  shook  tho 
houses  to  the  foundation.  Constant  interviews 
took  place  between  the  President  and  members 
of  the  Cabinet,  and  so  certain  are  the  people  that 
war  is  inevitable,  that  an  officer  connected  with 
the  executive  of  the  Navy  Department  came  in 
to  tell  me  General  Scott  was  coming  over  from 
Europe  to  conduct  the  Canadian  campaign,  as  he 
had  tiioroughly  studied  the  geography  of  tho 
country,  and  that  in  a  very  short  time  he  would 
be  in  possession  of  every  strategic  position  on  tho 
frontier,  and  chaw  up  our  reinforcements.  Late 
in  the  evening,  Mr.  Olmsted  called  to  say  he 
had  been  credibly  informed  Lord  Lyons  had  quar- 
relled violently  with  Mr.  Seward,  had  flown  into 
a  great  passion  with  him,  and  so  departed.  The 
idea  of  Lord  Lyons  being  quarrelsome,  passionate, 
or  violent,  was  preposterous  enough  to  those 
who  knew  him;  but  the  American  papers,  by 
repeated  statements  of  tho  sort,  have  succeeded 
in  persuading  their  public  that  the  British  Minis- 
ter is  a  plethoric,  red-faced,  large-stomached  man 
in  top-boots,  knee-breeches,  yellow  waistcoat, 
blue  cut-away,  brass  buttons,  and  broad-brimmed 
white  hat,  who  is  continually  walking  to  the 
State  Department  in  company  with  a  large  bull- 
dog, hurling  defiance  at  Mr.  Seward  at  one  mo- 
ment, and  the  next  rushing  home  to  receive 
despatches  from  Mr.  Jefferson  Davis,  or  to  give 
secret  instructions  to  the  British  Consuls  to  run 
cargoes  of  quinine  and  gunpowder  through  tiie 
Federal  blockade.  I  was  enabled  to  assure  Mr. 
Olmsted  there  was  not  the  smallest  foundation 
for  the  story ;  but  he  seemed  impressed  with  a 
sense  of  some  great  calamity,  and  told  me  there 
was  a  general  belief  that  England  only  wanted 
a  pretext  for  a  quarrel  with  the  United  States ; 
nor  could  I  comfort  him  by  the  assurance  that 
there  were  good  reasons  for  thinking  General 
Scott  would  very  soon  annex  Canada,  in  case  of 
war. 


CHAPTER  LX. 

NcwB  of  tho  doftth  of  thV  Prince  Consort — Mr,  Bumner 
»n(l  tho  Trent  Affiilr— Dlspfttoh  to  Lord  l!iis8ell— Tho 
Southern  C'OniiniBMoncrH  given  up — Kll'orte  on  the 
friends  of  tho  South — My  own  unpopuhirity  at  Now 
York— Attack  of  fovor — My  tour  In  Cuim(hi— Mv  re- 
turn to  Now  York  in  February— Succowses  of  tho 
Western  States — Mr,  Stanton  succeeds  Mr.  Cameron  as 
Secretary  of  Wor— Koverso  and  retreat  of  M'Clellan— 
My  free  pass — Tho  Morriinao  and  Monitor — My  ar- 
rangement to  accompany  M'Clelian's  heod-qunrters — 
Mr.  Stanton  refuses  Iiis  sanction — National  vanity 
wounded  l)y  my  truthfulness— My  rotirumcnt  and  re- 
turn to  Europe. 

December  2ith. — This  evening  came  in  a  tele- 
gram from  Europe  with  news  which  cast  the 
deepest  gloom  over  all  our  littlo  English  circle. 
Princo  Albert  dead  I  At  first  no  one  believed  it; 
then  it  was  remembered  that  private  lettera  by 
tho  last  mail  had  spoken  despondingly  of  his  state 
of  health,  and  that  the  "little  cold"  of  which  we 
had  heard  was  described  in  graver  terms.  Prince 
Albert  dead!  "Oh,  it  may  be  Princo  Alfred," 
said  some ;  and  sad  as  it  would  bo  for  the  Queen 
and  the  public  to  lose  the  Sailor  Princo,  the  loss 
could  not  be  so  great  as  that  which  we  all  felt  to 
bo  next  to  tho  greatest.  The  preparations  which 
we  had  made  for  a  littlo  festivity  to  welcome  in 
Christmas  morning  were  chilled  by  the  news,  and 
tho  eve  was  not  of  tho  joyous  character  which 
Englishmen  delight  to  give  it,  for  t'lo  sorrow 
which  fell  on  all  liearts  iu  England  had  spanned 
the  Atlantic,  and  bade  ua  mourn  in  common  with 
the  country  at  home. 

December  2bth. — Lord  Lyons,  who  had  invited 
the  English  in  Washington  to  dinner,  gave  a 
small  quiet  entertainment,  fi-om  which  he  retired 
early. 

December  2Gth. — No  answer  yet.  There  can 
be  but  one.  Press  people,  soldiers,  sailors,  minis- 
ters, senators.  Congress-men,  people  in  the  street, 
the  voices  of  tho  bar-room — all  are  agreed.  "Give 
them  up?  Never  1  We'll  die  first  I"  Senator 
Sumner,  M.  de  Beaumont,  M.  do  Geoffrey,  of  the 
French  Legation,  dined  with  me,  iu  company 
with  General  Van  Vliet,  Mr.  Anderson,  and  Mr. 
Lamy,  &c. ;  and  in  the  evening  Major  Anson, 
M.P.,  Mr.  Johnson,  Captain  Irwin,  U.S.A.,  Lt. 
Wise,  U.S.N.,  joined  our  party,  and  afi;er  much 
evasion  of  the  subject,  the  English  despatch  and 
Mr.  Seward's  decision  turned  up  and  caused  some 
discussion.  Mr.  Sumner,  who  is  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Foreign  Relations  of  the  Senate, 
and  in  that  capacity  is  in  intimate  rapport  with 
the  President,  either  is,  or  affects  to  be  incredu- 
lous respecting  the  nature  of  Lord  Russell's  des- 
patch this  evening,  and  argues  that,  at  the  very 
utmost,  the  Trent  affair  can  only  bo  a  matter  for 
mediation,  and  not  for  any  peremptory  demand, 
as  the  law  of  nations  has  no  exact  precedent  to 
bear  upon  the  case,  and  that  there  are  so  many 
instances  in  which  Sir  W.  Scott's  (Lord  Stowell's) 
decisions  in  principle  appear  to  justify  Captain 
Wilkes.  All  along  he  has  held  this  language, 
and  has  maintained  that  at  the  very  worst  there 
is  plenty  of  time  for  protocols,  despatches,  and 
references,  and  more  than  once  he  has  said  to  me, 
"  I  hope  you  will  keep  tho  peace ;  help  us  to  do 
so,"— the  peace  having  been  already  broken  by 
Captain  Wilkes  and  the  Government. 

December  27th. — This  morning  Mr.  Seward  sent 
in  his  reply  to  Lord  Russell's  despatch  — "  grandia 
et  verbosa  epistola."  The  result  destroys  my 
prophecies,  for,  after  all,  the  Southern  Commissiou- 


I 


ers 

day 

amf 

wet 

to  J 

tific 

of 

itb 

Stat 

renc 


•i   I  . 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


219 


-Mr.  Humner 
l!iiH8ell-Tho 
llt'cts  on  the 
iiilty  at  Now 
indu — My  ro- 
U!H8C8  or  the 
:.  Cameron  bs 
f  M'Clellun— 
Itor— My  ar- 
iid'qunrters— 
lonal  vanity 
•mant  and  ri>- 

0  in  a  tole- 
h  cast  the 
l^lisli  circlo. 
believed  it ; 
0  letters  by 
of  his  state 
f  which  we 
13.  Prince 
30  Alfred," 
tlie  Queen 
CO,  tlio  loss 
e  all  felt  to 
ions  which 
(Volconie  in 
)  news,  and 
cter  which 
lie  sorrow 
id  spanned 
nmou  with 

lad  invited 

>r,  gave  a 

he  retired 

There  can 
ors,  luinis- 
the  street, 

"     "Give 
Senator 
oy,  of  the 

company 

and  Mr. 
or  Anson, 
.S.A.,  Lt. 
fter  much 
patch  and 
jsed  some 
lan  of  the 
e  Senate, 
^port  with 

incredu- 
sell's  des- 

the  very 
■natter  for 

demand, 
cedent  to 

so  many 
3to  well's) 
Y  Captain 
anguage, 
)rst  there 
;hes,  and 
id  to  me, 

us  to  do 
rokeu  by 

vard  sent 
"  grandis 
roys  my 
imissiou- 


era  or  Ambassadors  are  to  be  given  up.  Yester- 
day, indeed,  in  an  under-current  of  whispers 
among  the  desponding  friends  of  the  South,  there 
went  a  rumour  that  the  Government  had  resolved 
to  yield.  What  a  collapse  I  What  a  bitter  mor- 
tification !  J  had  scarcely  finished  the  perusal 
of  an  article  in  a  Washington  paper, — which,  let 
it  be  understood,  is  an  organ  of  Mr.  Lincoln, — 
stating  that  "  Mason  and  SliJoll  would  not  be  sur- 
rendered, and  assuring  the  people  they  need  en- 
tertain no  apprehension  of  such  a  dishonourable 
concession,"  when  I  learned  beyond  all  possibility 
of  doubt,  that  Mr.  Seward  had  handed  in  his  des- 
patch, placing  the  Commissioners  at  the  disposal 
of  the  British  Minister.  A  copy  of  the  despatch 
wi.l  be  published  in  the  National  Intelligencer  to- 
riOrrovv  morning  at  an  early  hour,  in  time  to  go  to 
Europe  by  the  steamer  which  leaves  New  York. 

After  dinner,  those  who  were  in  the  secret 
were  amused  by  hearing  the  arguments  which 
were  started  between  one  or  two  Americans  and 
some  English  in  the  company,  in  consequence 
of  a  positive  statement  from  a  gentleman  who 
came  in,  that  Mason  and  Slidell  had  been  surren- 
dered. I  have  resolved  to  go  to  Boston,  being 
satisfied  that  a  great  popular  excitement  and  up- 
rising will,  in  all  probability,  take  place  on  the 
discharge  of  the  Commissioners  from  Fort  War- 
ren. What  will  my  friend,  the  general,  soy,  who 
told  me  yesterday  "  he  would  snap  his  sword,  and 
throw  the  pieces  into  the  White  House,  if  they 
were  given  up." 

December  28th. — The  National  Intelligencer  of 
this  morning  contains  the  dispatches  of  Lord  Rus- 
sel,  M.  Thouvenel,  and  Mr.  Seward.  The  bubble 
has  burst.  The  rage  of  the  friends  of  compro- 
mise, and  of  the  South,  who  saw  in  a  war  with 
Great  Britain  the  complete  success  of  the  Confe- 
deracy, is  deep  and  burning,  if  not  loud ;  but  they 
all  say  they  never  expected  anything  better  from 
the  cowardly  and  braggart  statesmen  who  now 
rule  in  Washington. 

Lord  Lyons  has  evinced  the  most  moderate 
and  conciliatory  spirit,  and  has  done  everything 
in  his  power  to  break  Mr.  Seward's  fall  on  the 
softest  of  eider  down.  Some  time  ago  we  were 
all  prepared  to  hear  nothing  less  would  be  ac- 
cepted than  Captain  Wilkes  taking  Messrs.  Mason 
and  Slidell  on  board  the  San  Jacinto,  and  trans- 
ferring them  to  the  Trent,  under  a  salute  to  the 
flag,  near  the  scene  of  the  outrage ;  at  all  events, 
it  was  expected  that  a  British  man-of-war  would 
have  steamed  into  Boston,  and  received  the  pri- 
soners under  a  salute  from  Fort  Warren  ;  but  Mr. 
Seward,  apprehensive  that  some  outrage  would 
be  ofl'ered  by  the  populace  to  the  prisoners  and 
the  British  Flag,  has  asked  Lord  Lyons  that  the 
Southern  Commissioners  may  be  placed,  as  it 
were,  surrjptitiously,  in  a  United  States  boat, 
and  carried  to  a  small  seaport  in  the  State  of 
Maine,  whore  they  are  to  be  placed  on  board  a 
British  vessel  as  quietly  as  possible ;  and  this 
exigent,  imperious,  tyrannic;  <,  insulting  British 
Minister  has  cheerfully  acceded  to  the  request. 
Mr.  Conway  Seymour,  the  Queen's  messenger, 
who  brought  Lord  Russell's  despatch,  was  sent 
back  with  instructions  for  the  British  Admiral,  to 
send  a  vessel  to  Providence-town  for  the  purpose; 
and  as  Mr.  Johnson,  who  is  nearly  connected 
with  Mr.  Eustis,  one  of  the.  prisoners,  proposed 
going  to  Boston  to  see  his  brother-in-law,  if  pos- 
sible, ere  he  started,  and  as  there  was  not  the 


smallest  prospect  of  any  military  movement 
taking  place,  I  resolved  to  go  nonhward.s  with 
him  ;  aud  we  lofl  Washington  accordingly  on  the 
morning  of  the  31st  of  December,  and  arrived  at 
the  New  York  Hotel  the  same  night. 

To  my  great  regret  and  surprise,  however,  I 
learned  that  it  would  be  impracticable  to  get  to 
Fort  Warren  aud  see  the  prisoners  before  their 
surrender.  My  unpopularity,  which  had  lost 
somewhat  of  its  intensity,  was  revived  by  the 
exasperation  against  everytiiing  English,  occa- 
sioned by  the  firmness  of  Groat  Britain  in  de- 
manding the  Commissioners ;  and  on  New  Year's 
Night,  as  I  heard  subsequently,  Mr.  Grinnell  and 
otlier  members  of  the  New  York  Club  wore  ex- 
posed to  annoyance  and  insult,  by  some  of  their 
brother  members,  in  consequence  of  inviting  me 
to  be  their  guest  at  the  club. 

The  illness  which  had  prostrated  some  of  the 
strongest  men  in  Washington,  including  General 
M'Clellan  himself,  developed  itself  as  soon  as  I 
ceased  to  bo  sustained  by  the  excitement,  such 
as  it  was,  of  daily  events  nt  the  capital,  and  by 
expectations  of  a  move ;  and  for  some  time  an 
a  tack  of  typhoid  fever  confined  mo  to  my  room, 
and  left  me  so  weak  that  I  was  advised  not  to 
return  to  Washington  till  I  had  tried  change  of 
air.  I  remained  in  New  York  till  the  end  of  Ja- 
nuary, when  I  proceeded  to  make  a  tour  in 
Canada,  as  it  was  quite  impossible  for  any  opera- 
tion to  tako  place  on  the  Potomac,  where  deep 
mud,  alternating  with  snow  and  frost,  bound  the 
contending  armies  in  winter  quarters. 

On  my  return  to  Now  York,  at  the  end  of  Feb- 
ruary, the  North  was  cheered  by  some  signal  suc- 
cesses achieved  in  the  West  principally  by  gun- 
boats, operating  on  tho  lines  of  tlie  great  rivers. 
The  greatest  results  have  been  obtained  in  the 
capture  of  Fort  Donaldson  and  Fort  Henry,  by 
Commodore  Footo's  flotilla  co-operating  witli  the 
land  forces.  The  possession  of  an  absolute  naval 
supremacy,  of  cour.so,  gives  tho  North  United 
States  powerful  means  of  annoyance  and  inflict- 
ing injury  and  destruction  on  the  enemy ;  it  also 
secures  for  them  the  means  of  seizing  upon  ba-ses 
of  operations  wherever  they  please,  of  breaking 
up  the  enemy's  linos,  and  maintaining  connnuni- 
cations;  but  the  example  of  Great  Britain  in  tne 
revolutionary  war  should  prove  to  the  United 
States  that  such  advantages  do  not,  by  any 
means,  enable  a  belligerent  to  subjugate  a  deter- 
mined people  resolved  on  resistance  to  the  last. 
The  long-threatened  encounter  between  Bragg 
and  Browne  has  taken  place  at  Pensacola,  with- 
out effect,  and  the  attempts  of  the  Federals  to 
advance  from  Port  Ro3'al  have  been  successfully 
resisted.  Sporadic  skirmishes  have  s])rung  up 
over  every  border  State ;  but,  on  tho  whole,  suc- 
cess has  inclined  to  the  Federals  in  Kentucky  and 
Tennessee. 

On  the  1st  March,  I  arrived  in  Washington 
once  more,  and  found  things  very  much  as  I  had 
loft  thom :  the  army  recovering  the  effect  of  the 
winter's  sickness  and  losses,  animated  by  the  vic- 
tories of  their  comrades  in  Western  fields,  and  by 
the  hope  that  the  ever-coming  to-morrow  would 
see  them  in  the  field  at  last.  In  place  of  Mr. 
Cameron,  an  Ohio  lawyer  named  Stanton  has 
been  appointed  Secretary  of  War.  He  came  to 
Washington,  a  few  years  ago,  to  conduct  some 
legal  proceedings  for  Mr.  Daniel  Sickles,  and  by 
his  energy,  activity,  and  a  rapid  conversion  from 


h 


\' 


290 


MT  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


1^ 

II: 


i 


domocrntic  to  republican  principloB,  as  well  as  by 
his  Utiiou  sentimonts,  rocommcndod  himself  to 
tho  Prosidont  and  his  Cabinet, 

Tlio  month  of  March  passed  over  without  any 
remarkable  event  in  tho  field.  When  tho  army 
started  at  last  to  attack  tho  enemy — a  movement 
which  was  precipitated  by  hearing  that  they  wero 
moving  away — they  went  out  only  to  And  tho 
Confederates  had  fallen  back  by  interior  lines  to- 
wards llichmond,  and  General  M'Clellan  was 
obliged  to  transport  his  army  from  Alexandria  to 
the  peninsula  of  York  Town,  whore  his  rovorsos, 
his  sutl'uriiigs,  and  his  disastrous  retreat,  aro  so 
well  known  and  so  recent,  that  I  need  only  men- 
tion them  as  among  tho  most  remarkable  events 
which  have  yet  occurred  in  this  war. 

I  had  looked  forward  for  many  woary  months 
to  participating  in  tho  movement  and  describing 
its  results.  Immediately  on  my  arrival  in  Wash- 
ington, I  was  introduced  to  Mr.  Stanton  by  Mr. 
Ashman,  formerly  member  of  Congress  and  Secre- 
tary to  Mr.  Daniel  Webster,  and  tho  Secretary, 
witliout  making  any  positive  pledge,  used  words, 
in  Mr.  Asljman's  presence,  which  led  mo  to  believe 
he  would  give  mo  permission  to  draw  rations,  and 
undoubtedly  promised  to  afford  me  every  facility 
in  his  power.  Subsequently  ho  sent  me  a  private 
pass  to  tho  War  Department  to  enable  me  to  get 
through  the  crowd  of  contractors  and  jobbers; 
but  on  going  there  to  VHep  my  appointment,  the 
Assistant-Secretary  of  War  told  me  Mr.  Stanton 
had  been  summoned  to  a  Cabinet  Council  by  tho 
President. 

We  had  some  conversation  respecting  the  sub- 
ject matter  of  my  application,  which  the  Assist- 
ant-Secretary seemed  to  think  would  be  attended 
with  many  difficulties,  in  consequence  of  the  num- 
ber of  correspondents  to  the  American  papers  who 
miglit  demand  the  same  privileges,  and  he  inti- 
mated to  me  that  Mr.  Stanton  was  little  disposed 
to  encourage  them  in  any  way  w  atever.  Now 
this  is  undoubtedly  honest  on  Mr.  Stanton's  part, 
for  he  knows  he  might  render  himself  popular  by 
granting  what  they  ask;  but  he  is  excessively 
vain,  and  aspu-es  to  be  considered  a  rude,  rough, 
vigorous  Oliver  Cromwell  sort  of  man,  mistaking 
some  of  the  disagreeable  attributes  and  the  acci- 
dents of  the  external  husk  of  tho  Great  Protector 
for  the  brain  and  head  of  a  statesman  and  a  sol- 
dier. 

Tho  American  officers  with  whom  I  was  ulti- 
mate gave  me  to  understand  that  1  could  accom- 
pany them,  in  case  I  received  permission  from  the 
Government ;  but  they  were  obviously  unwilling 
to  encounter  the  abuse  and  calumny  which  woukl 
be  heaped  upon  their  heads  by  American  papers, 
unless  they  could  show  the  authorities  did  not 
disapprove  of  my  presence  ui  their  camp.  Seve- 
ral invitations  sent  to  me  were  accompanied  by 
the  phrase,  "You  will  of  course  got  a  written 
permission  from  the  War  Department,  and  then 
there  \^ill  be  no  difficulty."  On  the  evening  of 
the  private  theatricals  by  which  Lord  Lyons  en- 
livened the  ineffable  dulness  of  Washington,  I 
saw  Mr.  Stanton  at  the  Legation,  and  he  conversed 
with  me  for  some  time.  I  mentioned  the  difficul- 
ty connected  with  passes.  He  asked  me  what  I 
wanted.  I  said,  "An  order  to  go  with  the  army 
to  Manassas."  At  his  request  I  procured  a  sheet 
of  paper,  and  he  wrote  me  a  pass,  took  a  copy  of 
it,  which  he  put  in  Ms  pocket,  and  then  handed 
the  other  to  me.    On  looking  at  it,  I  perceived 


that  it  was  a  permission  for  mo  to  go  to  Manas- 
sas and  back,  and  that  all  oOicors,  soldiers,  and 
others,  in  the  United  States  service,  were  to  give 
mo  every  assistance  and  show  mo  every  courtesy ; 
but  the  hasty  return  of  tho  army  to  Alexandria 
rendered  it  useless. 

Tho  Merrimac  and  Monitor  encounter  produced 
tho  profo'indest  impression  in  Washington,  and 
unusual  strictness  was  observed  respecting  passes 
to  Fortress  Monroe. 

March  10th. — I  applied  at  the  Navy  Depart- 
ment for  a  passage  down  to  Fortress  Monroo,  as 
it  was  expected  tho  Merrimac  was  coming  out 
again,  but  I  could  not  obtain  leave  to  go  in  any 
of  the  vessels.  Captain  Ilardraan  sliowed  me  a 
curious  sketch  of  what  ho  called  tho  Turtle  Thor, 
an  iron-cased  machine  with  a  huge  claw  or  grap- 
nel, with  which  to  secure  the  enemy  whilst  a 
steam  hammer  or  a  high  iron  fist,  worked  by  the 
engine,  cracks  and  smashes  her  i''on  armour. 
"For,"  says  he,  "the  days  of  gunpowder  are 
over." 

As  soon  as  General  M'Clellan  commenced  his 
movement,  he  sent  a  message  to  me  by  ono  of  the 
French  princes,  that  he  would  have  groat  plea- 
sure in  allowing  me  to  accompany  his  head-quar- 
ters in  tho  field.  I  find  the  following,  under  the 
head  of  March  22nd: — 

"  Received  a  letter  from  General  Marcy,  chief 
of  tho  staff,  asking  me  to  call  at  his  office.  He 
told  me  General  M'Clellan  directed  him  to  say  he 
had  no  objection  whatever  to  my  accompanying 
the  army,  '  but,'  continued  General  Marcy,  'you 
know  we  are  a  sensitive  people,  and  that  our 
press  is  exceediiigly  jealous.  General  M'Clellan 
has  many  enemies  who  seek  to  pull  him  down, 
and  scruple  at  no  means  of  doing  so.  He  and  I 
would  be  glad  to  do  anything  in  our  power  to 
help  you,  if  you  come  with  us,  but  we  must  not 
expose  ourselves  needlessly  to  attack.  The  army 
is  to  move  to  the  York  and  James  Rivera  at 
once.' " 

All  my  arrangements  were  made  that  day  with 
General  Van  Vliet,  the  quartermaster-general  of 
headquarters.  I  was  quite  satisfied,  from  Mr. 
Stanton's  promise  and  General  Marcy'a  conversa- 
tion, that  I  should  have  no  further  difficulty. 
Our  party  was  made  up,  consisting  of  Colonel 
Neville;  Lieutenant-Colonel  Fletcher,  Scotch 
Fusilier  Guards ;  Mr.  Lamy,  and  myself;  and  our 
passage  was  to  be  provided  in  the  quartermaster- 
general's  boat.  On  the  26th  of  March,  I  went  to 
Baltimore  in  company  with  Colonel  Rowan,  of 
the  Royal  Artillery,  who  had  come  down  for  a 
few  days  to  visit  Washmgton,  intending  to  go  on 
by  the  steamer  to  Fortress  Monroe,  as  he  was 
desirous  of  seeing  his  friends  on  board  the  Rinaldo, 
and  I  wished  to  describe  the  great  flotilla  assem- 
bled there  and  to  see  Captain  Hewett  once 
more. 

On  arriving  at  Baltimore,  we  learned  it  would 
be  necessary  to  get  a  special  pass  from  General 
Dix,  and  on  going  to  the  General's  head-quartera 
his  aide-de-camp  informed  us  that  he  had  received 
special  instructions  recently  from  the  War  Depart- 
ment to  grant  no  passes  to  Fortress  Monroe, 
unless  to  officers  and  soldiers  going  on  duty,  or 
to  persons  in  the  service  of  the  United  States. 
The  aide-de-camp  advised  me  to  telegraph  to  Mr. 
Stanton  for  permission,  which  I  did,  but  no 
answer  was  received,  and  Colonel  Rowan  and  1 
returned  to  Washington,  thinking  there  would  bo 


<> 


|; 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


22  J 


?o  to  Manas- 
Holdiors,  and 
were  to  givo 
>ry  courtesy ; 
)  Alexandria 

tor  produced 
liiigton,  and 
ctiug  pasaea 

avy  Depart' 
I  Monroe,  as 
coming  out 
;o  go  In  any 
lowed  me  a 
rurtlo  Thor, 
aw  or  grap- 
ly  whilst  a 
rked  by  tbo 
an  armour, 
powder  are 

imenced  his 
y  one  of  the 
great  plea- 
head-quar- 
,  under  the 

arcy,  chief 

office.    He 

Q  to  Bay  he 

ompanying 

arcy,  'you 

i  that  our 

1  M'Clellan 

liim  down, 

He  and  I 

power  to 

must  not 

The  army 

Elvers  at 

t  day  with 
general  of 
from  Mr. 
conversa- 
difficulty. 
"  Colonel 
Scotch 

and  our 
iermaater- 
I  went  to 
owan,  of 
own  for  a 

to  go  on 
IS  he  was 
>  Rinaldo, 
la  assem- 
ett   once 

it  would 

General 
•quarters 
received 
r  Depart- 
Monroe, 
duty,  or 

States. 
h  to  Mr. 

but  no 
m  and  l 
rould  be 


3f 


<> 


a  better  chance  of  securing  the  necessary  order 
there. 

Next  day  wo  wont  to  the  Department  of  War, 
and  wore  shown  into  Mr.  Htanton's  room — liis 
Bocrutary  informing  us  that  ho  was  engaged  in  the 
next  room  with  the  President  and  other  Ministers 
In  a  council  of  war,  but  that  ho  would  no  doul)t 
receive  a  letter  from  mo  and  send  mo  out  a  reply. 
I  accordingly  addressod  a  note  to  Mr.  Stanton, 
reciuestlng  ho  would  bo  good  enough  to  givo  an 
order  to  Colonel  Rowan,  of  tho  British  army,  and 
myself,  to  go  by  tho  mail  bout  from  Baltimore  to 
Monroe.  In  a  .short  time  Mr.  Stanton  sent  out  a 
note  in  tho  following  words: — "Mr.  Stanton 
informs  Mr.  Russell  no  passes  to  Fortress  Monroo 
can  be  given  at  present,  unless  to  officers  in  tho 
United  States  service."  Wo  tried  tho  Navy 
Department,  but  no  vessels  were  going  down, 
they  said  ;  and  one  of  tho  officers  suggested  lliat 
we  should  usk  for  passes  to  go  down  and  visit 
H.  M.  S.  Rinaldo  exclusively,  which  could  not 
well  bo  refused,  ho  thought,  to  British  subjects, 
and  promised  to  take  charge  of  the  letter  for  Mr. 
Stanton  and  to  telegraph  tho  permission  down  to 
Baltimore.  There  we  returned  by  tho  afternoon 
train  and  waited,  but  neither  reply  nor  pass  came 
for  us. 

Next  day  wo  wero  disappointed  also,  and  an 
officer  of  the  Rinaldo,  who  had  come  up  on  duty 
from  tho  ship,  was  refused  permission  to  take  us 
down  on  his  return.  I  regretted  these  obstruc- 
tions principally  on  Colonel  Rowan's  account, 
becanso  he  would  have  no  opportunity  of  seeing 
the  flotilla.  Ho  returned  next  day  to  New  York, 
whilst  I  completed  my  preparations  for  the  expe- 
dition and  went  back  to  Washington,  where  I 
received  my  pass,  signed  by  General  M'Clollan's 
chief  of  tho  stafi".  authorising  mo  to  accompany 
the  head-quarters  of  tho  army  under  his  command. 
So  far  as  I  know,  Mr.  Stanton  sent  no  reply  to 
my  last  letter,  and  calling  with  General  Van  Vliet 
at  his  house  on  his  reception  night,  the  door  was 
opened  by  his  brother-in-law,  who  said,  "Tho 
Secretary  was  attending  a  sick  child  and  could 
not  see  any  person  that  evening,"  so  I  never  met 
Mr.  Stanton  again. 

Stories  had  long  been  current  concerning  his 
exceeding  animosity  to  General  M'Clellan,  found- 
ed perhaps  on  his  expressed  want  of  confidence 
in  the  General's  abilities,  as  much  as  on  the  dis- 
like ho  felt  towards  a  man  who  persisted  in 
disregarding  his  opinions  on  matters  connected 
with  military  operations.  His  infirmities  of 
health  and  tendency  to  cerebral  excitement  had 
been  increased  by  the  pressure  of  business,  by 
the  novelty  of  power,  and  by  the  angry  passions 
to  which  individual  antipathies  and  personal  ran- 
cour give  rise.  No  one  who  over  saw  Mr.  Stan- 
ton would  expect  from  him  courtesy  of  manner  or 
delicacy  of  feeling;  but  his  affectation  of  blunt- 
ness  and  straightforwardness  of  purpose  might 
have  led  one  to  suppose  he  was  honest  and  direct 
in  purpose,  as  the  qualities  I  have  mentioned  are 
not  always  put  forward  by  hypocrites  to  cloak 
finesse  and  sinister  action. 

The  rest  of  the  story  may  be  told  in  a  few 
words.  It  was  perfectly  well  known  in  Wash- 
ington that  I  was  going  with  tho  army,  and  I 
presume  Mr.  Stanton,  if  he  had  any  curiosity 
about  such  a  trifling  matter,  must  have  heard  it 
also.  I  am  told  he  was  informed  of  it  at  the  last 
uicmont,  and  then  flew  out  into  a  coarse  passion 


against  General  M'Clellan  bocauso  ho  had  dared 
to  invito  or  to  tuko  anyone  witiioul  Liv  pcnnis- 
Hion.  What  did  a  Ro|ii»iblican  General  wuiit  with 
foreign  princes  on  his  stall',  or  with  foroiy,'n  nowa- 
paper  correspondents  Uo  puff  him  up  abroad? 

Judging  from  tho  stwalthy,  secret  way  in  which 
Mr.  Stanton  struck  at  (Wmeral  M'Ci<>llan  tiio 
instant  he  had  turned  hia  baek  upon  Washington, 
and  crippled  him  in  the  field  hj  sudidonly  with- 
drawing his  best  division  witliuui,  a  word  of 
notice,  I  am  iueli  ud  to  fear  he  gnatiflud  what- 
ovor  small  passim  dirstat-nl  his  coursD  on  tliis 
occasion  also,  by  waiting  t  Jl  heknesv  1  wuA  fairly 
on  board  tho  steamer  will,  my  fVionds  and  bag- 
gage, just  ready  to  move  difl'  before  he  Hent  down 
a  despatch  to  Van  Vliet  and  summoned  iiitn  at 
onco  to  tho  War  Office.  When  Van  Vliet  re- 
turned in  a  couple  of  hours,  he  made  the  com- 
munication '"  me  that  Mr.  Stanton  had  given  him 
written  orelers  to  prevent  my  paa.sago,  though 
even  here  he  acted  with  all  tho  cunning  and  indi- 
rection of  the  village  attorney,  not  witii  tho 
straightforwardness  of  Oliver  Cromwell,  whom  it 
is  laughable  to  name  in  tho  same  breath  with  his 
imitator.  He  did  not  write,  "  Mr.  Russell  is  not 
to  go,"  or  "The  Times  correspondent  is  forbidden 
a  pas.sage,"  but  he  composed  two  orders,  with  all 
the  official  formula  of  the  War  Office,  drawn  up 
by  tho  Quartermaster  General  of  tho  army,  by 
tho  direction  and  order  of  tho  Secretary  of  War. 
No.  1  ordered  "that  no  person  should  bo  per- 
mitted to  embark  on  board  any  vessel  in  the 
United  States  service  without  an  order  from  tho 
War  Department."  No.  2  ordered  *'  that  Colonel 
Neville,  Colonel  Fletcher,  and  Captain  Lamy,  of 
the  British  army,  having  been  invited  by  General 
M'Clellan  to  accompany  tho  expedition,  were 
authorized  to  embark  on  board  tho  vessel." 

General  Van  Vliet  assured  me  that  he  and 
General  M'Dowell  had  urged  every  argument 
they  could  think  of  in  my  favour,  particularly 
tho  fact  that  I  was  tho  specially  invited  guest  of 
General  M'Clellan,  and  that  T  was  actually  pro- 
vided with  a  pass  by  hia  order  from  the  chief  of 
his  stafi'. 

With  these  orders  before  me,  I  had  no  alterna- 
tive. 

General  M'Clellan  was  far  away.  Mr.  Stanton 
had  "waited  again  until  he  was  gone.  General 
Marcy  was  away.  I  laid  tho  statement  of  what 
had  occurred  before  the  President,  who  at  first 
gave  mo  hopes,  from  tho  wording  of  his  letter, 
that  he  would  overrule  Mr.  Stanton's  order,  but 
who  next  day  informed  mo  he  could  not  take  i* 
upon  himself  to  do  so. 

It  was  plain  I  had  now  but  ono  course  left. 
My  mission  in  the  United  States  was  to  describe 
military  events  and  operations,  or,  in  defect  of 
them,  to  deal  with  such  subjects  as  miglit  bo  in- 
teresting to  people  at  home.  In  tho  di.seharge  of 
my  duty,  I  had  visited  the  South,  remaining  tliere 
until  tlie  approach  of  actual  operations  and  the 
establishment  of  tho  blockade,  which  cut  otf  all 
communication  from  the  Southern  States  except 
by  routes  which  would  deprive  my  correspondence 
of  any  value,  compelled  me  to  return  to  the  North, 
where  I  could  keep  up  regular  communication 
with  Europe.  Soon  after  my  return,  as  unfortu- 
nately for  myself  as  the  United  States,  tho  Federal 
troops  were  repulsed  in  an  attempt  to  march  upon 
Richmond,  and  terminated  a  disorderly  retreat  by 
a  disgraceful  panic.    The  whole  incidents  of  what 


-  '^,  iv  i-'"^*'-'"'-" ' 


329 


MY  DIARY  NORTH  AND  SOUTH. 


!.  • 


.i 


I  Bftw  wore  fairly  stated  by  nn  impartial  witiicHa, 
who,  if  anything,  wiw  inclined  to  favour  a  nation 
endeavouring  to  BuppreHs  a  rehollion,  and  who 
waa  by  no  moans  improssod,  as  the  roHultH  of  his 
recent  tour,  with  the  admiration  and  resiwct  for 
tho  people  of  tho  Confederate  States  wliicli  their 
enormous  Hacrillces,  extraordinary  gallantry,  and 
almost  unparallolled  devotion,  have  long  since  ex- 
torted ft-oin  him  in  common  with  all  tho  world. 
Tho  letter  in  which  that  account  was  given  camo 
back  to  America  after  tho  first  bittoraoss  and  hu- 
miliation of  defeat  had  passed  away,  and  disap- 
pointment and  alarm  had  boon  succeeded  by 
such  a  formidable  outburst  of  popular  resolve, 
that  tho  North  forgot  everything  in  tho  instant 
anticipations  of  a  glorious  and  triumphant  re* 
vengo. 

Kvery  feeling  of  the  American  was  hurt — above 
all,  liis  vanity  and  his  pride,  by  tho  maimer  iu 
which  the  account  of  tho  reverse  had  beon  receiv- 
ed iu  Europe;  and  men  whom  I  scorned  too 
deeply  to  reply  to,  dexterously  took  occasion  to 
direct  on  my  head  the  full  ntorm  of  popular  indig- 
nation. Not,  indeed,  that  I  hud  escaped  before. 
Ere  a  lino  from  my  pen  reached  America  at  all — 
ere  my  Ilrst  letter  had  crossed  tho  Atlantic  to 
England — tho  jealousy  and  hatred  felt  for  all 
things  British — for  press  or  principle,  or  repro- 
Bontative  of  either — had  found  expression  in 
Northern  journals ;  but  that  I  was  prepared  for. 
I  knew  well  no  foreigner  had  ever  penned  a  line 
— least  of  all,  no  Englishman— concerning  the 
United  States  of  North  America,  their  people, 
manners,  and  institutions,  who  had  not  been 
treated  to  the  abuse  which  is  supposed  by  their 
journalists  to  moan  criticism,  no  matter  what  the 
justness  or  moderation  of  tho  views  expressed, 
tho  sincerity  of  purpose,  and  the  truthfulness  of 
the  writer.  In  tho  South,  the  press  threatened 
me  with  tar  and  feathers,  because  I  did  not  see 
the  beauties  of  their  domestic  institutions,  and 
wrote  of  it  in  my  letters  to  England  exactly  as  I 
spoke  of  it  to  every  one  who  conversed  with  me 
on  the  subject  when  I  was  amongst  them ;  and 
now  the  Northern  papers  recommended  expul- 
sion, ducking,  riding  rails,  and  other  cognate 
modes  of  insuring  a  moral  conviction  of  error : 
endeavoured  to  intimidate  me  by  threats  of  duels 


or  personal  ciistigations ;  graliflod  their  malignity 
by  ludicrous  stories  of  imaginary  alVrontH  or  nn- 
noyances  to  wliicli  I  never  was  expoHed ;  and 
Bought  to  prevent  tho  authorities  extending  any 
^)rotoctiou  towards  mo,  and  to  intimidato  ollleers 
Irom  showing  mo  any  civilities. 

In  pursuance  of  my  firm  resolution  I  allowed 
tho  slanders  and  miHreprosontations  which  poured 
fVora  their  facile  sources  for  montliH  to  pass  by 
unhcodod,  and  trusted  to  tho  calmer  senHc  of  tlio 
people,  and  to  tho  discrimination  of  Ihoso  who 
thought  over  tho  sentiments  expressed  iu  my  let- 
ters, to  do  mo  justice. 

I  need  not  enlarge  on  the  dangers  to  which  I 
was  exposed.  Those  who  are  acquainted  with 
America,  and  know  tho  life  of  tho  great  cities, 
will  best  appreciate  tho  position  of  a  man  who 
wont  forth  daily  in  tho  camps  and  streets  holding 
his  life  in  his  hand.  This  expression  of  egotism 
is  all  I  shall  ask  indulgence  for.  Nothing  could 
have  induced  mo  to  abandon  my  post  or  to  recoil 
before  my  assailants ;  but  at  last  a  power  I  could 
not  resist  struck  me  down.  When  to  tho  press 
and  populace  of  tho  United  States,  tho  President 
and  tho  Government  of  Washington  added  their 
power,  resistance  would  be  unwise  and  impracti- 
cable. In  no  camp  could  I  have  boon  received — 
in  no  place  useful  I  went  to  America  to  witness 
and  describe  the  operations  of  the  great  army  be- 
fore Washington  in  tho  field,  and  when  I  was  for- 
bidden by  tho  proper  authorities  to  do  so,  my 
mission  terminated  at  once. 

On  the  evening  of  April  4th,  as  soon  as  I  was 
in  receipt  of  the  President's  last  communication, 
I  telegraphed  to  New  York  to  onf,.,go  a  pas- 
sage by  tho  steamer  which  left  on  tho  following 
Wednesday.  Next  day  was  devoted  to  packing 
up  and  to  taking  leave  of  my  friends — English 
and  American — whose  kindnesses  I  shall  remem- 
ber in  my  heart  of  hearts,  and  the  following 
Monday  I  left  Washington,  of  which,  after  all,  I 
shall  retain  many  pleasant  memories  and  keep 
souvenirs  green  for  ever.  I  arrived  in  New  York 
late  on  Tuesday  evening,  and  next  day  I  saw  the 
shores  receding  into  a  dim  grey  fog,  and  ere  the 
night  fell  was  tossing  about  once  more  on  the 
stormy  Atluntic,  with  tho  head  of  our  good  ship 
pointing,  thank  Heaven,  towards  Europe. 


t  } 


¥ 


THB  END. 


CONTENTS. 


my 


V' 


n 


/ 


CHAPTER  I. 
Departure  from  Cork— 'l'h«  Atloiitlo  In  March— Follow 
puMNonifiTH— Amnrican  iiolltlcn   ntid  nartlui— Ttxi  Irlnh 
in  Now  Vorlc — Approncli  to  Now  York I'ago  0 

CirAI'TKK  IF. 

Arriviil  ftt  N't'w  ^'ork— (luxtom  Iioiiko — fJonnral  Impros- 

bIoiih  hm  to  Nortli  iinil  S<mtli— Strict  In  New  York— Ho- 

t(\l — llroakfiiHt — Anioricun  women  and  men — VIhH  to 

Mr.  IJuncruft— Street  railway* 11 

CIIAITKU  iir. 

*'8t.  F'atrlrk'H  dnv"  In  New  York— I'ubllc  dinner— Anicr. 
Iran  (JonMtltution  —  (ienoral  toplrn  uf  converBntlon  — 
I'libllc  nfltlmiite  of  tlie  Guvornmont — Evening  party  nt 
Mong.  U •* 14 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Streets  and  shops  In  New  York— Llteratiiro- 
Dlnner  at  Mr. 


II- 


_'s_l)lnncr  at  Mr. 


-A  funeral — 
Hiincroff'K — 


Political  and  hocIuI  features— Literary  broakfunt;  lleo- 
nan  and  >SayerH 17 

CHAPTER  V. 

Off  to  the  railway  ntntlun — Hallway  carriages— Philadel- 
phia—  VViiHhliih'ton  — Wlllard'g  Hotel  — Mr.  So*vard — 
North  uiid  South — The  "State  Depurtinent"  at  VVaHh- 
iugtou— Pre.iident  Lincoln— Dinner  at  Mr.  Suward'a,  19 

CH.VPTER  VI. 
A  state  dinner  at  the  Wliltc  llouno- Mri«.  Lincoln — The 
(y'abinet  Miiil«terH— A  newspaper  correspondent- Good 
Friday  at  Wushington 23 

CHAPTER  Vn. 

Barbers'  shop.s- Plaee-huntlng— The  Xavy  Yard— Dinner 
at  Lord  Lyons' — ICntimnto  of  Washlnpton  among  his 
countrymen  —  WashinKton's  house  and  tomb  —  The 
Bouthttrn  (Jommisriloncrs  —  Dinner  with  the  Southern 
C'omml-'Hloners  — I'eolinK  towards  England  among  t ho 
Southerner.^— Animonity  between  North  and  Soutli.  25 

CHAPTER  VIH. 
New  York  Press — Humours  as  to  the  Southcrnors — Visit  to 
the  Smlthnonlan  Institute— Pythons— Evening  at  Mr. 
Seward's — Rough  draft  of  offlclal  dispatch  to  Lord  J. 
Kussell— Estimate  of  its  effect  lu  Europe — ^Thc  attitude 
of  Vliginia 33 

CHAPTER  IX. 

Dinner  at  General  Scott's— Anecdotes  of  Ooneral  Scott's 
early  life — The  startling  dispatch — Insecurity  of  the 
Copltal 34 

CHAPTER  X. 

Preparations  for  war  at  (Jharleston— My  own  departure 
for  the  Southern  States — Arrival  at  Baltimore— Com- 
moncenient  of  hofitiiitics  at  Fort  Sumter— lionibardment 
of  the  I'ort— (U'tienil  feeling  as  to  North  and  South — 
Slavery — Kirst  impressions  of  tlie  City  of  Ilaltimore— 
Departure  by  steamer G5 

CHA1>TER  XL 

Scenes  on  board  nn  Amerlc.in  steamer — The  "  Merrimac" 

—  Iri-sh  snilors  in  America  —  Norfolk  —  A  telegram  on 

Sunday ;  news  from  the  scat  of  war — American  "chaff" 

and  our  Jack  Tars 37 

CHAPTER  XH. 
Portsmouth— Railway  journey  through  the  forest— The 
great  Dismal  Swamp — American  newspapers — (Jattle 
on  the  lino— Negro  lalwur — On  through  tlic  I'ine  I'orest 
—The  C!oiifederato  fl.ig  -f  toldsborough  ;  popular  excite- 
ment—Weldon— Wilmington— The  Vigilance  Commit- 
tee  • 39 

CHAPTER  XIIL 

Sketches  roimd  Wilmington— Public  opln;  jn- Approach 
to  Charleston  and  Tort  Sumter— Introduction  to  Gen- 
eral lieaurcgard  —  Ex-Governor  Maoning — Conversa- 


tion nn  the  chanrod  of  the  war—"  King  Cotton"  and 
England  — Visit  to  Fort  Sumter  —  Market  -  place  at 
Charleston i>ngo  ii 

CHAPTER  XIV. 

Southern  volimtoers— rnpopularlty  of  the  prc»<— (^liarlos- 
ton— Fort  Humtor— Morris'  iHliiud— Aull-iinlon  enthu- 
siasm—Aner.loto  of  <.;oloneI  WIgfall— Interior  view  of 
the  fort— North  versus  South 4-t 

CHAI-TER  XV. 

Slaves,  their  masters  and  nilj-tieBces— lintels— Attempted 
bnat-Journey  to  Fort  Moultrie— I'.xcltcmctil  iit  (;iiiirl«s. 
ton  against  New  Vork-Preparatlins  for  War— (ieiierol 
Iteauregard— Southern  opinion  as  to  the  pulley  of  the 
North,  anil  entlmatu  of  the  effect  of  tlu*  war  on  England, 
through  the  cotton  market -AristiK-rotlc  feeling  in  the 
South 48 

CHAPTER  XVL 

Charleston;  the  Markt^t-place— Irishmen  at  ('harie-'ton— 

I      (rovernor  Plekcns  :  his  ]viiiticiil  eeonnmy  and  theories 

— Newfp.iper  olHres  and  countlug-houi'e.-; — Rumours  as 

to  the  wur  policy  of  the  S^mth 50 

CHAPTER  XVH. 
Visit  to  a  plantation ;  hospitable  reception— Ry  steamer  to 
Oeorgi'town— Description  of  the  town— A  country  man- 
sion  — Musters  and  slaves — Slave  diet^— Ilununlng-birds 
— Ijind  Irrigation  —  Negro  (juartcrs  —  IJack  to  Oeorgo- 
town 03 

CHAPTER  XVIIL 

Climnto  of  the  Southern  States— General  Rcaurogard — 
Risks  of  the'post-otTlce- Hatred  of  New  England— Uy 
riiliway  to  Sea  Island  plantation— Siwrting  lu  South 
Carolina — An  hour  on  board  a  canoo  lu  tlie  dark  ...  50 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Domestic  negroes  —  Negro  oarsmen  —  Off  to  the  flshlng- 
gronnds  — The  devil-flsh  — Had  sport  — The  drum-flsh 
— Ntgro-iiuartirs- Want  of  drainage  — Tide vl.-h  pro- 
pensities of  the  blacks — A  Southern  estimate  of  South> 
erncrs 63 

CHAPTER  XX. 

By  railway  to  .«avannah— Description  of  the  city — Ru- 
mours of  the  last  few  days — State  of  affairs  at  Wushlng- 
ton— Preparations  for  war— Cemetery  of  Itonaventurc — 
Road  made  of  oyster-shells — Appropriate  features  of  the 
Cemetery— The  Tatnall  family— Dinner-p'irty  at  Mr. 
Green's- Feeling  n  Georgia  against  the  Nurtli CI 

CHAPTER  XXL 

The  river  ot  Savannah— (Jommodore  Tatnall— Fort  Pulas- 
ki— Want  of  a  fleet  to  the  Southerners — Strong  feeling 
of  the  women — Slavery  considered  in  its  re.snits — Cot- 
ton and  Georgia — Off  for  Montgomery— The  itlshop  of 
Georgia — The  lliblo  and  Slavery — Mucon— Dislike  of 
United  States'  gold 63 

CHAPTER  XXIL 
Slave-pens ;  Negroes  on  sale  or  hire — Popular  feeling  as 
to  Secession — Heauregard  and  speech-nuiklng — Airlval 
at  Montgoniei-j' — Had  hotel  accommodation — Knights 
of  the  Golden  Circle  —  Reflections  on  Slavery  —  Slave 
auction — The  Legislative  Assembly — A  "  live  chattel" 
knocked  down  —  Rumours  from  the  North  (truo  and 
false)  and  prospects  of  war, C5 

ciiaiVer  xxnr. 

I'roclamatlon  of  war — Jefferson  Davis— Interview  with 
the  President  of  the  Confederacy — Passport  and  safe- 
conduct — Messrs.  Wigfall,  Walker,  and  Benjamin — Pri- 
vat-eering  and  letters  of  maniue — A  reception  at  Jeffer- 
son Davis's— Dinner  ot  Mr.  Benjamin's 09 

CHAPTER  XXIV. 
Mr.  Wigfall  on  the  Confederacy- Intended  departure  from 
the  South— Northern  apathy  and  Soutjiem  activity— 


.iJu^titmn^ 


224 


CONTEXTS. 


Future  prospects  of  tho  Union— South  Carolina  and  cot- 
ton— Tho  t!i  jory  of  slavery— Indifforence  at  New  York. 
— Departure  from  Montgomery Tago  71 

cnAPTi:u  XXV. 

The  Kivec  Alabama — VoyaKe  by  steamer — Solma— Our 
captain  and  hi.s  slaves  —  "  IJunning"  slaves  —  Nef?ro 
views  of  hppplness  —  Mobile  —  Hotel — The  city — Mr. 
Forsyth 73 

CIL^PTER  XXVI. 

Visit  to  Forts  Gaines  a  u  Morgan — War  to  tho  knife  tho 

cry  of  the  South— The  ''State"  and  the  "•  .States"— Bay 

of  .Mobile — Tho  forts  and  their  inmates — Opinions  as  to 

an  attack  on  Washington — Rumours  of  actual  war. .  70 

CHAPTER  XXVIL 

Fensncola  and  Fort  I'ickens — Neutrals  and  their  friends — 
Coasting — Sharks — Tlie  blockading  fleet — Tlie  stars  and 
stripoH,  and  stars  and  bars — Domestic  feuds  caused  by 
the  war — Captain  Adams  and  General  Bragg — Interior 
of  Fort  I'ickens 77 

CHAPTER  XXVIII. 
Bitters  before  breakfast — An  old  Crimean  acquaintance — 
Earthworks  and  batteries — Estimate  of  cannons — Mag- 
azines— llospitwlity — English  and  American  introduc- 
tions and  leave-takings  —  Fort  Pickens ;  its  interior  — 
Return  towards  Mobile — Pursued  by  a  strange  sail — 
Running  the  blockade — Landing  at  Mobile 8-i 

CHAPTER  XXIX. 

Judgo  Campholl — Dr.  Nott— Slavery — Departure  for  New 
Orlenn:* — Down  the  river — I'ear  of  cruisers — Approaoli 
to  New  Orleans— Duelling — Streets  of  New  Orleans — 
Unheiilthiness  of  the  city — Public  opinion  as  to  the  war 
— Happy  and  contented  negroes 67 

CHAPTER  XXX. 

The  first  blow  struck — The  St.  Charles  hotel— Invasion  of 
Virginia  by  tlio  Federals — Death  of  Colonel  Ellsworth — 
Evening  at  Mr.  Slidell's — Public  comments  on  the  war 
—Richmond  the  capital  of  the  Confederacy — Military 
preparations — General  society— Jewish  element — Visit 
to  a  battle-field  of  1815 00 

CHAPTER  XXXI. 

Carrying  aims — Now  Orleans  jail— Desperate  characters — 
Executions — Female  maniacs  and  prisoners — The  liver 
and  levee— Climate  of  New  Orleans — Population — Gen- 
eral distress — Pressure  of  the  blockade— Money — Phi- 
losophy of  abstrtio.t  rights — Tlie  doctrine  of  state  rights 
— Theoretical  defect  in  the  constitution 94 

CHAPTER  XXXH. 

Up  the  Mississippi  —  Free  negroes  and  English  policy  — 
Monotony  of  the  river  scenery  —  Visit  to  M.  Roman  — 
Slave  quarters — A  slave  dance— Slave  children — Negro 
hospital  —  General  opinion  —  Confidence  in  Jefferson 
Davis ., 97 

CHAPTER  XXXIII. 
Eide  through  the  maize-fields — Sugar  plantation ;  negroes 
at  work — Use  of  tlie  lash — Feeling  towards  France — Si- 
lence of  the  country — Negroes  and  dogs — Theory  of 
slavery— Physical  foi-mation  of  the  negro— The  defence 
of  slavery — The  masses  for  negro  souls — Convent  of  tlio 
5acr6  Cwlw — Ferry-house — A  large  landowner. . . .  100 

CHAPTER  XXXIV. 

Negroes — Sugar-cane  plantations — The  negro  and  cheap 
labour— Mortality  of  blacks  and  whites — Irish  labour  in 
Louisiana — A  sugar-house — Negro  children — Want  of 
education- Negro  diet — Negro  hospital— Spirits  in  the 
morning— F  .^  nkiiist — More  slaves — Creolo  planters.  103 

CHAPTER  XXXV. 
War-rumours  and  military  movements— Governor  Man- 
ning's slave  plantations — Fortunes  made  by  slave  labour 
— Frogs  for  the  table — Cotton  and  sugar — A  thuader- 
Btorm 107 

CHAPTER  XXXVL 
Visit  to  Mr.  M'Call's  plantation  —  Irish  and  Spaniards  — 
The  planter — A  Southern  sporting  man — Tlie  Creoles — 
Leave  Houmas — Donnldsonville— Description  of  the  city 
— Baton  Rouge — Steamer  to  Natchez— Southern  feeling; 
faith  in  Jefferson  Davis — Rise  and  pivigress  of  prosperi- 
ty for  the  plantei-8— Ultimate  issue  of  tlic  war  to  both 
North  and  South ,   108 

CHAPTER  XXXVIL 
Down  tho  Mississippi  —  Hotel  at  Vicksburg  —  Dinner  — 
Public  meeting—News  of  the  progress  of  the  war— Slav- 


ery and  England— Jackson— Governor  Fottus— Insecur- 
ity of  life- strong  Southern  enthusiasm— Troops  bound 
for  the  North- Appioach  to  Memphis— Slaves  lor  sale- 
Memphis— General  Pillow Page  11 'J 

CHAPTER  XXXVIIL 

Camp  Randolph— Cannon  practice — Volunteers — "  Dixie" 
—Forced  return  from  tlio  South— Apatliy  of  the  North- 
General  retrospect  of  politics— ICnergy  and  earnestness 
of  tho  South  Fire-arms- Position  of  Great  Britain  to- 
wards  the  belligerents— Feeling  towards  the  Old  Coun- 
try   117 

CHAPTER  XXXIX. 

Heavy  Bill — Railway  travelling— Introductions— Assassi- 
nations—  Tennessee  —  "  Corinth" —  "Tory" — "  Hum- 
bolt" — "The  Confederate  camp" — Return  Northwards 
— Columbus— Cairo — The  slavery  question — I'rospects 
of  the  war — Coarse  journalism 122 

CHAPTER  XL. 

Camp  at  Cairo— The  North  and  tho  South  in  respect  to 
Europe — Political  reflections- Mr.  Colonel  Oglesby — My 
speech  —  Northern  and  Southern  soliiiers  compared  — 
American  country  walks  —  Recklessness  of  life  — Want 
of  cavalry — Emeute.in  the  camp — I  'efccts  of  army  med- 
ical department— Horrors  of  war — Bad  discipline. .  127 

CHAPTER  XLI. 

Impending  battle — By  railway  to  Chicago — Northern  cn- 
liglitenment — Mound  City — "  Cotton  is  King" — Land  in 
the  States — Dead  level  of  American  society — Return  into 
the  Union — American  homes — Across  the  prairie — White 
labourers — New  pillager — Lake  Michigan 130 

CHAPTER  XLH. 

Progress  of  events— Policy  of  Great  Britain  as  regarded  by 
the  North  —  Tlie  American  Press  and  its  comments  — 
Privacy  a  luxuiy — Chicago— Senator  Douglas  and  his 
widow — American  ingratitude — Apathy  in  volunteering 
— Colonel  Turchin's  camp 133 

CHAPTER  XLIJL 
Niagara — Impression  of  the  Falls  —  Battle  scenes  in  the 
neighlwurhood — A  village  of  Indians — General  Scott — 
Hostile  movements  on  both  sides — The  Hudson — Mili- 
tary school  at  West  Point  —  Return  to  New  York  —  Al- 
tered appearance  of  the  city. —  Misery  and  suffering  — 
Altered  state  of  public  opinion  as  to  the  Union  and  to- 
wards Great  Britain 136 

CHAPTER  XLIV. 

Departure  forWashingtonv-A  "servant" — The  American 
I'ress  on  tho  War — Military  aspect  of  the  States — Pliil- 
adelphia — Baltimore — Washington  —  Lord  Lyons— Mr, 
Sumner — Irritation  against  Great  Britain — "  Independ- 
ence" day  —  Meeting  of  Congress  —  Greneral  state  of  af- 
fairs   140 

CHAPTER  XLV. 
Interview  with  Mr.  Seward— My  passport  —  Mr.  Seward's 
views  as  to  the  war— Illumination  at  Washington— My 
"  servant"  absents  himself.— New  York  journalism — Tlio 
Capitol — Interior  of  Congress — The  President's  message 
— Speeches  in  Congress — Lord  Lyons — General  M'Dow- 
ell — Low  standard  in  the  army — Accident  to  the  "Stara 
and  Stripes"  —  A  street  row  —  Mr.  Bigelow  —  Mr.  N.  P. 
WUlis , 142 

CHAPTER  XLVI. 

Arlington  Heights  and  the  Potomac — Washington  —  The 
Federal  camp — General  M'Dowell — Flying  rumours- 
Newspaper  correspondents — General  Fremont — Silenc- 
ing the  Press  and  Telegraph— A  Loan  Bill — Interview 
with  Mr.  Cameron— Newspaper  criticism  on  Lord  Lyons 
— Rumours  about  M'Clellan — The  Northern  anny  as  re- 
ported and  as  it  is— General  M'Clellan 147 

CHAPTER  XLVII. 
Fortre.^9  Monroe— General  Butler— Hospital  accommoda- 
tion—Wounded soldiers  —  Aristocratic  pedigrees- A 
great  gun  —  Newport  News  —  Fraudulent  contractors  — 
General  Butler  — Artllleiy  practice  —  Contraband  ne- 
groes—Confederate lines— Tombs  of  American  loyalists 
— Troops  and  contractors— Duryea's  New  York  Zouaves 
—  Military  calculations  —  A  voyage  by  steamer  to  An- 
napolis    1^1 

CHAPTER  XLVIH. 

The  "State  House"  at  Annapolis— Washington— General 
Scott's  quarters  —  Want  of  a  staff—  Rival  camps  —  De- 
mand for  horses  —  Popular  excitement  —  Lord  Lyons  — 
General  M'Dowcll's  movements — Retreat  from  Fairfax 
Cnurt-hou^e— General  Scott's  quarters— Gonorul  Mans- 
field—Battle of  Bull's  Run 1B7 


Skirmish 


7 


/ 


.^sm 


■  ' 


It  Pottug— Insecur. 
■am_Trooi).s  bound 
■— Sluvca  <orsiile_ 
Page  U'J 

Itinteerri— «'  iiixio" 
Itliy  of  the  North— 
ty  and  camestnesa 
I  Great  Uritain  to- 
pda  the  Old  Coun- 
117 

iiictions— Aasassl. 

■  Tory"— '^  Hum. 

etiim  Northwards 

liesHon— I'rospecta 

122 

J)uth  In  respect  to 
loncl  Oglesby— My 

Jiiiers  compared 

leHB  of  life  _  Want 
■"octfl  of  nrmy  mcd- 
Id  discipline. .  127 

Igo— Northern  en- 
la  Kiiig"_Land  in 
;iety— Return  into 
lie  prairie— White 
ffan 130 

lin  as  regarded  by 
1  its  comments  — 
Dougliig  and  liia 
ly  in  volunteering 
133 

ttle  scenes  In  tho 
-General  Scott— 
le  Hudson— Mili- 
)  New  Yorlc  _  Al- 
7  and  suffering— 
he  Union  and  fo- 
136 

' — The  American 
tiie  States- Phil. 
Lord  Lyonn— Mr. 
iiin— "  Independ- 
ineral  state  of  af- 
140 

t  —  Mr.  Seward's 
Vasliinpton— My 
journaliam— TliQ 
sident's  message 
General  M'Dow- 
int  to  the  "  StaiB 
Blow  — Mr.  N.  F. 
142 


CONTENTS. 


225 


I 


■f 


CHAPTER  XLIX. 

Skirmish  at  Bull's  Kun— The  crials  in  CoDgrc?s— Dearth 
of  horsRs— War  pi-icea  at  Washington— Kstimate  of  the 
effects  of  Hull's  Kun — I'aasword  and  countersign  — 
Tranaatlantic  view  of  "The  Time.-?"  —  IMiHcultica  of  a 
newspaper  correspondent  iu  the  field Page  102 

CHAPTEK  L. 

To  the  rcene  of  action — The  Confederate  camp — Centre- 
ville.  -Action  at  Bull  Run— Defeat  of  tlie  Pederala — 
Dlaorderly  retreat  to  Centreville  —  My  ride  buCk  to 
Washington 1C5 

CHAPTER  LI. 

A  runaway  crowd  at  Washington — The  army  of  the  Poto- 
mac in  retreat — Mail-diy — Want  of  order  and  author- 
ity— Newspaper  lies — Alarm  at  Washington — Confeder- 
ate prisoners — General  M'Clellan — M.  Mercier — Kffects 
of  the  defeat  on  Mr.  Seward  and  the  President — M'Dow- 
ell— General  Patterson 174 

CHAPTER  LH. 

Attack  of  Illness- General  M'Clellan— Reception  at  the 
White  lltiuse— Drunkenness  among  the  Volunteera — 
Visit  from  Mr.  Olmsted— Georgetown— Intense  Heat — 
M'(;iellan  and  the  Newspapers — Reception  at  Mr.  Sew- 
ard's— Alexandria — A  Storm- Sudden  Death  of  an  En- 
glish Officer— The  Maryland  Club — A  Prayer  and  Fast 
Day — Financial  Difficulties 178 

CHAPTER  LIII. 
Ecturn  to  Baltimore  —  Colonel  Carroll  —  A  Priest's  view 
of  tho  Abolition  of  Slavery  —  Slavery  in  Maryland  — 
Harper's  Ferry — John  Brown — Back  by  train  to  Wash- 
ington —  Further  accounts  of  Bull  Run  —  American 
vanity  —  My  own  unpopularity  for  speaking  the  truth 
Killing  a  "  Nigger"  no  murder  —  Navy  Depart- 
ment  182 

CIIAPTfCR  LIV. 

A  tour  of  inspection  round  the  camp — A  trouMesorae 
horse  —  M'Dowell  and  the  President  —  My  opinion  of 
Bull  Run  endorsed  by  American  officers  —  Influence  of 
the  Press — Newspaper  correspondents — Dr.  Bray — My 
letters  —  Captain  Meagher  —  Military  adventurers  — 
Probable  duration  of  the  war  —  Lord  A.  Vane  Tempest 
—  The  American  journalist —  Threats  of  assassina- 
tion  187 

CHAPTER  LV. 

Personal  unpopularity— American  naval  oflReers— A  gun 
levelled  at  me  in  fun— Increase  of  odium  against  me — 
Success  of  the  Hatteras  expedition — General  Scott  and 
M'Clellan — MKJlellan  on  hia  camp-bed — Genera!  Scott's 
pass  refused— Prospect  of  an  attack  on  Washington — 
Skirmishing— Anonymous  letters— General  Ualleck — 
General  M'Clellan  and  the  Sabbath — Rumoured  death 
of  Jefferson  Davia — Spread  of  my  unpopularity— An  of- 
fer for  ray  horse— Dinner  at  the  Legation— Discussion 
on  Slavery 191 


•  CHAPTER  LVl. 
A  Crimefin  acquaintance  — Pergonal  abuse  of  myself — 
(Jloae  firing — A  reconnaissance — Mnjor-General  Bell — 
The  Prince  de  Joinville  and  his  nephews — American  os- 
tiniato  of  Louis  Napoleon  —  Arrest  of  membera  of  tho 
Maryland  Legislature — Life  at  Washington — War  cries 

—  News  from  tlie  Far  West  —  Jcnirney  to  the  Western 
States — Along  the  Susiiucliannah  and  Juniata— (;iii<':i<;o 
— Sport  in  the  prairie— Arrested  for  shooting  on  Sunu.iy 

—  The  town  '^f  Dwiglit — Return  to  Washington  —  .Mr. 
Seward  and  myself Page  11)7 

CHAPTER  LVH. 

Another  Crimean  acquaintance — Summary  dismissM  of  a 
newspaper  correspondent — Dinner  at  Lord  Lyons' — Re- 
view of  artillery — '*  Habeas  Corpus" — The  President's 
duties — M'CIellan'a  policy — The  Union  army — Soldiers  . 
and  the  patrol  —  Public  men  in  America — Mr.  Seward 
and  Lord  Lyons — A  judge  placed  under  arrest — Death 
anrl  funeral  of  Senator  Baker — Disorderly  troops  and 
officers— Official  fibs— Duck-shooting  at  Baltimore.  203 

CHAPTER  LVIII. 
General  Scott's  resignation — Mrs.  A.  Lincoln — Unofficial 
mission  to  Europe  —  Uneasy  feeling  with  regard  to 
France — Ball  given  by  the  United  States  cavalry — The 
United  States  army—  Success  at  Beaufort  —  Arrests  — 
Dinner  at  Mr.  Seward's  —  News  of  Captain  Wilkes  and 
the  Trent — Messrs.  Mason  and  Slidell— Discussion  as  to 
Wilkes  —  Prince  de  Joinville  —  The  American  press  on 
tlie  Trent  affair  —  Absence  of  thieves  in  Washington — , 
"  Thanksgiving  Day" — Success  thus  far  in  favour  of  the 
North 209 

CHAPTER  LIX. 

A  captain  under  arrest  —  Opening  of  Congress — Colonel 
Dutaesy — An  ex-pugilist  turned  senator— Mr.  Cameron 

—  Ball  in  the  officers'  huts  —  Presentation  of  standards 
at  Arlington — Dinner  at  Lord  Lyons' — Paper  currency 
— A  polyglot  dinner — Visit  to  Washington's  tomb — Mr. 
Chase's  report — Colonel  Seaton — Unanimity  of  the  &'outh 
— The  Potomac  blockade  —  A  Dutch-American  Crimean 
acquaintance  —  The  American  lawyers  on  the  Trent  af- 
fair— Mr.  Sumner — M'Clellan's  army — Impressions  pro- 
duced in  America  by  the  English  press  on  the  affair  of 
tlie  Trent  ^  Mr.  Sumner  on  the  crisis  —  Mutual  feelings 
between  the  two  nations  —  Rumours  of  war  with  Great 
Britain 214 

CHAPTER  LX. 
News  of  the  death  of  the  Prince  ConBort— Mr.  Sumner 
and  the  Trent  affair — His  dispatch  to  Lord  Russell — The 
Southern  Commissioners  given  up — Effedts  on  the  friends 
of  the  South— My  own  unpopularity  at  New  York— At- 
tack of  fever — My  tour  in  (Janada— My  return  to  New 
York  in  Februaiy  —  Successes  of  the  Western  Stn  tes  — 
Mr.  Stanton  succeeds  Mr.  Cameron  as  Secretary  of  War 
— Reverse  and  retreat  of  M'Clellan — My  free  pass — The 
Merrimac  and  Monitor — My  arrangement  to  accompany 
JPClellan's  head-qifarters — Mr.  Stanton  refuses  his  sanc- 
tion —  National  vanity  wounded  by  my  truthfiilness  — 
My  retirement  and  my  return  to  Europe 213 


\ 


* 


^  •    '*ir*'  .J, 


ishlngton  —  The 

ying  rumours 

reinont— Silenc- 
Bill — Interview 
1  on  Lord  Lyons 
lern  anny  as  re- 
147 

ial  accommoda- 
pedigrees- A 

t  contractors 

/ontraba-id  ne- 
erican  loyalists 
r  York  Zoiiavca 
teamer  to  An- 
l&l 


; 


gton— General 
il  cam)i8  —  De- 
Lord  Lyona 

;  from  Fairfax 
^ouorul  Mans- 
187 


«   Fbaztklxn  SQU4BS,  Nbw  Yobk,  Mbruary2t  1868. 


Harper* s  Magazine  for  February^  1863. 


,,*»  i^  BelBes  the  Seriftl  Novels  by  the  Autijors  of  "Adam  Bede"  and  "Orley  Farm," 
Habpeb^s  Magazine  for  February  contains  papers  by  American  Writers  whose  arti- 
cles have  been  received  with  especial  favor.  Among  the  contributors  to  the  present 
Number  are  the  Authors  of  "  Twilight,*'  "The  Isle  of  the  Puritans,"  "My  Forenoon 
with  the  Baby,"  and  "Was  he  Right?"— The  "  Californiaa  m  Icelaj^d"  conducts  his 
readers  ioto  the  heart  of  the  nost  characteristic  region  of  that  romantic  isli^.  The 
paper  iHKm  "Th^  Gentlemen  of  the  Press"  describes  the  practical  woX'Ml^  of  our 
great  nd^wpaper  establishments,  giving  an  idea  of  the  labor  and  cost  hia^olwd^in  the 
production  of  a  daily  paper.  The  "  Cruise  of  tLe  Essex"  forms  one  of  the  most  sladfc- 
ing  chapters  in  the  history  of  our  war  in  the  Southwest. 

The  lUnetrations  of  this  Number  aw3  mainly  from  original  drawmgs  .by  CuittK, 
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3. 

iey  Farm," 
whose  arti- 
the  present 
y  Forenoon 
;oncla6t8  his 
Bland.  The 
Mia^  of  our 
olveclrin  the 
e  tnost  stnk- 

These  18198 
literary  mat- 
>dMagMltte^ 
Writer,  Hab- 
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